From Milan you don't need a car to take this day trip to the
wonders of the mountain balcony of Mottarone on
Lake Maggiore: you just hop on a train of the "LeNord" private train company,
and in a short time you are in a magic place of lakes, mountains and views over
very wide spaces.
The "LeNord" trains depart right in the center of Milan, at
the Cadorna station, the one you are interested in, the "diretto" (direct)
to Laveno stops also at the Bovisa-Politecnico station in Milan, and in the
small town of Saronno before reaching Varese, and then Laveno, a nice little
town on the Lombard side of Lake Maggiore.
The train you can use for this
trip departs from Cadorna at 7:50 (7:58 at Bovisa, 8:13
at Saronno and 8:46 from Varese).
Check the LeNord site for up-to-date scheduling information to make sure that the
schedule didn't change.
Once in Laveno you walk few steps from the train station to
the ferry landing station, and in a few minutes you board the ferry to
Intra, where at 10:30 you find a boat that takes you to Stresa - Carciano on the other
side of the Lake, arriving in Stresa at 11:20. A cableway leaves at 11:30,
giving you the time to visit the Botanical garden as well as having lunch at
the intermediate station "Alpino", and then taking you to the summit of the
Mottarone mountain.
MOTTARONE
The Mottarone, situated between Lake Maggiore
and Lake d'Orta, is considered one of
the most beautiful natural balconies in the whole Piedmont and
Lombardy. The visitor's eye is struck by the summit of Monte Rosa
and by the seven lakes (Lake Maggiore, Lake d'Orta, Lake Mergozzo,
Lake Varese, Lake Comabbio, Lake Monate, Lake Biandronno) lying in a
natural basin. The Cableway Stresa-Alpino-Mottarone leaves from
Piazzale Lido, in the hamlet of Caroiano di Stresa.
It takes 20 minutes to reach an altitude of 1.491 meters above the sea level
and brings 40 people per cage. For nature lovers, 300 meters from
the intermediate stop of the cableway in the hamlet Alpino there
is the Botanical Garden Alpinia extended for about 40.000
square meters, with over 800 different species and from which you
can enjoy an incredible view of Lake Maggiore and
over the Borromean Islands.
For your trip back you can go on the same itinerary backwards
leaving Stresa - Carciano at 4:40 PM, and arriving in Milano at the
Cadorna station at 8:11 PM.
In alternative, from Stresa, a lively town you can visit in a few
hours, you take a "Trenitalia" (state railroads) train to Milan. (see the Trenitalia.it site for train schedules). Trains run from Stresa until 8:13
PM. Since they run on the Piedmont side of Lake Maggiore, on a very
different route than the "LeNord" route, you will arrive at a different
station in Milan, either the Porta Garibaldi or Stazione Centrale, and you
will not stop in either Varese, Saronno or Milano Bovisa.
If you are doing the entire trip, including the jorney
back, with "LeNord", ask at the customer service desk or ticket counter of
the LeNord Cadorna station for a single ticket that includes the train, the
ferry, the boat and the cableway.
You can also hire a private guide for all the trip, call
Myriam Gulla at 0331-958121 or mobile phone 347-7856903 to make
arrangements.
The Mottarone, situated between Lake Maggiore
and Lake d'Orta, is considered one of
the most beautiful natural balconies in the whole Piedmont and
Lombardy. The visitor's eye is struck by the summit of Monte Rosa
and by the seven lakes (Lake Maggiore, Lake d'Orta, Lake Mergozzo,
Lake Varese, Lake Comabbio, Lake Monate, Lake Biandronno) lying in a
natural basin. The Cableway Stresa-Alpino-Mottarone leaves from
Piazzale Lido, in the hamlet of Caroiano di Stresa.
In alternative, from Stresa, a lively town you can visit in a few
hours, you take a "Trenitalia" (state railroads) train to Milan. (see the 
