2 Days on Lago Maggiore

Old Aug 22nd, 2015, 07:35 PM
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2 Days on Lago Maggiore

We will be coming from Switzerland with a car, and plan to stop in Bellinzona to see the castles, before our base in Cannobio.

I think that will fully cover our travel day; I then have two days to plan.

On one day, I would like to visit the valleys, Maggia and Versaca, driving and stopping when we can.

On the other day, we will head to Stresa. This is where I'm confused. I don't think we will have time to visit the houses and gardens on the Borromean Islands as well as the Villa Taranto. I'm not sure how or what to cut.

We really won't do much in Stresa other than catch the boat to the islands but still, three villas and gardens in one day seems like a lot.

A tentative plan is to head to Stresa in the morning, see two islands, have lunch and then visit Villa Taranto on the way back to Cannobio. Or vice versa. But I'd really love to hear about which of these spots others preferred.

Our time frame is the last 3 nights of September.

If anyone would like to throw out an opinion, I'd appreciate it.
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Old Aug 23rd, 2015, 01:28 AM
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The round trips from Stresa or Baveno (preferred) to Isola Bella, Isola Madre and Isola dei Pescatori take 5 hours. IMO, such a trip (which is very relaxing) would be the main attraction of Lago Maggiore.

It is very easy to take the boats. Just arrive at the port, buy a ticket and go on the next available boat.

Boats from Baveno:
http://www.summerboats.it/en/index_en.html

Boats from Stresa:
http://en.isolelagomaggiore.com/boat...eanislands.asp
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Old Aug 23rd, 2015, 05:57 AM
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We visited Isola Bella and Isola dei Pescatori. We would have preferred seeing Isola Madre instead of Isola dei Pescatori, which to us had far too many restaurants and gift shopts.

When we bought our tickets we didn't realize we had bought just those 2 and that we couldn't get off the boat in Isola Madre, even though the boat stopped there! So be careful.

IMHO, I would just do Isola Bella. Maybe Madre would have been nicer than Pescatori but it seems to be similar to Bella on a smaller scale.

For lunch -
a much more upscale - Grand Hotel Des Iles Borromees has wonderful restaurant and great views.

more casual -
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran..._Piedmont.html
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Old Aug 23rd, 2015, 06:00 AM
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Why not stay in Stresa instead of Cannobio? It puts you right where you'll be spending time.
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Old Aug 23rd, 2015, 08:29 AM
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Stresa was ruled out for several reasons, mostly the lack of of proximity to the Maggia and Varzasca valleys and Bellinzona, where we need to be on our final morning of our time in the areas.

traveller: why is Baveno preferred?

Deb, your insight is helpful. Thanks.

Anyone been to Villa Taranto? We are big on gardens.
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Old Aug 23rd, 2015, 08:34 AM
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tuscanlifeedit,

My visit to Lago Maggiore was two days and we went to all the places you mention, so I'll give you my opinions. Mid-May 2000.

We stayed on Islo dei Pescatore at Hotel Verbano which we loved. Their views and restaurant are excellent. It doesn't take long to walk around the tiny island and there is not much to see. There are some restaurnts, an interesting tiny cemetary, and some shops. Did I say it's TINY?

We used the boat to visit Isola Madre. The villa there is empty of furnishings so of limited interest, but a staff member gave us a brief history of the family and villa which was interesting. The botanical gardens are quite large and there were lots of pheasants and peacocks roaming. Not a gigantic botanical gardens fan, but parts of the island were pretty. We didn't walk all of it. Not a lot of flowers, which I enjoy much more. I think we spent about 1.5 hours here.

Continued on to Isola Bella. Quite busy, but we bought a ticket for the palazzo tour and that was very interesting. Lots of history here and architecture is unique. Formal gardens here had lots of flowers and beautiful views. Again, lots of peacocks. 2 hour visit with the tour.

The next day we took the boat up to Villa Taranto. Due to a warmer than normal May, we missed the azalea bloom by a week. We did enjoy the rest of the extensive gardens and especially their hot house exotic plants. Monster sized lilly pads! The old house itself was not open to tours when we visited. If I remember correctly it was used mainly for garden association members events and things like that.

We also wandered Stress that afternoon and liked it. I imagine it would be much busier during peak season.

We really liked staying on the Isola dei Pescatori. Dead quiet at night, very relaxing. The only inconvenience was having to make a special private boat reservation to leave the island early enough to catch the train we wanted. We had a long ride down to Siena that day. If you were leaving later, you would be able to just use the regular boats.

Our favorites of the visits were Isola Bella and Villa Taranto. We would have loved 1 more day to travel up to Locarno.

I hope this helps! We really enjoyed our short visit. It was beautiful with nearly perfect weather.
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Old Aug 23rd, 2015, 08:48 AM
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We loved Villa Taranto---you can access it by ferry as well.
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Old Aug 23rd, 2015, 09:28 AM
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I would do all 2 islands. We had lunch at a charming small place on Isola dei Pescatori. the boats run very frequently and you can do all 3 islands without taking the whole day unless you really dawdle - or start very late. (We were staying in Stresa so got an early boat.)
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Old Aug 23rd, 2015, 12:27 PM
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Baveno is preferred because from there the distance is the shortest to the islands.
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Old Aug 23rd, 2015, 12:34 PM
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This is very helpful except the "do it all" part. I can't!

I'm leaning toward Isola Bella and Villa Taranto. I think that would be realistic for me.

Going to have look up Baveno, but I do think we will visit Stresa and boat from there.
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Old Aug 23rd, 2015, 12:54 PM
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We, too, appreciate this information. We will spend two nights in Stresa on our way to Brig, Zermatt, and Bergamo in early October.

Thanks,

Byrd
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Old Aug 23rd, 2015, 01:48 PM
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Byrd: it was a tough choice for me not to stay in Stresa. The real issue was having a day to visit the Ticino valleys, which were calling to me every time I saw a picture or read something.

We also decided to leave Maggiore from Bellinzona. Worked well with the car rental.

We will be coming from Switzerland, Grindelwald, then heading to Milan and Venice after Maggiore.

I think your two nights in Stresa will be so nice. I also think our nights in Cannobio will be nice too. We head to Milan on the first of October, so our paths won't cross, but have a wonderful time.
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Old Aug 23rd, 2015, 05:13 PM
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Another vote for just Isola Bella and Villa Taranto. I was not that impressed with Isola Madre, as the house was unfurnished. Isola Pescatori was okay, but Isola Bella is the jewel of the three islands. We have been to Stresa three times in the past 8 years, and we prefer the ruggedness and sheer beauty of Lago Maggiore to the other nearby lakes.
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Old Aug 24th, 2015, 07:38 AM
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These responses have been great and exactly what I've been looking for. Thanks. Danke/Grazie
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