The Italian Lakes - Lago Maggiore

Lake Maggiore is one of the lesser touristy lakes nestled in the foothills of the alps, north of Milan. From west to east there is Lake Maggiore, Lake Como and then Lake Garda. Each is quite different. Lake Garda is like the Surfers Paradise with theme parks and lots of holiday parks, Lake Como is swanky, good looking and very expensive but probably the most idyllic. Lake Maggiore is the poor mans alternative but is still pretty nice, way less busy but the towns are still interesting the very traditional Italian.


We spent a day to the north checking out Cannobio just short of the swiss border. We were going to go the next 10km to Locarno on the swiss side, but you need to buy a permit to drive in Switzerland which costs $40 Euro. We had no other intention of heading to Switzerland so reckon will save it for another trip. We also went south on a different day, checking out Orta which is a tiny lake behind Lake Maggiore and then the town of Stresa on the shores of Lake Maggiore. Stresa was nice and another spot for an afternoon gelato, this time Chocolate and Banana and Blueberry and Lemon. Stresa is flanked by some huge french styled hotels and loads of private villas. Rachel spotted perhaps half a dozen, castle like villas that had been abandoned and left to ruin. Probably the effect of hefty inheritance taxes like in parts of France.

We also headed up to the top of the hill behind Stresa, which had some nice views and not much else. The cable car needed a bit of the work and the restaurant we found for lunch was run by three grandmothers who struggled like Faulty Towers. Today we drove into the alps to a huge waterfall. It must be a bit of a local attraction as there was lots of italians there in the car park. I underestimated the length of the drive and also the altitude. It was only 70km but took 1.5 hours up this windy valley, and at nearly 2000m high it was a little bit cold. We did a bit of a walk around tried to find a toilet with no avail and just headed back. The valley was really pretty with lots of old stone houses that were left to ruin scattering most paddocks, some good photograph if you had the time to stop, and were without a child who was getting bored.


In a few days we head to Chamonix to stay with friends for a bit, and that we be the end of another jaunt through continental europe. We then head to the UK for two weeks mainly staying with friends and family. We both reckon the strategy of staying in a place for a 5-7 days at a time whilst having a child in tow. We have left most mornings for an drive whilst Finn is grabbing his morning sleep and drive home in the afternoon after which he quickly falls to sleep. Campsites are better than hotel, as you at least have a kitchen, plus also playgrounds, swimming pools and space to entertain a kid. Three days in a hotel in Verona was just enough, so seven days in a central London apartment will be interesting.

The problem is spending seven days in a place is choosing the good locations in the first place. Most places have a few days of excursions but not many can stretch to a week. Tuscany was great and we did seven different things throughout the week. The alps was good as it was such a change and the accommodation was felt homely. Lake Maggiore is nice but think we should have done five days here and spent more in the Alps.

The excuse of the long post, is that the Tour de France is on TV, plus Diamond League Athletics and Finn is having a big afternoon sleep :)