Lake Maggiore
One of the last remaining wooded wetlands in Lombardy, this 400-hectare site has several trails including a lakeside path with fine views across the reed beds to Angera. The reserve is an important nesting site for waterbirds, including moorhens, mallards and kingfishers. Just off shore is Isola Partegora, a protected island that's home to a colony of cormorants.
The park is located about 1.3km east of the ferry dock, with an entrance near Via Arena and Via Sandro Pertini.
Santuario della Madonna del Sasso
29.68 MILES
Overlooking the town, this sanctuary was built after the Virgin Mary supposedly appeared in a vision to a monk, Bartolomeo d’Ivrea, in 1480. There’s a…
24.16 MILES
Como’s awesome marble-clad cathedral is one of the most important buildings on the lake, incorporating a variety of styles – Romanesque, Renaissance and…
25.52 MILES
This elegant 18th-century villa on the banks of Lake Como was once home to composer Vincenzo Bellini is now an award-winning luxury hotel.
9.18 MILES
The Borromean Gulf forms Lake Maggiore's most beautiful corner, sheltering the Borromean Islands and their spectacular, privately owned palaces. Closest…
11.2 MILES
In the unassuming town of Casalzuigno, about 9km east of Laveno, generations of nobles have swanned about the magnificent gardens of Villa della Porta…
29.2 MILES
Named after the Visconti clan that long ruled Milan, this fortified 15th-century castle’s nucleus was raised around the 10th century. It now houses a…
Parco Archeologico di Castelseprio
13.47 MILES
Spread out in peaceful woods about 1.5km outside the village of Castelseprio, around 20km south of Varese, is the ancient archaeological site of Sibrium,…
9.15 MILES
Presiding over 10 tiers of spectacular terraced gardens roamed by peacocks, this baroque palace is arguably Lake Maggiore's finest building. Wandering the…
0.77 MILES
The chunky medieval Rocca di Angera fortress lords it over the town of Angera in no uncertain terms. From a distance, it is the first thing one sees…
2.12 MILES
When Milan's superstar bishop San Carlo Borromeo (1538–84) was declared a saint in 1610, his cousin Federico ordered the creation of a sacro monte in his…
3. Museo dell’Ombrello e del Parasole
7.3 MILES
Those driving to Mottarone or Orta San Giulio (for Lake Orta) from Stresa could stop in Gignese (8km from Stresa) for the intriguing Museo dell’Ombrello e…
7.35 MILES
One of northern Italy's most spectacularly sited monasteries, Santa Caterina del Sasso clings to the high rocky face of Lago Maggiore's southeast shore…
5. Parco della Villa Pallavicino
7.84 MILES
An easy 1km walk southeast of central Stresa along the SS33 main road, the Pallavicino is a 19th-century neoclassical villa set in banked lakeside grounds…
8.35 MILES
For the best passeggiata (afternoon stroll) on Lake Maggiore head for Stresa, where a 2km-long lakeside promenade meanders through florid gardens and past…
8.73 MILES
More than 1000 alpine and subalpine species flourish in this 4-hectare botanical garden set partway up Monte Mottarone. It was founded in 1934 and…
8. Sacro Monte di San Francesco
8.73 MILES
Beyond the lush gardens and residences that mark the hill rising behind Orta is a kind of parallel ‘town’ – the sacro monte, where 20 small chapels…