Isole Boromee guide

Isola Superiore (Isola dei Pescatori)

Lake Maggiore's "Biggest Island" (more poetically called Isola dei Pescatori, or "The Isle of the Fishermen"), is the lived-in island, with a pair of hotels and some restaurants and souvenir shops

Isola Superiore dei Pescatori

The Borromei pretty much left Isola Superiore—frequently referred to as "The Island of the Fishermen"—alone when they were converting its neighbors Isola Bella and Isola Madre into sumptuous garden-palace combos.

There is a large palace (generally not open to the public), but otherwise they've allowed the fishing hamlet crowded onto one tip of the island to develop its natural quaintness into a major tourist draw.

Hotel Verbano, Isola Superioe dei Pescatori
A room at the Hotel Verbano, Isola Superioe dei Pescatori

The Hotel Verbano
and one of its rooms.
Best of all, you can use it as an alternative to staying in Stresa, since it now boasts two hotels: The Hotel Belvedere [€€–€€€] and, my favorite, the Hotel Verbano [€€€], a red-stuccoed building sitting at the very tip of the island, the gravel triangle below like a ship's prow set with tables for excellent al fresco meals with views over the lake.

Even if you don't stay here, try to time your islands itinerary so you can have lunch here.

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Isola Superiore dei Pescatori
Isole Borromeo, Stresa, Lago Maggiore

Tours of Isola Pescatori

Take a tour: If you'd prefer to take a day trip of Lake Maggiore and the Borromean Islands from Milan with an expert guide, consider booking one through our partners at Viator.com:

Hotels nearby

Hotels on the Borromean Islands

Hotels in Stresa (Booking) » More hotels in Stresa (Booking)

Isola Bella tourist info: For info on the Borromeo Islands, contact them directly at tel. +39-0323-30-556, www.borromeoturismo.it. You can also get info in the tourist offices of Stresa (ferry docks, Piazza Marconi 16, tel. +39-0323-31-308, www.stresaturismo.it and www.comune.stresa.vb.it).

How to get to Isola Superiore dei Pescatori

First get yourself to Stresa.

By the Stresa waterfront in the center of town is a dock where you can grab a ferry the leaves frequently, roughly every half hour in summer (tel. +39-800-551-801, www.navigazionelaghi.it).

Isola Superiore is a 5-min ride from Isola Bella (itself a 5-minute ride from Stresa). It is 20 more minutes from here to get to Isola Madre (with an intermediate stop in Baveno).

One-way ferry tickets from Stresa to Isola Superiore cost €3.50 (from Isola Bella, it's €2, from Isola Madre its €3.50). If you were only visiting Isola Bella and Isola Madre, individual tickets would be the cheapest way to go, running you €11.80 total.

Since, however, you apparently are also keen on hopping out here at Isola Superiore dei Pescatori (say, for lunch), it will be cheaper to buy an unlimited ride biglietto di libera circolazione—you want it for "tratta cinque" ("zone 5"), which costs €12.20.

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Isola Superiore dei Pescatori
Isole Borromeo, Stresa, Lago Maggiore

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