Excursions on Lake Maggiore

A vacation on Lake Maggiore offers much more than just the beach and the lake. Even if leisurely days on the beach or water sports are an important reason for many of our guests to spend their vacation in Cannobio, at some point even the most beautiful lake and the most well-kept beach get boring. You also want to see and experience things that you will remember for a long time to come and that you can talk about with pride at home.

So here they are – our best tips for excursions, sights and exciting things to do on Lake Maggiore. You will see: the surroundings of Cannobio and the whole of Lake Maggiore are very varied and colorful!

City strolls – the quiet excursions!

Let’s start with something relaxing—strolling through beautiful towns. Here, of course, we highly recommend Cannobio, with its gorgeous Italian old town, the fantastic views in Sant’Agata, and the charming little shops and restaurants in the historic village center. A short drive—or easily accessible by public transportation—takes you to Ascona in the Swiss canton of Ticino. Ascona is a beautiful old fishing village, known for its outstanding cuisine and small but exquisite (and expensive) shops. The old town is perfect for strolling, while the local mountain, Monte Verita, is ideal for a short hike. Those who prefer something a bit larger can continue on to Locarno, known for its world-famous Festival del Film, which takes place in the city and on the market square during the summer. Both the historic city center with its famous piazza and the local mountain, Cardada (accessible by cable car), are beautiful. On our website, you’ll also find a comprehensive overview of the towns worth visiting on Lake Maggiore.

Parachute, zipline, bungee – pure adrenaline!

If a stroll through town is too boring for you and you’re in the mood for a massive adrenaline rush, we’ve got a few tips for you. Let’s start with the least extreme one: the zipline. 350 meters high, just under 2 kilometers long, and reaching speeds of 120 km/h. Feeling the thrill yet? Lago Maggiore Zipline offers flights like a falcon—reservations are recommended. But it gets even more exhilarating! Who remembers the James Bond movie *GoldenEye*? At the beginning, the British secret agent jumps from a dam into a Russian military base. Well, that world-famous jump actually took place far from Russia—namely on Lake Maggiore, in the beautiful Verzasca Valley. Today, you can reenact the scene with the famous GoldenEye bungee jump from the Verzasca Dam, which, at about 200 meters, is one of the highest in Europe.
You can also do it without a safety rope: Paracentro Locarno offers a skydive over Lake Maggiore (as a tandem jump). Even the ascent—during which you can admire the lakes of northern Italy from the airplane—is spectacular. Sitting by the open door and seeing the lakes and mountains from above does give you a bit of a queasy feeling in your stomach—but that passes quickly. The free fall from a height of about 5 km is probably the most impressive memory you can take home from Lake Maggiore! You’ll get a much lower adrenaline rush at Wonderwood —a beautiful high ropes course near Trarego on Lake Maggiore.

Shopping, museums & co – the best indoor ideas for rainy days

Even though it doesn’t rain often in the summer, there are occasionally rainy days in Cannobio on Lake Maggiore. The museums worth visiting on Lake Maggiore offer a great alternative. Of course, rainy days are also perfect for shopping!
A real money-saving tip is the Vicolungo Style Outlet in Vicolungo, a good hour away from Cannobio. This huge outlet village offers bargains on clothing, shoes, cosmetics, and everyday items. Vicolungo is located right off the highway; you can’t miss the Style Outlet, and you can easily spend an entire (rainy) day there. On the way to Vicolungo, you’ll pass through Gravellona-Toce—THE shopping town right on Lake Maggiore. In Gravellona, you can shop to your heart’s content at several shopping centers on Lake Maggiore. On the Swiss side in Mendrisio (near Lugano), there’s also a very large outlet center—the Foxtown Outlet —near Lake Lugano. Even though Switzerland sounds very expensive—you can often find really great bargains at the Foxtown Outlet. Here, too, you’ll find everything your heart desires: well-known brands like Armani, Hugo Boss, Versace, Diesel, Pepe, Hilfiger, and, of course, sports gear from Adidas, Nike, Puma, and Salomon. Household goods are well-represented, too, and with several restaurants and cafes, you can easily spend the whole (rainy) day here. And the big bonus: on the way to Mendrisio, there’s a large and very beautiful spa and water park.

Fun pools & wellness on Lake Maggiore

If you’ve had enough of the lake, there are plenty of alternatives around Cannobio on Lake Maggiore. Right on the Cannobio lakeside promenade (Lungolago Cannobio), Aqualand Cannobio opens in the summer—featuring a water slide, an adventure climbing park on the lake, and a trampoline park on the shore. In the neighboring town of Brissago (on the Swiss side) is the beautiful Lido Brissago beach resort, featuring a water slide, a children’s pool, a small swimming pool, and a diving tower over the lake. Larger and more impressive is the“Lido Locarno” —and, best of all, it’s open year-round: with indoor pools, indoor and outdoor children’s pools, a diving platform (outdoor only), and several large water slides, the Lido in Locarno is a truly wonderful place to spend a pleasant day. Right next door, there’s also a thermal spa with a steam room and sauna area.
You’ll also find a very nice spa with a large water slide park at Monte Tamaro (on the Swiss side toward Lugano)—the Splash e Spa. But the absolute highlight in the summer is Ondaland: Italy’s largest outdoor water park with a wave pool, countless water slides, and a huge area for toddlers. For water slide lovers, it’s an absolute must-see on a vacation on Lake Maggiore!

Hiking, skiing & co

A vacation in Cannobio on Lake Maggiore is also ideal for outdoor activities and fresh air. The Valle Cannobina (Cannobina Valley), which borders directly on Cannobio, deserves special mention. Countless hiking trails through chestnut forests and along the Cannobina river, which flows into Lake Maggiore at Cannobio, will delight every hiker. The two Swiss valleys Valle Verzasca (Verzasca Valley) and Valle Maggia (Maggia Valley) are world-famous. While the Verzasca Valley is wild and rugged, the lower part of the Maggia Valley is rather wide and accompanied by a large, broad riverbed. In both valleys you can go on beautiful hikes and enjoy Ticino specialties such as salami, ham and cheese or the famous polenta in rustic grottos. A real insider tip is the area around Robiei, which can also be reached by cable car. Here you can see a large dam wall from the inside and hike on one of the largest glaciers in Ticino.
Two nearby ski areas are particularly suitable for alpine skiers: in the Italian Piana di Vigezzo, a modern 6-seater chairlift (“Funivia Piana di Vigezzo”) near Craveggia takes skiers up to the ski area. From there you can reach the children’s lift and several downhill runs and chairlifts. A small but nice and not too crowded ski area. The Swiss alternative Bosco Gurin is slightly more expensive: here you can also reach the ski area with a modern chairlift and from there several drag lifts and chairlifts. Both ski resorts cannot be compared with the large Alpine centers, but offer pleasant and well-groomed slopes for a few days of skiing in between.

Excursions especially for families on Lake Maggiore

Many of the excursions mentioned above are suitable for families with children. There are also a number of attractions aimed specifically at families and children:
The Pombia Safari Park near Campora has a lot to offer families: animal safaris in your own car through enclosures with wild animals are just as possible as some smaller theme park attractions. Recently, there is even a small outdoor water park in the Pombia Safari Park. The interesting mix of attractions and themes makes the park very attractive for young and old. Monte Tamaro also offers some attractions for children in addition to other beautiful routes. The small gondola chairlift takes you up the mountain, where a summer toboggan run and flying fox, a small zipline and the large “Monte Tamaro high ropes course” with various levels of difficulty await. Another high ropes course is the “Wonderwood” near Trarego, about 30 minutes from Cannobio. And the BoBosco marble run hike in Valle Verzasca near Brione is something very special: a hiking trail awaits the family here, which can be walked in several stages and is therefore also suitable for small children. 16 large ball tracks, in the middle of the wonderful nature of the Verzasca Valley, offer fun and games for young and old. And the indoor tip for really bad weather: “Space” in Verbania-Fondotoce, a very nice indoor trampoline park for young and old!