Lago Maggiore

Alex Bogenfreud, Flickr

Lago Maggiore

Stresa, Lago Maggiore

Lago Maggiore

Alex Bogenfreud, Flickr

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TT Tours Pan-EU 2023

Lisbon to The Italian Lakes

TT Pan-European Road Trip from Lisbon to Lago Maggiore, and home

Travelling from the NosAlive Music Festival in Lisbon back home to the UK across Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Switzerland, to include a long weekend on the shores of Laveno-Mombella on Lago Maggiore

The TT completed a Pan-European Road-Trip in 2023.

Lasting nearly three weeks and covering over 2200km, one of the highlights was this long weekend stay on the shores of one of the most stunning of the Italian Lakes, Lago Maggiore.

Close to Milan, Turin and Bergamo, the Italian Lakes span the Italian-Swiss border and include well-visited locations such as Lake Como and Lake Garda.

Lago Maggiore is equally delightful and as one of the largest of the Italian Lakes, it is shared between Italy and Switzerland. It is also one of the closest to the UK both overland, by air to Milan, or even by train from London St.Pancras International.

Perched high above the shores of the lake, just short of the 1062m peak of the Sasso-del Ferro mountain, is the Hotel Funivia.

This amazing location was home for four nights.

The hotel can only be reached by an alpine lift system ('funivia') from the town below, with the 'chairs' being a mixture of small enclosed cabins and truly open air 'buckets'. Looks fun!

All the hotel's rooms had either a balcony or a terrace, and all shared stunning views across the whole of Lake Maggiore towards Switzerland and the Alps in the distance. Our room was definitely one of the best!

Lago Maggiore long weekend:

Hotel Funivia at Laveno-Mombello

Our accommodation was nothing short of breathtaking - surely one of the most stunning hotel locations in Europe.

Locarno & Ascona, Switzerland

Verbania

Pallazo Borromea

Locarno & Ascona, Switzerland

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TT Road Trip to the Lakes - Itinerary

The TT will be in Europe ahead of The TT Lakes Tour, departing Portsmouth in early July for Bilbao on the Brittany Ferries cruise-ferry 'Salamanca'. The destination is a music festival in Lisbon, Portugal, taking place 6th-8th July. But come Sunday 9th, with the festival all done-and-dusted, the TT will be heading east across Southern Europe on a 2200km road trip through Portugal, Spain, France and Italy towards Lago Maggiore, the second largest of the Italian Lakes, arriving Friday 14th.

Day by Day ...

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Sunday 9th July:

Depart Lisbon heading east through Portugal to the Spanish border at Badajoz, continuing across the plains of Extramadura and Castilla La Mancha to an overnight stop at the ancient, hilltop, citadal city of Toledo.

Monday 10th:

From Toledo, the TT skirts the southern suburbs of Madrid to continue north-east across Castilla La Mancha into Aragon. The next overnight stop is in the fabulous Aragonese city of Zaragoza. The main aim is to visit the stunning Nuestra Señora de Pilar Basilica which dominates the Plaza de Pilar, the largest in Spain.

Tuesday 11th:

From Zaragoza, the TT crosses into Catalunya, heading for the southern Pyrénées to cross into France, bound for the charming small city of Narbonne, for the next overnight stop.

Wednesday 12th:

A much shorter drive today, from Narbonne to Orange on the mighty Rhone. But ahead of that, the aim is to visit the stunning Roman ruins of the Pont du Gard aquaduct, nearby. A UNESCO World Heritage site, it is said to be the best preserved in the world.

Thursday 13th:

After a brief visit to the second UNESCO World Heritage site on this tour - the roman amphitheatre at Orange - the TT will skirt the northern edge of the Luberon in Provence, heading towards the Alps and the last, en-route overnight stop at the small mountain-side town of Guillestre just short of the Italian border.

Friday 14th:

The final, morning's drive takes the TT across the Alps through the Col de Montgenèvre into Italy and on to Milan Malpensa airport to meet family arriving from the UK at lunchtime. From there, it will be just a short drive into the Italian Lakes for our long weekend at Laveno-Mombello on the shores of Lago Maggiore.

Friday 14th - Tuesday 18th:

Four nights' accommodation at the Hotel Funivia high above the shore at Laveno allows plenty time to explore the Lake, it's many islands, and delightful lakeside towns and communities.

Tuesday 18th:

After dropping family back to Milan Malpensa to fly home to the UK, the TT turns north heading towards the Alps and into Switzerland by the stunning, St.Gothard Pass. Pressing on, the TT skirts the western shore of Lake Lucerne to arrive at the French border just beyond Basel. From here, a fast, brief autoroute run brings the TT to the medeival town of Colmar in Alsace close to the border with Germany, for the penultimate overnight stop on this Grand Tour.

Wednesday 19th:

From Colmar, the TT heads towards the Channel coast of northern France, stopping just short at Amiens for the last overnight stop of the tour. There should be time to briefly visit memorials of these 'Poppy Fields of Picardy', scenes of many of the tragedies of the First World War, before the finally heading to the coast in the morning.

Thursday 20th:

A short run from Amiens takes the TT to Dieppe for the lunchtime ferry back to the UK to end the Grand Tour of Europe. Sadly, just pot-holed and congested roads home will follow arrival at Newhaven mid-afternoon.