Lago Maggiore is a fine destination for many things, including fun with kids 8 and under (I hope you will show them the puppet museum on Isola Madre).

That said, have you considered Lago di Garda -- perhaps even as a substitute for Lago Maggiore? Not only is Gardaland there, it has a lot of activities for children and lots of swans. Lots of lovely lakeside ice cream parlors that serve huge colorful goblets of gelato (Bardolino). Lemons grow under glass there. Also, it's not hard to get from there to Verona as a day trip, where the castle (really great castle) and the Roman arena, might make for a very nice and easy introduction to some educational aspects of italy. I'd look at Peschiera del Garda as a base. Lots of family accommodations.

With lots of kids, i'd want a good train system. I head to Switzerland. Spiez if you want another lake. Lauterbrunnen Valley for flat walks, cable cars, falls and access to the peaks and Spiez.

Garda sounds great too! Is there a specific hotel or aptmt you can recommend?
What do you think of Ascona as a base? Have heard good things.... Thanks!

I've never been. It's very close to Swizterland.

The place that I stayed in Peschiera del Garda (Fornaci) was not convenient to the train, so unless you are going to be renting a car, I think you would want to be near the train station and boat docks. You can read tripadvisor to get an overview, or these

http://www.venere.com/italy/peschiera-del-garda/

http://www.lakegarda.com/

Another town on Lago di Garda with a train station is Desenzano, You need to stay at the southern end of the lake if you want to visit Verona, but the most dramatic scenery is at the northern end. You can make day trips on a hydrofoil (or slower ferry) all over the lake. If you stay at the northern end, it would make sense to take a trip into the Dolomiti mountains after Lago di Garda.

This is a helpful video (it has a soundtrack) but one thing to know about Lago di Garda is that it has many modern vacation homes on it in addition to some old historic towns.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLU9FJDewyI

<<Not only is Gardaland there, it has a lot of activities for children and lots of swans. Lots of lovely lakeside ice cream parlors that serve huge colorful goblets of gelato (Bardolino)>>

Wow, the "traveler" goes "tourist" in the blink of an eye.


We stayed on Lago Maggiore for week when my kids were something like 6 and 9 and we had a ball, not only in Stresa, but visiting the islands and taking the boats around the perimeter of the lake and stopping off at various towns to sightsee and get to markets and so forth.

You can also, assuming you have a car, drive up the steep road in the middle of Stresa that goes up the mountainside, and you'll find yourself in a kind of park where you can hike up to a peak that has amazing views - we did that and our kids loved it. We also drove all around the area, including to Lake Garda and stopped off and swam there and visited the town and had a good day there. We did NOT do the waterpark because we are "travelers" and not "tourists" as per Zeppole's definition. We did have an amazing day on those rocks on the beach at Sirmione.

But best of all is Lake Orta, which is very close to Lago Maggiore. Google it and find out about it and plan to spend some time there on the lake and in town. A real gem.

Thank you all so much! Anyone can comment on kid-friendliness in Ascona (Ticino) vs Stresa? Also looking for another place to visit after the lakes... Swiss/French Alps? Zermatt? Provence too far?

I agree with StCirq--as I often do.
I would opt for a combination of Maggiore and Orta---as we have done 3 times. Here is a photo gallery that may give you some reasons why. I do like the north end of Garda, but too many tourists to suit me further south on the lake.

http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/showgallery.php?cat=4173