5 Days in Connobio

Two hours if there is no traffic whatsoever, like at 3am in the morning. Fat chance during the day! You'll be driving through the Milan metro area.
I don't have places to stay to suggest, I generally stayed elsewhere on the Lake Maggiore (Stresa, Verbania, Luino, Locarno), so I visited Cannobio only from those locations for the day. Cannobio is the cutest village on Lake Maggiore, albeit rather small.
All I remember is drinking a lot of wine at some of the wine shops.
Places to visit, beside Cannobio itself:
- Borromee islands (in front of Baveno and Stresa)
- Stresa
- Locarno (CH)
- Cento Valli railroad (from Locarno to Domodossola)
- Orta San Giulio and Lake Orta
More ideas below:
http://www.illagomaggiore.com/en_US/home

Thank you, Roberto.....I knew you would come through!

Any other suggestions as to how to get to Lake Maggiore from Edinburgh? We don’t mind driving.....We drove almost 5 hrs. last Spring from Assisi to Vieste. But that was a beautiful drive.....Similar to our Highway 1. We have enough commute traffic in the Bay Area. Would like to avoid as much as possible in Italy!

Also, do you recommend staying in Connobio? Did you prefer stating in Stressa, etc?

Thank you!
K

Would it be better to fly to Zurich, and train/drive to Connobio?
K

Well. The closest airport to Cannobio would be Milan-Malpensa. That's right next to Lake Maggiore. EasyJet has a hub at Malpensa and I'm pretty sure they have a non stop flight from Edinburgh to Milan Malpensa. I'd look into that. Other airlines may fly the two, I don't know.

There is nothing wrong with staying in Cannobio. It's the prettiest village on the lake. It's small, but pretty.

Stresa is also nice, but a bigger town. I've stayed in several towns in the area over my lifetime and my favorites are Stresa and Cannobio.

Stresa is bigger town and convenient for the islands. Cannobio is a gem, but smallish, also a bit farther from the islands, but very close to Locarno, which is a nice town (albeit with very high Swiss prices) where you'd go for the Cento Valli Scenic Railway.

So it's a tough choice.

Zurich really isn't convenient.

If you drive through from Bergamo you may well wind up on one of the barrier-free no-stop pay highways. Recently some highways east of Lake Maggiore have been privatised and turned into toll roads. Even though the toll is low you need to register and pay it on line. No ticket, no toll booths, just a sign that you might miss.

If there isn't a reason you need to take RyanAir I'd suggest you consider using the main airport - Malpensa - which really is just a few miles from the southeast corner of Lake Maggiore. Consider legacy carriers and Easyjet. The Ryanair headline price may be less, but by the time you have added extra charges, fees, tolls, etc., you may find that you save both time and money by doing the other.

I couldn't get into Connobio when I was on the lake last month due to the road around there being closed. I'll visit it next time.

We stayed in Baveno - liked it there very much - and like Stresa very much too.

The islands are fabulous. So easy from Baveno and Stresa. Both Isola Bella and Isola Madre are incredible. We will be returning to spend another day or two in the garden of Isola Madre.

If for some reason you do end up flying into the Bergamo airport, note that the hilltop historic district of Bergamo is very atmospheric and absolutely worth seeing. There's a funicular to get you up the hill, so youmcman park the car down below if you've already picked it up.

Thank you for all of the wonderful information! I’m looking into alternative carriers, and also considering staying in Stressa. It sounds like it’s a more convenient location from which to take day trips. Really appreciate all of insights! :)

In looking at Stresa, it seems a little too large. However, I do see how far Cannobio is from the islands and other more central sites. Is there a town closer to Stresa, but smaller like Cannobio that you/anyone can recommend?
:)

The historical center of Stress is quaint and small. Lots of restaurants and cafes.

The historical centre of Baveno is compact, with a church that has a covered stairway and colonnade. I find it very difficult to describe but when you see it you will like it. A small supermarket in the centre, and a larger one north of town. The boats come to the docks in the centre, and the train station is up a hill behind the church. So boats (the Borromean Islands are just off shore, equally reachable from Baveno and Stresa), trains (to Domodossola for the Centovalli and Milan) and some buses. I stayed in a very simple family hotel (over 100 years in the family) but fancier ones are available. Not a lot in the way of activity or fancy (or even unfancy) eats. Very close to Stresa for anything you might need or want.

Stresa is also very scenic and pleasant - significantly larger than Baveno - but compact and easy on the eye. A slightly larger supermarket and lots of small shops. Same bus (equally as infrequent), boats (a bit more frequent), and trains (same line, a few more trains a day).

On the west side of Lake Maggiore the only two train stations are at Baveno and Stresa - the line moves away from the lake both north and south.

Baveno and even more Stresa are convenient for making the triangle (covered by a special €34 ticket) of train to Domodossola, taking the little Centovalli railway across all the valleys and through little villages to Locarno in Switzerland, and then back to the start by boat.

Roberto.......In looking on a map, where is the “historical center” of Stresa?
Thank you!

The old part of Stresa is the area with narrow streets in front of the ferry. Basically the area around City Hall, which faces the ferry dock.
I stayed at this hotel, facing the Ferry dock:
http://www.milansperanza.it/en/
It was a bit of a splurge for us (it is now almost $200 a night in Summer), but worth it (we live only once).
They have parking arrangement with the Regina Palace hotel, located a couple of blocks away also facing the lake. The Regina Palace was also a very nice luxury hotel (probably the top in town), but it was above my budget. Here is the Regina’s website, in case your pockets are deeper than mine.
https://www.reginapalace.it/en
There are cheaper accommodations in town, including family run B&B
While visiting the area don’t miss visiting nearby Lake Orta, in particular the quaint town of Orta San Giulio.

Thanks, Roberto!

We definitely would like to visit Lake Orta and Orta San Giulio. I read Isabella Dusi’s, “Bel Vino”, where she describes a trip to Orta San Giulio.......Sounds charming!