Lakes and Pre-Alpine Areas in Italy
9-day itinerary through the pre-Alpine lakes
One lake a day, in a rough west-to-east order. Times, distances and transfers are not given because I have not verified them: check them before you travel.
Day 1 — Lake Orta
Stroll through the village of Orta San Giulio and cross the roughly 400 metres to the Island of San Giulio by boat. Then climb to the Sacro Monte of Orta, part of the UNESCO Sacred Mounts site.
Day 2 — Lake Maggiore
Spend the day on the Borromean Islands, in the Borromean Gulf between Stresa and Verbania: Palazzo Borromeo on Isola Bella and the camellia gardens of Isola Madre.
Source: SiViaggia – Terre Borromeo · Wikivoyage – Isole Borromee
Day 3 — Lake Varese
Visit Isolino Virginia, opposite Biandronno, the oldest pile-dwelling settlement in the Alps and a UNESCO site since 2011. Check before you go: its museum was reported as temporarily closed.
Day 4 — Lake Como
Reach Villa del Balbianello at Lenno, on the tip of the Lavedo peninsula: built in the late 18th century on a Franciscan monastery and donated to FAI by Guido Monzino in 1988.
Day 5 — Lake Iseo
Go to Monte Isola, where Christo laid The Floating Piers in 2016 from Sulzano to the island of San Paolo.
Day 6 — Lake Garda
Enter Sirmione through the Scaliger Castle, then walk the peninsula to the Grotte di Catullo, northern Italy’s most important Roman villa.
Day 7 — Lake Idro
Visit the Rocca d’Anfo, a fortress begun by the Visconti in the 14th century, renovated by Venice in the 15th and extended by Napoleon’s engineers; it stayed a military site until 1975.
Day 8 — Lake Ledro
At the Pile Dwellings Museum, discover the 4,000-year-old village and its bronze, bone, stone and ceramic finds, among the best preserved in Italy.
Day 9 — Lake Caldonazzo
End the trip at a lake 449 m above sea level, Blue Flag 2026, the only one in the region where water skiing is practised.
Lake Maggiore
The Borromean Islands
The Borromean Islands lie in the Borromean Gulf, where Stresa and Verbania face each other. They are best known for the palaces and gardens of Isola Bella and Isola Madre and for the village of Isola dei Pescatori.
Source: Wikivoyage – Isole Borromee
Isola Bella takes its name from Isabella d’Adda, wife of Carlo III Borromeo, and construction of Palazzo Borromeo began there in 1632. Isola Madre, the largest island of the archipelago, is home to about 300 camellias of 11 species.
Lake Como
Villa del Balbianello
The villa stands at Lenno, on the tip of the Lavedo peninsula. Cardinal Angelo Maria Durini had it built in the late 18th century on a former Franciscan monastery, and in 1988 Guido Monzino, its last owner, donated it to FAI (Fondo Ambiente Italiano).
Lake Iseo
The Floating Piers at Monte Isola
From 18 June to 3 July 2016, Christo’s installation let visitors walk just above the water from Sulzano to Monte Isola and the island of San Paolo. The walkways were made of about 200,000 polyethylene cubes covered by 70,000 m² of yellow fabric, and over 1,200,000 people walked them in 16 days.
Lake Garda
Italy’s largest lake
Garda borders Lombardy, Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige and enjoys a mild, Mediterranean-type climate.
Sirmione and the Grotte di Catullo
Sirmione sits on a four-kilometre-long peninsula, with the Scaliger Castle (Rocca Scaligera) built toward the end of the 13th century at the behest of Mastino I della Scala.
The Grotte di Catullo are the remains of a Roman villa from the 1st century BC–1st century AD, the most important of its kind in northern Italy, covering about two hectares and still largely unexcavated.
Lake Orta
Orta San Giulio and the Island of San Giulio
The lake is a pre-Alpine basin between the provinces of Novara and Verbano-Cusio-Ossola. Orta San Giulio faces the lake’s only island, about 400 metres from the shore, while the Sacro Monte of Orta belongs to the UNESCO site of the Sacred Mounts of Piedmont and Lombardy.
Its outflow, the Nigoglia stream, runs north, an almost unique case in the Alps.
Lake Varese
Isolino Virginia, a UNESCO heritage site
Opposite Biandronno, Isolino Virginia is the oldest pile-dwelling settlement in the Alps, added in 2011 to UNESCO’s list of prehistoric pile-dwelling sites. It was inhabited for over 4,000 years, from the Early Neolithic to the end of the Bronze Age (5300–900 BC). Check opening hours and museum access before visiting.
Lake Ledro
The Pile Dwellings Museum
The pile-dwelling village on Lake Ledro dates back 4,000 years and yielded bronze, bone, stone and ceramic objects among the best preserved in Italy. It is one of the 19 Italian sites on the UNESCO list.
Lake Caldonazzo and Lake Levico
Lake Caldonazzo
The lake lies 449 m above sea level, covers 5.4 km² and is up to 49 m deep. It is the only lake in the region where water skiing is practised, and in 2026 it received the Blue Flag.
A valley certified for sustainable tourism
Valsugana is described as the first destination certified for sustainable tourism under the Global Sustainable Tourism Council criteria, with the lakes of Levico and Caldonazzo both holding the Blue Flag.
Lake Idro
The highest pre-Alpine lake in Lombardy
At 368 metres above sea level, it is 12 km long and 2 km wide, on the border with Trentino.
Rocca d’Anfo
The Visconti began the fortress in the 14th century, the Republic of Venice renovated it in the 15th and Napoleon’s engineers extended it. It remained a military site until 1975.
Transparency: text by Giuseppe Baldassarri, ItalyTrade.org. Each paragraph names the source consulted. Independent editorial content.