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Holiday itinerary
Nine unhurried days around Orta, Maggiore, Lugano, Como, and Garda, starting and ending in Milan. Ferries beat the lakeside traffic; you sleep in Stresa, Lugano, Bellagio, and Sirmione so each shore is a night, not a tick on a list. Palms, villas, a different light every lake.
Season: Villa gardens and island boats generally run April–October. No high passes; still allow extra time on Como’s western shore.
Landmarks
Bellagio at the fork of Como, villas in the treesPhoto: Daniel Case / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Isola Bella from the Stresa shorePhoto: Library of Congress / Wikimedia Commons (No restrictions)
Lugano between two countries of waterPhoto: JoachimKohler-HB / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Orta San Giulio, the smallest lake and its islandPhoto: Avisadehh / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Sirmione’s castle on the Garda peninsulaPhoto: Josep M. Gracia / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Varenna across the water from BellagioPhoto: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Holiday itinerary
- Day 1 · Milan
A Duomo night, pick up the car in the morning. Milan is the hinge; the lakes begin as soon as the city thins.
- Day 2 · Orta San Giulio
The smallest of the lakes; take the boat to Isola San Giulio. A quiet first night before Maggiore’s islands.
- Day 3 · Stresa
The Borromean Islands from the Maggiore shore. Isola Bella is a palazzo in the water; give it the afternoon.
- Day 5 · Lugano
Swiss Ticino between Maggiore and Como. Walk Gandria along the water; the border is a feeling more than a line.
- Day 6 · Bellagio
The ferry triangle with Varenna; leave the car at the garage. Bellagio is the point of the fork — gardens, steps, the lake on both sides.
- Day 7 · Sirmione
Scaliger castle on the Garda peninsula. Walk the spit until the lake is all around you; Garda is bigger than it looks from the map.
- Day 8 · Riva del Garda
Northern Garda cliffs before the short hop to Verona and Milan. Wind, rock, a last lake night.