Top Lake Maggiore Historical Tours

Visit the Borromean Islands of Lake Maggiore with your own private guide, and enjoy transport by motorboat just for your group plus a tour of Isola Bella’s 17th-century palace. Perfect if you want to understand the lake’s history and avoid the tourist crowds, the experience offers everything you need to explore the islands with ease. The standard tour includes stops at Isola Pescatori and Isola Madre, but you can upgrade to visit the botanical gardens of Isola Madre, if you wish.

Spend a morning or afternoon at Lake Orta, and see the highlights of its charming village and lake island with your own private guide. After you hear the history of Orta San Giulio’s medieval houses on a stroll, you’ll step aboard a boat to cruise over the serene lake to Isola di San Giulio. Wander the cobblestone streets to the Roman Catholic basilica, then choose to stay on the island to explore more at your own pace or return to Orta San Giulio with your guide.

Benefit from personalized attention and a flexible itinerary on this private tour of Lake Orta. With pickup in Lake Maggiore, Verbania, Baveno, or Stresa, you'll get private round-trip transportation that makes the trip convenient and relaxing. Explore the village of Orta San Giulio at your own pace, asking plenty of questions along the way and stopping at sites that interest you.

Experience Bellagio, a setting known as the most beautiful of Lake Como’s clutch of shoreline towns, on a day trip from a neighboring lake. With pickups from hotels in Stresa and Baveno on Lake Maggiore or Orta San Giulio on Lake Orta included, the day trip offers ultimate convenience for a lazy day out on the glamorous Italian lake. You’ll have free time to wander the narrow streets of Bellagio, followed by a visit to Como town where shops, cafes, and impressive architecture await.

Admire the beaches, islands, and alpine peaks of Lake Maggiore on a romantic sunset cruise. Set sail on-board a private charter boat, cruise around the Stresa Gulf, and soak up the scenery as you pass the Borromean islands. While on-board, sip included drinks and snacks, or upgrade to enjoy a light buffet dinner with wine.

Discovering a treasure in lake Maggiore: the beautiful Borromean islands with their stunning palaces and gardens. Your tour guide will take you on a special tour that will enable you to step back in time. Paintings, tapestries, Murano glass chandeliers, portraits, period furniture, gorgeous views and beatifully maintained gardens will surprise you on these fabulous islands: isola Bella and isola Madre.

Experience the most that Isola Bella has to offer with this private tour of two of Italy's most famous islands. Visit the aptly-named Isola Bella (Beautiful Island) and Isola dei Pescatori (Fisherman's Island). This private tour offers a morning or afternoon departure to best suit your personal needs.

Explore all the treasures hidden in a 17th-century palace on isola Bella and the quaint village on Fishermen's island with an experienced tour guide of lake Maggiore! You will be guided through the historic rooms of an amazing palace and will be shown spectacular gardens built on levels strolling through species of flowers and plants from all continents, surrounded by friendly peacocks. This will be a private tour just for you and your party

The gardens of Villa Taranto in Verbania, between Intra and Pallanza, are known the world over for their great beauty and the huge number of plant species they contain. The result of a labour of love on the part of the Scottish Captain McEacharn in 1931, the myriad of colours and scents the marvellously landscaped garden offers continues to enchant visitors from March to October. From spring to autumn there are always flowers in bloom, with “special events” for certain species which are particularly spectacular in their season: the tulip week is in April, dahlias are at their best between July and October. We will discover together this beautiful garden and we will focus on particular botanical species. From Stresa, the gardens are reachable by boat: the shipping company “Navigazione Lago Maggiore” has a landing stage called “Villa Taranto” right in front of the Gardens entrance.

Experience the beauty of Italy’s Lake Maggiore during this half-day tour to Isola Bella and Fisherman’s Island. This private excursion leaves from the villages of Stresa where you board a boat to Isola Bella. Explore the island’s Italian-style garden before heading to Fisherman’s Island for a walking tour of the quaint village. This tour is inclusive of a private tour guide, all entrance fees are to be paid on site.

Explore the picturesque town of Stresa on foot with a private guide who takes you on a leisurely walking tour with live commentary. View the town's elegant architecture along with sweeping views of Lake Maggiore, the Italian Alps, and the Borromean Islands. Learn about Stresa’s past and present, and get tips for places to visit during your stay on a private tour tailored to your interests.

A half-day tour by private boat to the two jewels of lake Maggiore accompanied by an expert private guide to enjoy more the visit to these incredible islands. Your licensed local guide will show you an opulent palace dating back to the 17th century with its baroque garden on Isola Bella. You will then discover another villa in country style on Isola Madre built in the 16th century and a charming garden full of exotic plants, flowers, trees and peacocks.

Step back in time and explore an old castle in Angera - the Rocca or fortress Borromeo - on lake Maggiore, still beautifully preserved, also housing an interesting antique dolls' museum.  Enjoy a stroll and free time in the pretty lakeside town of Arona and see the colossal statue of Saint Charles Borromeo, one of the highest in the world. A private tour to discover lovely corners of lake Maggiore!

This is a very special tour that will enable you to visit isola Bella at a quiet time of the day accompanied by your expert local guide fluent in English. The cruise at the end of the guided tour will make this tour even more exclusive, something that you will be able to cherish for long!

This is a special wintertime tour, available also during the Christmas season, that will allow you to see two of the highlights of lake Maggiore also in the winter: the hermitage of Santa Caterina del Sasso and isola Bella. Using a comfortable private boat ( covered!) we will enjoy a cruise on lake Maggiore as far as the lombard shore where we will visit the fascinating hermitage of Santa Caterina with its 16th-century frescoed church. The church and the two convents were built on very steep rocks on the lake and the view iof this incredible site from the water is really impressive. We will then enjoy another boat ride to isola Bella. The interiors of Isola Bella's palace and the gardens will not be accessible this time of the year, but you will be able to admire the beauty of isola Bella through its picturesque village on a guided stroll with your private local guide. You will also enjoy a private boat tour around isola Bella to see the whole island with its terraced gardens.

This is a nice tour to discover the famous Borromean islands off season, when they are like Sleeping Beauty and the Borromeo's properties - palaces and gardens - are closed to the public, but the two lovely villages on isola Bella and Fishermen's island can be discovered. Being accompanied by an experienced tour guide, you will be able to enjoy your visit, learning more about the area, the islands' old history, the aristocrats who ruled over the area, local life in the past times as well as nowadays.

Discover isola Bella, the jewel of lake Maggiore, on a unique private tour. Explore the sumptuous Borromeo palace and the incredible gardens on this lovely island in a peaceful atmosphere in the late afternoon ( but morning option is also possible). An experienced local tour guide will meet you in Stresa at your hotel ( if centrally located) or at the pier in Stresa to reach isola Bella by private boat and discover all its beauty at a lovely time of the day when most of the crowds have usually gone. Your private boat will tour around isola Bella to enable you to enjoy beautiful views of the spectacular 17th-century gardens built on ten levels and see the whole palace from the boat. Your personal guide will show you the richly decorated rooms and the grottos telling you more about the founders and owners of isola Bella's fairy-tale palace and will then take you on a guided stroll through the lovely gardens and the tiny village on the island. You will then head back to Stresa mainland.

Discover this enchantment island still belonging to a noble family, with a private tour guide. Admire the fantastic halls still all furnished and cross the rooms of the grottoes until you get to the Italian gardens. Reach the highest part of the garden and admire the view of Stresa and the lake. Relax on a beautiful 30-minute lake cruise with a nice glass of wine.