FREE TIME IN VARESE
The city of Varese offers you different opportunities for spending your free time. Among others you will have:
Moments in the Nature
- Picnic areas and recreation grounds: the many public parks form the lung of the city and offer moments of relax for adults and children in a context full of mixed types of trees. Most of the parks are furnished with picnic areas and playgrounds.
- The Zanzi Park is located in the village named Schiranna (on the shores of lake Varese). It offers picnic area with tables; recreation ground; connection with the cycle and roller-skating track around the lake. Nearby you find also a swimming pool and the historical seat of Canottieri Varese, the rowing club of Varese.
- Villa Toeplitz Garden is located in the village named Sant’Ambrogio (at the feet of Sacro Monte). It offers a picnic area with tables and a recreation ground. The villa is a beautiful building of the early 20th century. Unfortunately it cannot be visited, but the façade is indeed worthy more than a glimpse. However, the main attraction of the garden are the magnificent fountains that create impressive water features.
- Mantegazza Park is located in the village named Masnago: it offers a recreation ground. The park is all around the Castle of Masnago, that also houses the Civic Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. Therefore, the area is suitable both for adults and children.
- Villa Augusta Garden. It is a small park, but is one of the citizen's favourite when they want to spend relaxing time. It is really appreaciated for its varieties of trees.
- Villa Mirabello Garden it is located in the very centre of the city, as a part of the wider Este Gardens. In the Villa Mirabello Gardens you can find a recreation ground with a small train for children. Also, you will find a wonderful cafè and ice-cream parlour.
- Via Monte Tre Croci is located in the nearby of the village named Santa Maria del Monte (that is part of the Sacro Monte area, UNESCO World Heritage Site). it offers numerous picnic areas, usually placed at the beginning of the different paths that lead to the top of the Campo dei Fiori Mount.
- Paths for bikers and hikers: the surroundings of Varese offer many possibilities for walking or riding bikes into the nature.
- Cycle track around the lake Varese: it is a track suited for every age, placed into a wonderful landscape. It starts from the lakeside of Schiranna and it is nearly 29,5 km long. Along the track you can stop and visit some historical and architectonic sites. A few examples are the Voltorre cloister and the worldwide famous Isolino Virginia (UNESCO World Heritage Site).
- Many paths start from the village of Santa Maria del Monte, and they all are placed in the context of the Campo dei Fiori Park. For further information: www.parcocampodeifiori.it.
Varese hosts numerous enterteinment facilities. For specific information about events, concerts and movies in Varese, please visit the following website:
ITINERARY 1 (Estimated time: half day)
Starting point of this route is the central Piazza Monte Grappa, lively urban match point, probably the best known square of Varese. It was build in the twenties to celebrate the promotion of Varese as provincial capital.
On the northern side of the square there is Corso Matteotti; it’s a covered walk known as “Salotto della Città” ("living room of the city") thanks to the presence of exclusive boutiques and cafès. Nearly halfway, on the left side of the Corso is situated Piazza del Podestà; while on the right, through Arco Mera, people can reach Piazza San Vittore, where the homonym Basilica (also known as "Varese Dome"). On the right of the Basilica, and adjacent in Piazzetta del Battistero, there are the Torre Campanaria and the Battistero di San Giovanni Battista.
Coming back in Corso Matteotti, people can walk until its end, marked by Piazza Carducci, and then continue in via San Martino, at the end of which there are the homonym church and the courthouse.
Going back to Piazza Carducci, people can take via Albuzzi, the ancient heart of the town and go on in Vicolo Perabò where is possible to admire a beautiful gothic window made of cotto.
Ended the visit of the town centre, people come back in Piazza Monte Grappa and taking first via Marcobi and via Sacco, people reach Palazzo Estense and its enchanting gardens. After a visit at the Archeological Museum of Villa Mirabello, returning towards the town centre people can still visit Chiesa di Sant’Antonio (only in the morning) in Piazza della Motta and Chiesa di San Giuseppe in the homonym square; at the end of the visit people arrive in the modern Piazza della Repubblica, where are situated some of the most important buildings of the town, like as the University, the Theatre and the disused Caserma Garibaldi.
For further information about monuments to visit, download our PDF guides.
ITINERARY 2 (Full day)
Tour of the sacred way and Santa Maria del Monte sopra Varese
The tour starts from Prima Cappella, (accessible by car or by the line C bus). From here, going through a pilgrimage way with 14 chappels represented the Misteries of Rosary, people can reach Santa Maria del Monte sopra Varese.
It is also possible to reach the ancient village with the funicular, that has already celebrated a century of its life.
For more information: AVT Varese.
Il Parco Campo dei Fiori
The trip through Campo dei Fiori and Forte di Orino is a mix between art, nature and history.
The Park is accessible by car or by the line C bus ( from piazzale Pogliaghi, end of the line, there is a shuttle service to Campo dei Fiori).
From Campo dei Fiori people can admire the enchant landscape, the lake, the green hills and the Monte Rosa.
The Campo dei Fiori is well known for the liberty style: Grand Hotel Campo dei Fiori, the “Campo dei Fiori” restaurant and the funicular station “Vellone-Campo dei Fiori”. These buildings, dated back to the first decade of 20th century, were built for touristic needs because Varese became the favorite destination of the middle-class.
At Campo dei Fiori there is also the Astronomic Observatory “G.V. Schiapparelli” with the Botanic Garden (who gives the opportunity to know the nature and the different phenomenon around us.)
Near the parking, different path branch out (some of them can be covered also by mountain bike).
Among them, particularly interesting is the one that brings to Forte di Orino (little military fort built by General Cadorna, during the first world war, as defense of a possible Austro-Hungarian attach from the north), from where you can admire a spectacular landscape of the valleys and lakes of Varese and Canton Ticino, which is some more beautiful in spring thanks to the flowering of different kind of flowers (in particular that of narcissus at the end of April).
For further information, download our PDF guides and visit the website Parco Campo dei Fiori.
ITINERARY 3
Journey to Lake Varese
Locality Schiranna (accessible by car or by the line N bus) offers different opportunities to spend a day: there is a park with a picnic area, a playground, a swimming pool and a cycle track around the lake.
ITINERARY 4: A journey around the villas
An opportunity for whom loves parks and nature, is to visit the old villas, with their gardens, site in the municipal area that have contributed to create “Varese Città Giardino”.
First step: Palazzo Estense (municipal building) and its gardens, Villa Mirabello (archeological museum). Going down through Casbeno people can visit the park of Villa Recalcati, site of the Province and Prefecture.
Second step: Castello di Masnago (site of a museum of modern and contemporary art). Not far from the castle there is Villa Baragiola (now municipal building), where the people can visit only the park.
Third step: Villa Toeplitz and the ethnographic museum (admission only by appointment, tel. 0332/281590)
Fourth step: Villa Mylius, Villa Panza, (FAI property, museum of contemporary art and site of temporary exhibition) and Ville Ponti (meeting centre, property of the Chamber of Commerce, only sometimes the park is open)
Fifth step: Villa Augusta, it is possible to visit only the park.
