Lake Maggiore and Lake Orta Travel Guide

Lake Maggiore West shore: Locarno Val Verzasca Vallemaggia - Centovalli Ascona Ronco sopra Ascona Brissago & islands Valle Vigezzo Cannobio Val Cannobina Cannero Riviera Castelli di Cannero Trarego Viggiona Oggebbio Premeno Ghiffa Verbania Intra Villa Taranto Pallanza Lake Mergozzo Val Grande Park Borromean Islands Isola Madre Isola dei Pescatori Isola Bella Baveno Stresa Belgirate to Meina Arona Divignano

Lake Maggiore East shore: Gambarogno Malcantone Maccagno Luino Brezzo di Bedero Porto Valtravaglia Valcuvia Laveno Santa Caterina Varese - Varesotto Ispra Angera Sesto Calende Lake Orta (Lago d'Orta): Lake Orta Omegna Pettenasco Armeno Miasino Orta, San Giulio Lake Orta west shore Orta photo gallery

A travel guide to the most beautiful places on Lake Maggiore and Lake Orta (Lago d'Orta) and the surrounding area.

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Last updated: 14 November 2026

Lake Maggiore holds an enormous fascination for people north of the Alps. Three hours' drive from Basel, the Atlantic weather fronts lose their grip and you enter a Mediterranean climate. With the snow-capped high Alps in the background, a subtropical landscape of parks and gardens opens up before the visitor. Early in the year, Christmas roses, jasmine, magnolias, camellias and oleanders are already in bloom. Add to this the charm of a historic cultural landscape with old towns and villages, crowned by Romanesque churches, the grand Art Nouveau villas of the late 19th century and the baroque splendour of Isola Bella.

Rentals and real estate on the east shore of Lake Maggiore, in the Varesotto and the Valcuvia