As well as a love for plus size fashion and gin, Hull based blogger Violet Glenton and I bonded over our love for Venice. Yep, you know I love it and with it being the only place in Italy I’ve visited and a firm favourite of Violet’s, sharing stories of the city and hearing about her travels all over Italy wet my appetite to see more of Italy (and eat more pasta).
So, why not start with the lesser known of the Italian Lakes, Lake Maggiore?
After a first time trip to Prague a couple of weeks earlier and as much as it’s a holiday, 4 days of city life, early mornings and long days had done nothing for my R&R levels. After a city break I feel like I come back needing another holiday to relax. Thankfully, I had a few days away at the Italian Lakes, more specifically Lake Maggiore (maj-or-ay) with Violet in collaboration with the team over at Bookings for You.
Where We Stayed On Lake Maggiore
Golfo Gabella:
Overlooking Lake Maggiore in the picturesque village of Maccagno, spectacular views from the on site pool and hot tub make Golfo Gabella is one of those “pinch me, I’m dreaming” locations. Golfo Gabella is the perfect place for those who want to explore Lake Maggiore, indulge in the traditional Italian local life and kick back and relax.
Want to head for coffee and croissants in the morning, lay by the pool in the afternoon and enjoy a couple of glasses of red wine in the evening? How about a morning on e-bikes riding through the local town and lakeside followed by an afternoon on the water in your own boat and some delicious pizza before bed? Or maybe you want to explore the area by car, head to a local bustling market and spend the evening rustling up a delicious dish in the comfort of your apartment to be enjoyed on your balcony overlooking the lake? Golfo Gabella is the perfect spot to deliver just that.
We stayed in a modern two bedroom apartment that sleeps up to four people (1 double, 2 single) with a large bathroom, spacious living area with kitchen and two verandas overlooking the complex and the nearby mountains. Golfo Gabella has everything you could need for a short weekend stay like ours or if you’re looking to get away for a little bit longer. Our trip to Lake Maggiore lasted from Saturday evening until Tuesday morning, giving us two full days to explore the resort of Golfo Gabella, the immediate area and a little further afield on foot, by bike and boat (the latter are available upon request through the resort).
Our stay at Golfo Gabella was arranged through Bookings for You, a specialist in luxury Italian holiday rentals that have a real love for Italy and will go above and beyond to ensure that you get the most from your stay and fall in love with the country as much as they have. The resort came highly recommended and was the perfect spot for us to get around and tick off everything we wanted to do and see during our first trip to the lesser known, but equally as beautiful of the Italian Lakes.
How to Get To Golfo Gabella
There’s two airports in Milan and Milan Malpensa is the one that the lakes are easier accessible from and if you shop around you can usually pick up a great value flights to both airports. From the airport there’s a couple of ways to head to Lake Maggiore. Take the train to Maggiore with the help of RailEurope (raileurope.co.uk). A return trip to Luino costs around 20 euro and the resort is a 15 minute taxi journey away. TIP: Make sure you keep hold of your train ticket as not being able to produce a valid ticket could result in a hefty fine and means less money for carbs and fizz.
Due to our late arrival on the Friday evening and early departure on the Sunday we decided the sensible thing to do would be to hire a car through Europcar to make arrival and departure as pain free as possible (TIP: pay for fuel allowance in advance and take a video of the car to highlight any marks/scuffs BEFORE you drive away).
Why Visit Lake Maggiore?
Maggiore is the lesser known of the Italian Lakes but is by no means not as beautiful or worth the visit. Named Maximus (or Maggiore) by the Romans in ancient times, Lake Maggiore has an area of 82 square miles and is Italy’s second-largest lake, Lake Garda being the first at 143 square miles. At 34 miles in length, Lake Maggiore’s shoreline touches not only the Swiss canton of Ticino but two Italian regions, Piedmont and Lombardy.
When the Simplon Pass was built through the Alps to connect Switzerland and Italy, Lake Maggiore became a popular tourist destination and by the 19th century was a popular weekend getaway for wealthy Italian families from the big cities. One family in particular, the Borromeans from Milan, purchased three rocky islands and over a generation, transformed the inlets into baroque botanical masterpieces. The Borromean Islands are one of Lake Maggiore’s most famous attraction and well worth a visit.
The lakeside roads of Lake Maggiore are very busy in the peak summer season, but the lake is just as beautiful in spring and autumn when the roads are quieter and if you’re anything like me, the quieter months are my favourite time of year to getaway.
The Works have a wide selection of travel books and guides for you to do some research before you travel.
Would I Return to Lake Maggiore?
Absolutely! Prior to our trip to Lake Maggiore I’d not travelled to anywhere else in Italy other than my beloved Venice (I’m aware that Venice is not indicative of a truly authentic trip to Italy and god forbid you class the Venetians as Italian). I was so lucky to work with the such a passionate team at Bookings For You who gave us the perfect itinerary during our short stay. Golfo Gabella is ideally situated to explore further afield and I’m already planning to return as part of an Eat Pray Love trip to Italy in 2019 so that I can explore more of Italy and Lake Maggiore.
Want to find out what we got up to at Golfo Gabella and how to spend 3 days on Lake Maggiore?
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