Lake Maggiore: what to visit in Arona

Arona is a charming town in Piedmont, located on the western shore of Lake Maggiore. Despite its small size, it has a lot to offer. Nestled between the surrounding hills and the lake’s waters, Arona boasts a beautiful medieval historic centre filled with ancient buildings and occupies a strategic position for exploring the highlights of Lake Maggiore.

In just one day, you can visit the entire town. However, I suggest staying for an extra couple of days to take advantage of Arona’s location, which makes it easy to reach other interesting destinations around Lake Maggiore.

What to visit in Arona

The Borromean Fortress and the Fortress Park in Arona

Built for defensive purposes along with its twin Angera Fortress, the Borromean Fortress of Arona unfortunately no longer stands in its entirety. Nevertheless, it remains one of the city’s most famous landmarks. The origins of the fortress date back to around the year 1000. Over the centuries, its function changed, transitioning from a military structure to ecclesiastical and civilian ownership. It also changed hands multiple times before coming under the control of the Borromeo family. It was finally destroyed by Napoleon’s army in the 19th century.

Today, only ruins of the fortress remain. To reach it, you must enter Parco della Rocca, the fortress park, which offers a stunning view of Lake Maggiore. Entry is free and the site can be reached either by car or on foot, with a slight uphill walk from the town centre.

The Sancarlone

The Colossus of San Carlo Borromeo, nicknamed “Sancarlone”, is a towering 35-metre statue located on the small hill of Sacro Monte in Arona. Dedicated to Archbishop Saint Charles Borromeo, it dates back to 1698. The Sancarlone stands on a granite pedestal and is made of iron and copper. The most entertaining feature of this massive statue is that you can visit it both from the outside and the inside!

Visiting the Sancarlone in Arona is quite an enjoyable experience. From the ticket office, you can easily access a panoramic terrace with a spacious garden. From this elevated position, you get a fantastic view of much of Lake Maggiore. The park surrounding the Sancarlone also features some intriguing sculptures and picnic tables. For a small additional fee, you can enter the statue, and this is where things get really interesting. The visit starts with a simple spiral staircase leading up to the saint’s feet. At the back, a small door opens, and here is where the real climb begins: a vertical metal ladder, roughly 15 metres long! The highest platform is inside the statue’s “head”. There are two small windows at the back of the head offering a breathtaking view of the landscape below.

Although the climb is not particularly difficult, I would not recommend visiting the Sancarlone to young children, anyone with even minor mobility issues, those afraid of heights, people who cannot grip a handrail properly, or anyone who suffers from claustrophobia. In short, it’s not for everyone! Those who prefer not to climb can wait on the terrace and enjoy the stunning view over Lake Maggiore.

Arona’s city centre

The historic centre of Arona is small and concentrated within a few pedestrian streets and restricted traffic zones (ZTL). It stretches between the lakeside promenade and the parallel narrow streets, enclosed by Piazza del Popolo, Corso Repubblica, and the square in front of the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria Nascente. The heart of the town is the narrow Via Cavour, Arona’s main shopping street. With its old-world charm, this little street full of shops nestled between historic buildings is still completely paved with cobblestones.

One of the most beautiful squares is undoubtedly Piazza del Popolo. In the past, it served as a commercial and military port as well as a marketplace. Besides opening onto the lake, the square is surrounded by historic buildings. Notable amongst them are the Monte della Pietà Palace (14th century), the old Palazzo di Giustizia (the courthouse, also known as the Broletto), and the Church of Santa Marta or Santa Maria di Loreto (16th century). The latter is well worth a visit. Despite its small size, it houses a remarkable oratory, which is a reproduction of the Holy House of Loreto.

Speaking of churches, the historic centre hosts several, most of which are tucked between old houses. One example is the small Church of Sant’Anna on Via Cavour. Amongst the larger ones is the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria Nascente, dating back to the 11th century, which is part of the nearby Benedictine monastic complex. It stands at a crossroads that marks the end of the pedestrian zone. Right next to it is the small Beolchi Ossuary Chapel, a tiny monument from 1683 with decorations that balance between elegance and creepiness. Just around the corner is the Church of Santi Martiri, a beautiful abbey whose earliest construction dates back as far as the 10th century. In front of the church, a staircase leads down to Piazza San Graziano. While not particularly remarkable, the square is spacious and surrounded by charming low-rise houses, including the Archaeological Museum.

Among Arona’s historic buildings, Villa Ponti, the Orthodox Monastery of Christ Pantocrator, and Villa Cantoni are also worth mentioning.

Beaches of Arona

Arona has a very long lakeside promenade, but access to the water is not very frequent. I mainly visited Spiaggia delle Rocchette, a free beach located to the north of the town. It is near a fairly spacious pay-and-display car park, and I never found it overcrowded, even though it was high water season and the lake had swallowed up half of the beach. There are a couple of free cold showers, a chemical toilet, and even a drinking water fountain. There are more pebbles than sand, so I strongly suggest wearing water shoes! During my visit, they were dismantling the bar, which had a lovely elevated terrace with a view of the lake. Hopefully there will be a new one soon!

In the town, there are two other beaches, located next to each other: Spiaggia del Sorriso and Lido di Arona. The first one is probably the only real sandy beach in Arona. The second one is a mix of pebbles, sand, and grass, and you can also take advantage of the trees to find some shade.

I also visited a beach in Dormelletto, a small village 4 kilometres from Arona. The beach is just a short walk from the train station and a local bus stop. It is served by a bar and also has some fitness equipment. If the water is high, there is more grass than sand, but the water entry is quite easy, and I always found it quite and semi-deserted.

The lakeside promenade of Arona

The lakeside promenade of Arona is divided into two sections. One begins at the southern end of Piazza del Popolo and ends at the ferry terminal. This stretch is called Lungolago Caduti di Nassiriya and runs along the historic centre of Arona. Full of bars, benches, well-maintained trees, and a lot of foot traffic, this area is popular with both tourists and locals. The second part of the promenade is Corso Europa. It is much greener, with sports equipment, shaded areas, and passes by the Lido di Arona and Spiaggia del Sorriso beaches.

Day trips from Arona

With the boats that depart from Arona, it is possible to visit many small towns, villas, and castles around Lake Maggiore. Travelling by train is also not difficult. The only issue with driving in this area is finding a parking spot.

I suggest two visits around Lake Maggiore that include a boat trip because they are enjoyable and not too demanding for a day trip based in Arona.

Stresa and the Borromean Islands

The Borromean Islands are easily reachable directly from Arona, although the boat frequency is somewhat limiting. A more convenient option is to visit them from Stresa, a lovely town 30 kilometres north of Arona, following the western shore of Lake Maggiore.

There are many ferries that take tourists to visit one, two, or even all three islands in a single day. I found the ticketing system for the crossing quite confusing. For more precise information, I recommend a more specific post on visiting Isola dei Pescatori, where I go into detail about transport to these islands.

Among the three, Isola Bella is the most popular. The island’s gem is the Borromeo Palace, extreamely rich in artworks. Its gardens are a true marvel, featuring a greenhouse, various fountains, and beautiful peacocks. Isola Madre is the furthest from the shore, the largest, and the least crowded. Here too, you can visit a Borromean palace, although it is less lavish than the one on Isola Bella. The botanical park, though less eye-catching, has an even more impressive variety of plants and flowers. Isola dei Pescatori is the smallest and closest to the shore. There is less to see here compared to the other islands. It’s mainly a place to relax while walking through the narrow streets, visiting the small church, the beach and the lakeside promenade. I’ve mentioned this in the post I referred to earlier, which focuses specifically on visiting Isola dei Pescatori.

The Angera Fortress

The ferries to Angera depart from the Arona port and take less than 10 minutes. To reach the fortress, after the boat trip, you need to cross the village and walk for about 15 minutes. The road is uphill, as the castle is located at the top of the hill, but the path through the greenery is quite pleasant.

The Angera Fortress has nearly a thousand years of history and, like many of the monuments already mentioned, is still owned by the Borromeo family. Perhaps for this reason, it is not always open to the public. On the official Angera website, you will find the opening timetable and closure periods. The historic rooms, with their frescoes and some period furnishings, are truly impressive. In addition to temporary contemporary art exhibitions, you can also visit the curious Doll and Toy Museum, the largest in Europe.

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