A popular tourist destination for the Swiss, Germans and Netherlanders is the small town of Luino on the northeast end of Lake Maggiore. The boat services on the lake are divided here for destinations north of it and south of it. From the south, especially from Stresa, it is difficult, if not impossible, to arrange a roundtrip to this town except on wednesdays. Even to get here by train is a three to five hour ordeal and roundtrips by rail or bus are all but out of the question. The town is truely lacking service from the southern end of the lake.
Luino
It seems a popular destination for people from the north, who are either staying in Switzerland or the nearby town of Cannobio. It is especially busy on Wednesdays, this is when the town holds its weekly market. [1]Proportedly the largest in Europe, but that is not possible. The one in Turin far eclipses it in size and weekly frequency, being open every day and not just the middle of the week.
At one time the town was heavily industrialized and there were many textile factories here, which accounted for the terrible pollution the lake had to endure for years after its demise. Luckily today, the lake has considerably cleaner water that in the previous century.
Getting There
From the north, the map shows all traffic by boat going through Cannobio. From the south, we took the boat from Stresa. From there we stopped a half dozen times before reaching our destination.
It should be noted, if you are traveling from the south and want to go further than Luino, you can, you just may have to change boats in Luino.
From Stresa the trip is not inexpensive to Luino. For roundtrip tickets it cost us €15.20 per person[2]or about $18 per person.
Church of Saints Peter and Paul
A walk through the town and above most if, you will find the Church of Saints Peter and Paul. An unusual church which looks more like an administrative building than a church.
The inside does have some marble, but the rest of the nave and ceiling are painted in the style trompe-l’œil, giving the impression of relief where none really exists.
Restaurants
When we arrived in Luino, we only had three hours before our boat trip back, so we had to make good use of our time. Subsequently, we looked for a place to eat first and chose the Trattoria da Elia e Ugo.
Trattoria da Elia e Ugo
A small restaurant that caters to locals and tourists alike. They speak very good english, so there should be no problem with the language; they are even willing to look words up in order to make sure they have the correct word.
The food is very good and well portioned. The caprese is rather large and good enough for two. The pasta dishes are also fairly large and well seasoned.
Aside from the popular marketplace on wednesdays and the odd historical monument, there really is not much to see in Lunio. Coming from the south, it can only be commended for the odd day trip with lunch as the primary reason for the expedition, since it is rather far away and the boat service only runs roundtrip on wednesday, so plan accordingly.