Visiting the northern lakes: when to go, budget and itinerary

At the foot of the Alps, the great Italian lakes line up Italianate villas, botanical gardens and villages clinging to the shore. Como for elegance, Maggiore for its islands, Garda for wind and lemon trees. You mostly travel by ferry. Three days for one lake, a week for all three.

Why visit the northern lakes?

Lakes Como, Maggiore and Garda offer a mild climate sheltered by the mountains, where olive and lemon trees grow at the same latitude as Milan. People come for the historic villas and their gardens, open April to October, for a dense network of scheduled boats, and for hikes that climb fast above the water towards the peaks.

What to discover at the northern lakes?

Lake Como, villas and cliffs

The deepest and most theatrical of the three, shaped like an upturned Y. Bellagio sits at the point between the two arms; Varenna, on the eastern shore, is cheaper and on the train line. Three villas can be seen in one day by ferry: Carlotta and its rhododendrons, Melzi and its English garden, Balbianello on its wooded headland (booking advised). The lake road is narrow and slow: favour the boat.

Lake Maggiore and the Borromean islands

Straddling Piedmont, Lombardy and Switzerland, Maggiore is wider and brighter than Como. From Stresa, a day by boat covers the three Borromean islands: Isola Bella and its terraced baroque palace garden, Isola dei Pescatori for lunch in a car-free fishing hamlet, Isola Madre and its botanical garden roamed by white peacocks. The Mottarone cable car climbs to 1490 metres in twenty minutes for a view of seven lakes on a clear day, with the Alps behind.

Lake Garda, the largest

Garda is Italy's biggest lake, almost a small sea, and the mildest thanks to its olive groves. The south, flat and gentle, holds Sirmione and its Scaliger fortified peninsula, with the Roman ruins of the Grotte di Catullo at the tip and open-air thermal baths below. The north, hemmed in by cliffs, belongs to windsurfers: the Ora wind rises every afternoon towards Torbole and Riva. The water reaches 24 degrees in July and August, so swimming is possible almost everywhere.

Gardens, seasons and hiking

The villa gardens peak from mid-April to mid-May: azaleas, camellias and wisteria, before the June roses. Summer concentrates the crowds, mostly German and Dutch families, and many hotels and restaurants close from November to March. Above Como, the Triangolo Lariano trail or the three-hour climb to the Grigna give plunging views over the lake; on Garda, the Cima Capi via ferrata overlooks Riva from a sheer wall, and the Ponale path follows an old carriage road along the cliffs.

Verona and the hinterland

Thirty minutes from the south of Garda, Verona is worth a night: a 1st-century Roman arena still used for opera in July and August, a medieval centre curled inside a bend of the Adige, the lively Piazza delle Erbe and the so-called house of Juliet. North of Como, Bergamo and its upper town ringed by Venetian walls make another easy day trip, an hour by train from Milan. Franciacorta, between Brescia and Lake Iseo, adds a day of sparkling-wine tasting.

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Northern Italy Lakes in pictures

What to see at the northern lakes

Villas, islands and viewpoints that sum up the very particular atmosphere of the Italian lakes.

Villa del Balbianello

Loggia and terraced gardens on a wooded headland of Lake Como, reached by water taxi from Lenno.

Bellagio

The point between the two arms of Lake Como, flower-lined stepped alleys and a view of all three branches of the lake.

Borromean islands

Three islands on Lake Maggiore: the baroque palace of Isola Bella, the peacock garden of Isola Madre, a fishing village.

Sirmione

A Lake Garda peninsula closed off by a Scaliger castle, with the Roman ruins of the Grotte di Catullo at the tip.

Villa Carlotta

A Lake Como botanical garden spectacular when the rhododendrons and azaleas flower, mid-April to mid-May.

Mottarone

A 1490-metre summit above Stresa, reached by cable car, with a view of seven lakes on a clear day.

Northern Lake Garda

Torbole and Riva, windsurf capitals thanks to the Ora wind that rises every afternoon, in a cliff setting.

Verona

The Roman arena on Piazza Bra still used for opera in summer, half an hour from the south of Lake Garda.

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Frequently asked questions about the northern lakes

Which Italian lake should you choose: Como, Maggiore or Garda?

Como for the villas and chic atmosphere in a tight setting, Maggiore for the Borromean islands and a quieter feel, Garda for swimming, wind and family activities. Como is the easiest to reach from Milan.

How many days do you need for the northern lakes?

Three days are enough for a single lake, Como for instance, with two bases and the ferries. Five days let you pair Como and Maggiore, seven days all three lakes plus Verona, but with a lot of driving.

Do you need a car for the Italian lakes?

Not for Lake Como, where the boat does everything and the road is a nightmare. A car does help for looping Lake Garda and exploring the wine hinterland or the Brenta Dolomites.

Where can you stay on Lake Como without overspending?

In Varenna, on the eastern shore, cheaper than Bellagio and on the train line, or in Como itself, the town, from where the ferries fan out. Menaggio, on the western shore, also has hostels.

When are the villa gardens in bloom?

From mid-April to mid-May for the rhododendrons, azaleas and wisteria of Villa Carlotta and Isola Bella, the single best fortnight of the year. In June the roses take over; after that, heat and crowds rise together and the colour fades.

Is Lake Garda worth it out of season?

For the towns, the walls of Sirmione and the hiking, yes, with low prices. But from November to March the boats run minimally, many hotels close and swimming is out.

Plan your trip to Northern Italy Lakes

Day-by-day itinerary, budget, bookings and packing in a single app.