When the seasonal summer direct bus from Malpensa to Lago Maggiore is not running, the next-best way to reach Stresa is by train. The way to do this seems a bit confusing at first, but it shouldn't be.

To reach Stresa by train from Malpensa the fastest way remains to switch in Busto Arsizio (NOT Busto Arsizio Nord) using the Trenitalia trains. As you can see in the map below this is a much shorter route than going into Milano. Take a Trenitalia train from Malpensa's Terminal 1 to Busto Arsizio. From the Trenitalia station in Busto Arsizio take a train for Stresa. Purchase your ticket through to Stresa so that you are ticketed correctly.



If you are going to Milano however, there is now a new choice for you. The new Freccia Rossa high-speed Malpensa Express connects Malpensa with Centrale. From Centrale you can take a train to Stresa. 

Use the Trenitalia English website to plan your train travel.

This post answers many questions about train travel.

I am absolutely fascinated by this set of postcards depicting the Lido at Carciano. The images, including some renderings, are from the beginning of the 1900s to just before WWII. They show a Lido you may not have known had existed; a wonderland of a beach, with so many attractions and a dream of a restaurant, suspended high above the lake on stilts. Take a look at what you would have seen and done if you had visited around 1920. All the pictures have been copied from the blog Archivio Iconografico del Verbano Cusio Ossola, with the captions as they were presented, auto-translated into English. There is Isola Bella, unchanged, and perhaps you can spot other familiar landmarks in the area, such as the granite quarry on the Baveno mountain, to place where you are. 

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