Some places hold their reputation lightly, and then there are the Borromean Islands, three small scraps of land in the Borromean Gulf that have been drawing travellers across the water for centuries and have never once disappointed me. I have crossed to them in the flat gold light of early morning and in the long shadows of late afternoon, and each time the little archipelago reveals something new: a peacock stepping through a hedge, a grotto lined with shells, a plate of perch eaten at the water’s edge with a baroque palace shimmering across the channel. This is my complete guide to visiting all three, what to see, what it costs, how to reach them, and how to do the whole thing in a single unhurried day.
The Borromeo Backstory
To understand the islands you have to understand the family whose name they still carry. The Borromeo have owned this corner of Lake Maggiore for roughly four hundred years, and unlike so many aristocratic dynasties whose estates have long since passed into public hands, they hold the islands still. That continuity is the reason the palaces feel lived in rather than embalmed, the gardens tended rather than merely preserved. Look for the family’s motto and its heraldic unicorn worked into the crest, a small detail that reappears across the terraces of Isola Bella once you know to watch for it. The result of four centuries of ambition and taste is an archipelago that feels less like a museum and more like a private world you have been briefly, graciously allowed to enter.
Isola Bella
If the islands have a showpiece, it is Isola Bella, and it wears the role without apology. The baroque Palazzo Borromeo rises straight from the water, and inside you move through grand halls, tapestry rooms, and the extraordinary shell-encrusted grottoes below, cool chambers lined entirely in pebbles and shells that were designed as a summer refuge from the heat. Then you step out into the gardens, ten terraces stacked and shaped like the stern of a ship, so that from the top the whole confection seems to be sailing out into the gulf. White peacocks patrol the topmost terrace as though they own it, which in a sense they do. Give it around two hours to do it properly, palace and garden both. A combined palace and garden ticket runs to about €27, which for what you get is fair. My advice is to walk the palace first while your legs are fresh, then let the gardens be your reward.
Isola Madre
Isola Madre is the one I quietly love best, and I say that having spent a great deal of time deciding. Where Isola Bella dazzles, Isola Madre soothes. The whole island is essentially one great English-style botanical garden, generous and green and gently overgrown in the loveliest way, with a giant Kashmir cypress that has stood for well over a century as its centrepiece. White peacocks roam freely here too, but the atmosphere is entirely different: slower, softer, almost melancholy. The villa at its heart is faded and full of character rather than gloss, and I find that patina far more moving than any amount of gilding. Budget about an hour and a half. The garden ticket is around €23. If you come to Maggiore for the gardens, and many people do, this is the island that will stay with you longest.
Isola dei Pescatori
The third island, Isola dei Pescatori, also called Isola Superiore, is the human counterweight to the other two. There is no palace and no grand garden here, and crucially there is no admission fee, because this is a genuine working fishing village where people still live. It is free to land, and you simply wander: narrow lanes barely wide enough for two, washing strung between shuttered houses, boats pulled up on the shingle. The point of Pescatori is lunch. The lake-fish restaurants here are the real thing, among them Ristorante Verbano and Trattoria Imbarcadero, both of which put tables right at the water’s edge. Order the persico (perch) or the lavarello (whitefish), pulled from the lake and simply cooked, and eat it with Isola Bella glittering across the channel. An hour over a long lunch is about right.
Tickets, Combined Passes and the Season
The islands run on the Borromeo calendar, and you must respect it. They open from roughly 12 March to 8 November, with the palaces and gardens welcoming visitors from about 10:00 to 18:00. Outside that window the palaces and gardens close entirely and the ferries drop to a reduced winter timetable, so a visit out of season means a lot of looking at locked gates from the water. Plan accordingly.
On tickets, buying in combination saves money. Isola Bella and Isola Madre together come to around €40, a useful saving over the two bought separately. There is also a three-site pass at about €55 that adds Parco Pallavicino, a park on the mainland near Stresa, for anyone wanting to extend the theme onto dry land. Isola dei Pescatori, as noted, costs nothing to visit; you pay only for your lunch. Treat all of these euro figures as indicative bands rather than fixed prices, and check before you travel.
How to Reach the Islands
Getting across is refreshingly simple, which is part of the archipelago’s charm. The public ferries of Navigazione Lago Maggiore serve all three islands from Stresa, Baveno and Verbania, and the crossings take only minutes, so the islands are never more than a short hop from your morning coffee. Stresa is the classic launch point and the most frequent, but Baveno and Verbania are perfectly good alternatives if you are based on that side of the gulf. If you would rather set your own schedule, the private taxi boats will take you island to island on demand for rather more money and rather less waiting. I have written more on ferries, timetables and boats in my guide to getting there and around by boat, which is worth a look before you go.
Doing All Three in a Day
All three islands make one full, unhurried day, and the order matters more than people expect. Here is what I would do. Take the first sensible ferry across and start on Isola Bella while the crowds are still finishing breakfast, giving it your two hours before the midday tour groups descend. Hop next to Isola dei Pescatori for a long lunch of perch at the water’s edge, timing it so you are eating while the day-trippers are queuing. Save Isola Madre for the afternoon, when its gardens are at their quietest and the light through the cypress is at its best.
The single most useful thing I can tell you is to avoid the midday crush. The day-trip coaches arrive late morning and leave in the afternoon, so the islands are busiest between roughly eleven and three. Go early or stay into the late afternoon and you will have terraces and lanes half to yourself. It is the difference between admiring the islands and falling for them. For how this slots into a wider trip, see the perfect itinerary.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are the Borromean Islands worth it?
Yes, wholeheartedly, and I do not say that lightly about anywhere ticketed. The combination of baroque theatre on Isola Bella, botanical calm on Isola Madre and a genuine fishing village on Pescatori is unlike anything else on the Italian lakes, and the short ferry hops make it all remarkably easy. Go early or late to sidestep the crowds and it becomes one of the great days out in northern Italy.
How long do you need, and can you do all three in a day?
You can absolutely do all three in a single day, and I would recommend it. Allow roughly two hours for Isola Bella, an hour and a half for Isola Madre, and an hour over lunch on Pescatori, plus the short ferry crossings between them. That adds up to one full, comfortably paced day rather than a rushed one, so start early and you will not feel hurried.
Which island is best?
It depends on what moves you. Isola Bella is the grand spectacle, all palace and terraced gardens, while Pescatori is the one for atmosphere and lunch. My own quiet favourite is Isola Madre, whose faded villa and gentle botanical gardens stay with me long after the baroque dazzle has faded. If you can only manage one, choose by mood: drama, appetite, or peace.
Can you visit for free?
Partly. Isola dei Pescatori is free to land on, since it is a living village rather than a Borromeo attraction, so you can wander its lanes and eat by the water without buying a ticket. Isola Bella and Isola Madre both charge admission for their palaces and gardens, around €27 and €23 respectively, though you still pay only the ferry fare to sail past and admire them from the lake.
Related
For more on planning your visit, read the perfect itinerary, my guide to getting there and around by boat, and where to eat on Lake Maggiore, or step back to the complete guide to Lake Maggiore.
