Sail to Isola Madre, the largest Borromean island, and stroll the English-style botanical gardens where camellias, magnolias, and rare palms thrive beneath soaring cypress. Curving paths lead past ponds alive with dragonflies and shaded lawns scented by seasonal blossom.

Pause to sip a glass of prosecco with delicate biscotti and linger over views over Lake Maggiore. The island’s aristocratic quiet and naturalistic landscaping reflect centuries of Borromeo stewardship, creating a mood of cultivated wilderness and gentle lake breezes.

Glide along the shoreline by private boat to Cannobio, a pastel-fronted town of arcaded lanes and a breezy promenade, then continue into Switzerland to elegant Locarno, where palms meet Alpine peaks beside the Piazza Grande.

From here, board the Centovalli railway for a narrow-gauge adventure across stone bridges and deep ravines, past chestnut forests and cliff-clinging hamlets. Panoramic carriages frame sweeping Alpine vistas as the “hundred valleys” unfold towards Domodossola.

Explore Lake Como at its most refined, wandering promenades and piazzas beneath serrated Alpine ridgelines. Admire the sculpted facade of the Como Cathedral and the town’s heritage of silk and aristocratic villas facing sparkling blue waters.

Visit Villa Carlotta in Tremezzo to roam terraced gardens ablaze with azaleas and camellias, then step inside salons showcasing neoclassical art, including celebrated works by Canova and Hayez. Botanical colour and serene lake panoramas complete this quintessential Como experience.

Journey through northern Piedmont to cross the historic Simplon Pass, the high Alpine route engineered under Napoleon, where granite walls, tumbling streams, and airy viaducts showcase audacious mountain road-building.

Descend to arrive in car-free Zermatt, a chalet-lined village with flowered balconies and café terraces angled to views of the Matterhorn. Alpine engineering, dramatic geology, and storybook streets combine in a single, sky-brushed panorama.

Discover Lake Orta, a tranquil mirror ringed by wooded hills, and meander the cobbled lanes of Orta San Giulio where pastel facades, arcades, and quiet piazzas evoke Old Italy.

Take a boat to Isola San Giulio to visit the Romanesque Basilica di San Giulio, noted for medieval frescoes and a striking black-marble pulpit. Legends of the saint mingle with chapel bells and lapping water for a contemplative lakeside interlude.

Explore local terroir on a guided cellar tour at a family-run Piedmont estate. Learn how soils, slopes, and Alpine breezes shape the grapes as your host explains harvest traditions, barrel ageing, and the craft behind each vintage.

Sample regional wines alongside artisanal bites while hearing stories of Piedmont winemaking heritage passed down through generations. Aromas of oak, herbs, and ripe berries round out a relaxed, palate-led encounter with northern Italy’s vineyards.

Unwind above the shoreline and raise a glass of chilled bubbly at an exclusive rooftop sky bar surveying Lake Maggiore and the Borromean Islands set like emeralds in blue water.

Toast the evening as sunset over the Borromean Islands washes the Alps in rose and gold. This included welcome drink pairs Italian flair with wide-angle views—an effortlessly stylish prelude to your lakeside stay.

Enhance your Alpine day with an optional upgrade to the Gornergrat cog railway, climbing above 3,000 metres to observatories and open-air terraces facing snowfields and serrated ridgelines.

From the summit, take in a glacier panorama with the Matterhorn’s pyramid rising among a crown of four-thousand-metre peaks. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour with your Tour Manager, weather and local conditions permitting.

Discover Lake Maggiore’s island jewels as you cruise Lake Maggiore to the Borromean archipelago and join a guided tour of the lavish Palazzo Borromeo on Isola Bella. Step through candlelit salons, shell-studded grotto rooms, and frescoed halls while hearing the Borromeo family’s 17th-century story.

Wander the ten-tiered Italianate gardens, where statues guard lemon trees and white peacocks strut across terraces with lake-wide views. Continue to Isola dei Pescatori to explore cobbled lanes and a tiny harbor lined with fishing skiffs—an authentic counterpoint to Isola Bella’s baroque splendour.