Lake Maggorie is accessible in may ways. By car, by plane, by coach or train!

Most of the towns around the Lake are connected by ferry, road or train. There are are airports close at hand as well. Lake Maggorie's visitors are from all over the world and good connections are vital.

First remember that Lake Maggorie is in both Italy and Switzerland. So consider where you are going and where you are coming from. Combination travel is often needed.

Coming from Italy we recommend the Milano-Domodossola-Sempione-Paris-London international line stops at the station of Belgirate-Stresa. This allows transfer to a ferry and then onwards to smaller towns. Fly into Malpensa or Linate/Bergamo and then go to Milan central station.

Coming from Switzerland, we also recommend using the excellent Swiss railway system (Zurich Airport-Locarno: 3 hours) and then by Ferry, Bus or Taxi to your chosen town. The Euro city / Intercity route from Zurich to Italy has its nearest stop at Bellinzona. Trains go every hour. From Bellinzona there are good connections to Locarno, which is a few kilometres from Ascona and other Lake towns. "Swiss Passes" offer unlimited travel on the Swiss Travel System (a network of 16,000 kilometres combining rail, boat, bus and public transport in thirty Swiss cities). In addition, you will receive a 25% discount on most mountain rail and cable car trips. The pass is valid for 4, 8 or 15 days or for 1 month.

The easiest way to get to this region is by flying into a Milanese airport. For UK travelers we have created a special page of links. Another but expensive possibility is to use a direct flight to the small airport Lugano then take a taxi to Lake Maggiore. See our useful air links for airports on the right.

We would alwasy recommend a map and guide, especially with the fractured nature of Lake Maggiore.