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Isola Bella

The Borromeo family's Baroque island of ten terraced gardens on Lake Maggiore, complete with white peacocks.

  • Stresa
  • Garden
Plan your visit
Where
Stresa
Best for
Ten-terrace Baroque garden
Allow
2 hours
Tickets
From €27
Checked September 2026

The Borromeo family began transforming this rocky islet in 1632, when Count Carlo III ordered a palace and garden built for his wife Isabella, whose name the island still carries. Four generations later, Vitaliano VI Borromeo had raised ten terraces of clipped hedges and citrus above the lake, shaped like the prow of a Baroque galleon and stocked with white peacocks that still patrol the parterres.

Napoleon and Josephine slept in the palace in 1797, and a plaque in the Sala Napoleonica marks their room. Inside, the Hall of Mirrors and a warren of artificial grottoes lined with shells and pumice offer relief from the sun before you climb back out among the statues.

Five things worth finding

If you see nothing else, see these.

  1. The ten-terraced gardenVitaliano VI Borromeo, 17th century

    Clipped hedges, citrus and statues climb in tiers like the prow of a galleon above the lake.Garden

  2. The Teatro Massimo and the unicornBorromeo architects, 17th century

    A stack of exedras and obelisks topped by the Borromeo unicorn; the white peacocks roam below.Top of the garden

  3. The grottoesBorromeo architects, 17th century

    Rooms lined with pebbles, mother-of-pearl and tufa, built as cool retreats from the summer heat.Ground floor, garden side

  4. Napoleon’s roomBorromeo palace, Napoleonic stay in 1797

    The room where Napoleon and Josephine slept, marked by a plaque.First floor, palace

  5. The Berthier GalleryBorromeo collection

    A dense, baroque wall of over a hundred paintings and copies of great masters.Palace picture gallery

Plan your visit

Everything you need before you go.

Tickets
From €27
Booking
No booking needed
Time needed
2 hours
Best time
The first boat of the morning, or the last hour before closing, to beat the day-trip crowds
Getting there
Isola Bella has no bridge: catch a public ferry or a private motorboat from the Stresa lakefront, a crossing of about five to ten minutes. There is no vehicle access or parking on the island itself, so park in Stresa before crossing.
Accessibility
The palace's ground-floor rooms and the main garden paths are reasonably level, but the terraced garden was built for effect rather than access, with steps between levels and gravel paths; wheelchair users should call ahead to plan a route.

Adults pay €27, children ages 6 to 15 pay €18, and ages 5 and under enter free. A combined ticket with Isola Madre is €40 for adults (€23 for children); a triple combination with Isola Madre and Parco Pallavicino is €55. Disabled visitors with 30% or greater certified disability enter free at the ticket office, and a family rate discounts the second child's ticket. The island is reachable only by boat, and ferry fares are separate from garden admission. Last updated September 2026. Prices change, so check the official site before you go.

Go straight to the grottoes on the ground floor of the palace before the terraces: they are nearly empty at midday while everyone else is out photographing the peacocks, and they are the coolest rooms on the island in August.

Official website
Get directionsGoogle MapsApple Maps

Good to know

How long should you spend on Isola Bella?

About two hours for the palace and garden. If you add Isola Madre and Isola dei Pescatori, plan a full day.

Isola Bella or Isola Madre: which should you choose?

Isola Bella for the Baroque palace, grottoes and terraced garden; Isola Madre for a botanical garden with rare trees. If you have time for only one, choose Bella.

How do you get to Isola Bella?

By boat from the Stresa lakefront; the crossing is short, and there is no car access, so park in Stresa. Public ferries and private boats both run.

More to see nearby

Same city first, then the nearest across the region.

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