It's time to plan our return trip to Italy, and as always, I look forward to your suggestions:

We'll be arriving Milan the latter part of August, and would like to spend maybe a week around Lake Maggiore. We will have a car, and will be looking to rent an apartment. We've spent time in the past at the northern edge of Lake Garda, and at Lake Como (Varenna). We very much enjoy the beautiful lakeside views, and day boat trips, but also having a small town to walk around in, and live like locals for a bit. We don't mind driving, and are actually looking forward to crossing into Switzerland for day trips, if that's possible.

So - suggestions for a town around Maggiore to use as a base? Any must-see spots?

Mille grazie!

We stayed in (and fell in love with) Locarno. Nice town, great views, places to visit.

We used for a 4 day relaxation at the beginning of a trip in late May. Stayed in Stresa, visited the Borromean Isles in the lake (must sees) and explore the area including a couple of charming villas/gardens.

Then drove north to Lucerne for lovely alps.

Another vote for Locarno, but it's in Switzerland, not Italy. But it is right on Lago Maggiore and it is a very nice town! Looking forward to spending a couple of nights there in early September in fact!

Another vote for Locarno, but it's in Switzerland, not Italy. But it is right on Lago Maggiore and it is a very nice town! Looking forward to spending a couple of nights there in early September in fact!

There is more to see and do in the Stresa area. With a car you can certainly do some great day trips including Locarno and the Val Versasca, Lugano, and my favorite destination in that area, Lago Orta and Orta San Guilio. You will have fun !

We were just in Stresa and really liked it a lot. Lots to see and do, day trips. Pretty, easy to walk about. Highly recommend.

I enjoyed Locarno enormously. I haven't been to any of the Italian cities on the lake yet.

You might ask the editors to add a Switzerland tag to your post -- just click on the triangle with an exclamation point to do so (it is NOT just for reporting abuse).

Stresa-not an apt but Hotel Palma was very nice.

Maria_G, we were in Locarno last September and really enjoyed it. We stayed in the center of the little town, near the embarcadero, with easy access to restaurants.

As others have suggested, Stresa would be a good choice also. You can't go wrong in this beautiful lake area.

One factor regarding the area around Locarno and Lugano: major road construction. You might want to check out this situation to see if the work has been completed. It was a real traffic hassle.

I think I would probably opt for Baveno over Stresa, which can get slammed with tourists. Baveno has all the same options as Stresa for boat rides, access to hiking, views, and arguably better restaurants and a more interesting locals-only atmosphere.

Last year relatives of mine stayed in these apartments and were happy with service, cleanliness, etc.

http://residence.zaccherahotels.com/en/appartments/

But there a lots of choices of rentals in the area.

We had thought of Baveno when in early stages of planning but our trip was early May, so Stresa wasn't busy at all. A ferry we were on did stop at Baveno and it looked quite nice.

Thanks so much to everyone for the quick responses! Based on what I had read earlier, I figured Stresa might be too "touristy" and busy for us, but will now look into Baveno & Locarno. Any thoughts on Verbania, or Cannobio?

Really enjoyed Cannobio. Was able to take boat to Locarno. We liked the Hotel Pironi very much. Spent one day on Centovalli railway from Locarno to Domodossola, It. Highly recommend this scenic trip.

I can't remember where we stayed on Maggiore [it was 28 years ago] but I do remember the umbrella museum near Stresa:

http://www.visitstresa.com/Attractions.htm

It featured on the BBC learn Italian programme which prompted my first attempt to learn italian, so it was fun being able to visit it IRL; it might make a good rainy day excursion!

FWIW, Locarno [all of Switzerland, I guess] is more expensive than Italy towns.

" Centovalli railway from Locarno to Domodossola, It."

We did this in opposite direction - from Stresa - and took ferry back from Locarno. Really lovely ride.


Verbania and Cannobio, like Baveno, are all lovely.

Hi again, Maria_G. Neglected to mention in our post above that our TR: "27-Day Odyssey in the Alps", where we describe a fair amount of detail regarding our experiences in and around Locarno, can be accessed by clicking on our screen name. Some of the information may be helpful to you, particularly Sept 4-6.

Another location that we enjoyed on Lake Maggiore is smaller and charming Ranco. There is ferry service over to Stresa.

Thanks again, to all! I think we've settled on...Cannobio! For purely sentimental reasons, I prefer to stay on the Italian side, but we're looking forward to at least one day trip to Locarno, and maybe beyond. The Centovalli train ride looks terrific, I'm thinking we could train one way & boat back, or is this a round trip excursion? Any suggestions on where we'd leave the car?

Here's a vote for Ascona, especially somewhere in the delta. It's a fantastic area.