Lake Maggiore Road Trip from Milan: Islands, Lake Orta and the Verzasca Valley in 4 Days

Lake Maggiore is a long, narrow lake at the foot of the Alps, shared between Italy and Switzerland: its southern end lies in Piedmont and Lombardy, its northern tip in the Swiss canton of Ticino. This loop starts in Milan and goes all the way round it: little Lake Orta next door, the Borromean Islands off Stresa, the gardens of Verbania, Locarno and the Verzasca valley on the Swiss side, then back down the quieter eastern shore. It makes about 355 km in four days and comes back to Milan.

The roads around the lake are slow, two-lane roads through one village after another, so the daily distances are short on purpose. You cross into Switzerland and back on the way, so bring your passport or ID card.

Day 1 — Milan to Lake Orta and Stresa (111 km)

Pick up the car in Milan and drive north-west to Orta San Giulio, on the shore of Lake Orta, a small lake just west of Lake Maggiore. Leave the car in the car parks above the village and walk down to the lakeside square. A boat takes a few minutes to cross to the Isola San Giulio, an island almost filled by a Benedictine monastery and an old basilica.

Above the village, a wooded path climbs to the Sacro Monte di Orta, a hill of chapels that tell the life of St Francis in frescoes and terracotta figures. Together with the other Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2003. In the afternoon, drive over to Stresa on Lake Maggiore for the night.

Day 2 — The Borromean Islands and the Botanical Gardens of Villa Taranto to Locarno (57 km)

Spend the morning on the water. Boats leave Stresa’s waterfront for the Borromean Islands: Isola Bella, with the palace of the Borromeo family and a baroque garden built in 10 terraces, and the Isola dei Pescatori, a fishing village of narrow lanes. The palace and gardens open from March to early November.

After lunch, drive north to Verbania. At Pallanza, the gardens of Villa Taranto cover 16 hectares; a Scottish captain, Neil McEacharn, laid them out from the 1930s. Then follow the western shore past Cannobio and cross the border into Switzerland at Brissago. Continue through Ascona to Locarno and sleep there.

Day 3 — Madonna del Sasso, the Verzasca valley and the eastern shore to Laveno (80 km)

Start with the funicular from the centre of Locarno up to the sanctuary of Madonna del Sasso, founded after a vision in 1480, for the view over the lake. Return to Locarno, from where you drive to the Verzasca valley. Near its entrance the road passes the Verzasca Dam, a 220 m concrete wall where the bungee jump at the start of the James Bond film GoldenEye was filmed. Further up, at Lavertezzo, the clear green river runs under the Ponte dei Salti, a double-arched stone bridge from the 17th century.

Come back down the valley and drive south along the eastern shore through Magadino, back into Italy, to Luino, where a huge market has been held every Wednesday since 1541. Sleep in Laveno.

Day 4 — Santa Caterina del Sasso, Angera and Arona back to Milan (107 km)

Just south of Laveno, the hermitage of Santa Caterina del Sasso clings to a cliff above the water. It goes back to the 12th century; you reach it down about 240 steps from the car park, or by a lift cut into the rock. Continue to Angera, where the Rocca Borromeo, a castle above the town, has medieval frescoes in its Hall of Justice and a museum of dolls and toys.

Drive round the southern tip of the lake to Arona to see the San Carlone, a copper statue of St Charles Borromeo finished in 1698. The figure is about 23 m tall on a granite pedestal, and you can climb up inside it to the head. Then drive back to Milan.

Costs

Use the cost calculator to price fuel and nights for your dates. The only tolls are on the autostrada between Milan and the lake, on the first and the last day; the roads around the lake are free. In Switzerland, the fast road from Ascona through the Mappo-Morettina tunnel past Locarno is a motorway and needs the Swiss vignette, which costs CHF 40 and is sold only for a whole year. Stay on the old lakeside road through Locarno and Minusio and you can do without it. Budget for accommodation, fuel for about 355 km, car rental, the boats to the Borromean Islands and to the Isola San Giulio, and entry to Isola Bella, the Villa Taranto gardens, the Rocca di Angera and the San Carlone. Switzerland uses the Swiss franc (CHF), not the euro.

This trip is also in the free Roadcut trip planner: change the number of days and where you sleep each night, pick your vehicle to see the fuel cost, check the weather on the road, and open each day in Google Maps, Apple Maps or Waze.