You may not hear about many celebrity sightings on Lake Maggiore; there are no Clooney-caliber stars who spend their summers here boating with their A-list friends. Instead, there are small towns, botanical gardens, lakeside beaches, ample opportunities for hiking, biking, and boating, and a decidedly laid-back vibe when compared to its posher sibling, Lake Como.

At about 82 square miles, Lake Maggiore is Italy’s second-largest lake after Lake Garda. Its opposing shores are in two different regions of Italy, Lombardy to the east and Piedmont to the west. Its northern tip is even in a different country, in Switzerland’s Italian-speaking canton of Ticino.