Ranked among the most elegant lake settings in northern Italy, Lake Maggiore in Piedmont unfolds like a living watercolor—steep, wooded shores softened by a cool, reflective surface and punctuation by islands topped with palaces and clipped terraces. At the heart of this lake’s romance are the Borromean Islands: Isola Bella, Isola Madre and Isola dei Pescatori. Each island is a distinct mood in miniature, offering visitors a compact study in aristocratic taste, horticultural mastery and authentic lakeside life.
Approach and first impressions
Arriving by ferry is the most evocative way to meet Lake Maggiore. The water surface alternates between glassy stillness and gentle ripples under mountain light. Historic lakeside towns such as Stresa provide grand promenades, Belle Époque hotels and cafés where locals and visitors watch ferries crisscrossing the water. From the quay, the islands float near enough to make their ornate silhouettes legible: terraces, cypress and sculpted balustrades rising from the lake.
Isola Bella: theatrical baroque and palazzo grandeur
Isola Bella is the showpiece. Dominated by an imposing palazzo once owned by the Borromeo family, the island is built up like a theatrical stage—rooms of frescoed splendour inside and a tiered baroque garden outside. The gardens are arranged in ascending terraces, with clipped hedges, statuary and rare exotic plantings creating formal axis lines that frame sweeping lake views. Floral displays and shaded avenues invite slow promenades; intimate viewing points reward patient watching as light shifts across water and distant peaks.
Isola Madre: romantic plantings and gentle decay
Just a short boat hop away, Isola Madre contrasts Isola Bella’s meticulous formality with a looser, more romantic landscape. Its large botanical gardens harbor camellias, magnolias and towering trees, many of them introduced centuries ago and now mature specimens that provide a sense of time and place. The stately palace here feels lived in rather than staged—period furniture, historically preserved rooms and a pace that encourages lingering among parterres and secluded benches.
Isola dei Pescatori: authentic island life
The smallest and most unvarnished of the three, Isola dei Pescatori (Fishermen’s Island) trades palaces for narrow alleys, simple houses and a handful of intimate seafood restaurants. Here the lake’s daily rhythms are evident: fishermen and residents moving between moorings, terraces where guests dine on lake fish, and windows that look out directly onto the water. It’s a perfect contrast to the formal grandeur of the other islands and an excellent spot for a leisurely lunch.
What to do and how to experience it
- Island hopping: Take a relaxed ferry circuit to visit each island in turn—morning light on Isola Bella, midday in the gardens of Isola Madre, and a late lunch on Isola dei Pescatori. Ferries run frequently between the main lakeside towns.
- Stroll and linger: Spend time in lakeside towns such as Stresa