Things to see in Varese

Varese (Lombard: Varés) is a pleasant hillside city in Lombardy, a few kilometres from the Swiss border, with a cosy historic centre, stunning views of the namesake lake and the Alps and plenty of opportunity for outdoor and indoor activities.

Varese is the capital of its province. Its strong tourist vocation developed by the beginning of the twentieth century when the completion of quick connections to Milan, recreational and guest facilities.

Not far away from Milan, Como, Lake Maggiore and Swiss cities such as Lugano, Locarno and Bellinzona, Varese is a perfect base for visiting other centres and sites in Northern Italy and Switzerland.

Centro storico. Palazzo and Estensi Gardens with Villa Mirabello. Residence of Francis III of Este during his Signoria, granded him by the lordship of Maria Teresa of Austria. The palace was built by the architect Giuseppe Bianchi between 1766 and 1771. The parterre of the gardens (Italian style, French influence) is spectacular. The park hosts Villa Mirabello, a Tudor style building, today the seat of the Archeological Museum. Villa e Parco Augusta. Villa e Parco Recalcati. Villa e Parco Torelli Mylius. Ville Ponti e Villa Panza. In Biumo Superiore, in the noblest of the ancient "Castellanze", there are Ville Ponti, a complex of two villas, one in Venetian style (16th century), the other in neoclassical, both of them used as congress centers, surrounded by a magnificent English park. Just in front of the entrance of Ville Ponti, there is Villa Panza, architectonic masterpiece dating back to the first 17th-century Lombard style. Its marvelous façade overlooking the garden is an evidence of the neoclassical period. Today the Villa hosts an important contemporary art collection. Castello di Masnago e Parco Mantegazza. Villa e Parco Toeplitz. Palace Grand Hotel. Sacro Monte.