Lake Maggiore

Lake Maggiore stretches from the Po plain deep into the Alps, its Piedmontese western shore a chain of resort towns, sacred hills and gardens above blue water. This description follows the lake’s southern Piemonte reach — from Arona, birthplace of San Carlo Borromeo, north through Ghiffa below Verbania — where the mountains press close and ferries stitch the towns together.

Why visit

This is a lake that rewards more than one kind of traveller. Garden lovers come for the botanical riches of the lake towns; pilgrims and history readers for the Borromeo legacy; walkers for the chestnut-wood paths of a UNESCO Sacred Mount that hangs over the water like a balcony. The combination of a near-Mediterranean lakeside climate and alpine backdrops means you can take a morning swim, an afternoon hike and an evening passeggiata along a palm-lined promenade — all within a few kilometres. As a base for exploring the Piemonte side of the lake, the southern shore around Arona is relaxed, well connected and far less frantic than the famous resort strips to the north. Food follows the water: lake fish — persico in particular — shares menus with the rice, cheeses and cured meats of the Novarese hinterland, and the lakeside gelaterie do brisk business all summer long.

Character and history

The lake has been a thoroughfare since prehistory: at Mercurago, wooden pile-dwellings sunk in the peat bogs speak of Bronze Age settlement, now protected within a regional nature park and honoured on the UNESCO list of prehistoric pile-dwelling sites. Arona grew wealthy on lake trade and in the sixteenth century gave the Church one of its towering figures — Carlo Borromeo, the reforming Archbishop of Milan, born here in 1538 and canonised within decades of his death in 1584. Gratitude and Counter-Reformation pride produced the colossal bronze statue raised in his honour, which for roughly two centuries ranked as the tallest statue in the world. Along the northern shore, devotional landscapes flourished in the same era: at Ghiffa, a sanctuary revered since medieval times grew into the Sacred Mount of the Holy Trinity, with chapels built from the mid-1600s and an 18th-century arcaded Way of the Cross, today part of the UNESCO World Heritage network of the Sacri Monti of Piemonte and Lombardy. Painters, writers and photographers have long been drawn to this stretch of shore, where the light softens as the mountains close in.

What to see

In Arona, the Colossus of Saint Charles Borromeo is unmissable — about 35 metres of bronze and masonry whose interior you can climb, emerging to gaze out through the saint’s eyes. Below it, the Rocca di Arona preserves the ruins of the fortress of Borromeo origins as a public park with sweeping lake views. In town, the Church of the Holy Martyrs and the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria Nascente — where San Carlo was baptised — anchor the historic centre. Just inland, the Lagoni di Mercurago Nature Park protects the peat bogs, prehistoric archaeology and horse pastures, with trails and a visitor centre. North along the shore at Ghiffa, the Sacred Mount of the Holy Trinity pairs its baroque chapels with a nature reserve of chestnut woods and lakeward lookouts — the smallest of the Piedmontese Sacri Monti, and among the most serene.

How to experience

Travel the lake the way it has always moved: by boat. Ferry lines connect Arona, theVerbano shores and the lake’s resort towns, turning a simple crossing into the best sightseeing of the day. Pair culture with exercise — climb the Rocca in the cool of morning, walk the Ghiffa chapels’ path in late afternoon light, and follow the park’s archaeological trail at Mercurago between the two. Cyclists can link the lakeside with hilltop lookouts on marked routes. Keep a flexible plan: lake weather shifts quickly, and the shrines and parks keep seasonal hours, so check official pages before setting out.

Practical planning

The A26 motorway and the Milan–Domodossola railway serve the southern shore; Arona is the practical railhead, with buses and boats fanning out along the lake. Spring and early autumn offer the best balance of open facilities and quiet paths; high summer brings crowds and heat, while winter is moody and blissfully empty. Accommodation ranges from family lakeside hotels to agriturismi in the hinterland. Ferry timetables, park access and sanctuary opening times all change with the seasons — the visitarona.it, parcoticinolagomaggiore.com and sacrimonti.org sites carry current details.

Nearby places

Continue north along the shore to Stresa and its islands, the granite-sculpted lakeside of Baveno, the market town of Cannobio and the palm-fringed Cannero Riviera. Inland, the Ossola capital Domodossola opens the alpine valleys, and the Monte Rosa resort of Macugnaga lies within a striking day trip.