Across Lake Maggiore from Stresa lies Verbania and the town of Pallanza. This is another destination one may reach by purchasing a ferry ticket with the Lake Maggiore Ferry transportation system.
Boat launch – Stresa, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Stresa to Pallanza – Tickets For Two – Verbania, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Verbania
Since we had an extra day, we took a day trip there to discover if Pallanza had anything to offer and to visit the Gardens of Villa Taranto.
Looking toward Stresa – Lake Maggiore, Italy
Looking toward Pallanza – Lake Maggiore, Italy
Looking toward the tip of Verbania – Lake Maggiore, Italy
Pallanza – Lake Maggiore, Italy
Looking toward Bevano – Lake Maggiore, Italy
Pallanza dock – Lake Maggiore, Italy
Pallanza
There is not much to see here, though during our visit there was a lot of lake side construction, which not only blocked our view of things but made for a rather noisy visit. Hence, we did not stop here to eat anything.
Our ferry – Pallanza, Lake Maggiore, Italy
The town is actually quite simple and the only things there that stand out are the Church of Saint Leonard and its bell tower, and a few World War I memorials.
War memorial – Pallanza, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Soldiers that died in WWI from the town – Pallanza, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Church tower – Pallanza, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Church of Saint Leonard – Pallanza, Lake Maggiore, Italy
The water show off the beach appeared a bit to much for a destination offering so little, but we took a photograph of it anyway.
The town’s welcome float – Pallanza, Lake Maggiore, Italy
After a quick tour of Pallanza, we attempted to walk to the Villa Taranto gardens. After about forty minutes of frustration with a well known map application, we decided to turn around and take the ferry instead, which has service to the gardens.
The gardens are completely walled off – Remigio – Pallanza, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Italians and their walls – Remigio – Pallanza, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Regardless what the phone application tries to tell you, you may not enter the gardens from any side other than from where the boat launch is, so do not try unless you want to walk on a state road or you want to waste a lot of your time trying. The entire garden is surrounded by immense walls or fences and all of the entry points are locked. I walked all the way up to the Oratory of Saint Remigio just to make sure.
Oratory of Saint Remigio – Pallanza, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Villa Taranto
Villa Taranto is the ferry stop right after Pallanza and before Intra. It is about a ten to fifteen minute ride from Pallanza, so we purchased a round trip ticket from Pallanza to Villa Taranto to make up the difference with our ticket from Stresa to Pallanza, since we would be taking the ferry directly back once we finished the gardens.
Villa Taranto Gardens – Verbania, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Tickets For Two – Villa Taranto Botanical Gardens – Verbania, Lake Maggiore, Italy
The Gardens
The gardens of Villa Taranto are very well kept and marked. Each section is dedicated to some specific type of flora or theme. The walkways are well maintained such that you will have no issues ascending the hill that the gardens are planted on.
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Restaurants
In Villa Taranto we ate at the bistro within the park, having no desire after a long walk through the gardens of venturing any further out.
Cafè & Bistrot
Nothing much to rave about here, it is just a simple bistro and cafe. In one section you may sit and enjoy a drink, in the other you may order lunch or whatever they are serving at the time, if they are open. For lunch, we just had a simple salad with tomatoes and Tropea onions and olive oil, along with some white wine on the side, which was very dry and very good.
Villa Sparina, Gavi di Gavi – Cafè & Bistrot – Taranto Gardens – Verbania, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Villa Sparina, Gavi di Gavi – Cafè & Bistrot – Taranto Gardens – Verbania, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Aside from the failed attempt to walk to Villa Taranto Gardens, the ferry and the gardens, saved what could have been a sweaty miserable afternoon looking at flowers. So after eating, we thoroughly enjoyed our boat trip back to Stresa and would commend others not to stop in Pallanza, but go straight to the gardens and perhaps even Intra later, if the traveling bug moves you so.
To the boats – Taranto Gardens – Verbania, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Of the five Borromeo islands that make up that small group in Lake Maggiore, three have ferry service to them, one is uninhabitable, but has a beach you can visit, and the other, not far off the coast near Pallanza, is small and not frequented by visitors.
CMA Ship Ticket – Tickets For Two – Three Island Tour – Stresa, Italy
CMA Boat Service to the islands – Stresa, Italy
One should note, at least for our CMA ferry service, the islands are visited in an order, as presented below. Altering this order is impossible, if not very difficult, so plan accordingly.
Isola Bella
Isola Bella is probably the most frequented of the three. It has an ostensibly renowned italianate garden, which you have to purchase tickets for of course, but they do include access to the palazzo and the other gardens on Isola Madre.
Isola Bella and Madre Garden tickets – Tickets For Two – Stresa, Italy
Isola Madre from Isola Bella – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy
The Palazzo
The entrance to the gardens is via the palazzo, you cannot just walk into them. We walked through the old fishing town thinking there were multiple entrances to the gardens, there are not. There is only one, through the palazzo and after the ticket counter.
Palazzo Borromea – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Entrance to the palazzo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy
A walk-through of the palazzo is provided in the below slideshow.
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The gardens are accessed from the palazzo through what is called Diana’s Atrium, a small sub-garden with stairways to the garden. There is not much to see here and it is probably meant more as a meeting place, than any important adjunct to the gardens, so we ascended to the gardens almost immediately.
To the gardens – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy
The Gardens
The gardens do contain some interesting species, especially the old Camphor tree that was planted there in 1819 by Vitaliano IX Borromeo. It also houses a peacock and peahen, which will provide the necessary background noise in the gardens for any videos you wish to make.
Camphor Tree on Camphor Terrace – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Stairs to another level – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Peacock and Peahen – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Stresa – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Gardino d’Amore – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Gardens – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy
The Gardens – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Apparently the pride of the gardens is the Massimo Theater. A rather odd assemblage of opulent statues and finished by Carlo IV, it probably points to the decedent past these properties enjoyed.
Even though its proper name of Isola Superiore belies its size, Isola dei Pescatori is the smallest of the three islands. Its main attraction is the small fishing town that stretches from three quarters of its shoreline.
Small town streets – Isola Pescatori, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Narrow alleys – Isola Pescatori, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Jolly Roger – Isola Pescatori, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Hydrangea – Isola Pescatori, Lake Maggiore, Italy
There is only enough room here for restaurants, cafes, shops, boat docks and the odd park on the northwest side of the island. So, casually walking its streets and narrow alleyways is, more or less, the only thing to do here, aside from eating of course.
Rocky beach on the island – Isola Pescatori, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Park at the end of island – Isola Pescatori, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Isola Madre
Isola Madre is the largest of the three and for the most part is an island with a garden and palazzo on it. The garden is entered first, after turning right off the boat and taking the a long garden path walk around a third of the island.
Map – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Entrance to gardens – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Entrance to gardens – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Old Palm tree – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Coast – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Patti in gardens – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy
View of Pallanza and Laveno – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Pallanza – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Once you pass the entrance, where a person will scan your tickets, the garden begins.
Entrance statue – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Entrance statue – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy
The Garden
I found this garden quieter, more casual and more enjoyable overall. It has a few different sections, including a jungle environment which is very wet and grows ferns and other jungle type plants.
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The Palazzo
Immediately outside the entrance to the palazzo is a huge Cashmir Cypress tree, that was once blown over by a tornado on the island and later saved. It is indeed a magnificent specimen.
The Cashmir Cypress – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy
The interior of the palazzo is very interesting and a bit disturbing as well. It contains a lot of desiderata, so the displays can often appear disjointed and not themed well. However, taken as the idiosyncrasies of its creators and owners, it is perhaps more understandable. I found it enjoyable though confused at times, in its own way.
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We thoroughly enjoyed our day visiting all three islands. Though it is a lot to see in one day, it took us about five hours, it is manageable. It might be more difficult if it is hot outside, since all of the gardens are outside and the palazzos do not appears to have any air-conditioning in them. However, there are plenty of places to buy water on each of the islands, so staying hydrated should not be an issue.
Patti by Small pond – Palazzo dell’Isola Madre – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Our CMA ferry – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Leaving the island – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy
The island from our ferry – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Restaurants
Though there are restaurants and cafes on all the islands, we ate on the island of Pescatori because it was in the middle of our day boat trip to all of the islands, and at around half past one, it broke the trip up just about right.
Trattoria Ristorante Imbarcodero
The Trattoria Ristorante Imbarcodero is on the small island of Pescatori. In fact, most of the good restaurants of the three islands are probably here. It has a wide variety of Italian dishes that one can choose from the menu. For lunch, we kept it simple, since we were both not feeling one hundred percent and already had a substantial breakfast at the hotel.
From the boat – Trattoria Ristorante Imbarcadero – Isola Pescatori, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Trattoria Ristorante Imbarcadero – Isola Pescatori, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Spaghetti with tomatoes and lentils – Trattoria Ristorante Imbarcadero – Isola Pescatori, Lake Maggiore, Italy
Spaghetti in simple tomato sauce – Trattoria Ristorante Imbarcadero – Isola Pescatori, Lake Maggiore, Italy
