The Laveno "Bucket" Lift

Friday, April 21, 2017

The Laveno "Bucket" Lift

12:14 PM |

Dana Kaplan, Stresa Sights |

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Wow! Look at these views! These photos are from the website of the Funivia del Lago Maggiore, as it's called in Italian, but we all call it the Laveno "Bucket Lift." We call it this because the journey up the mountain is not in a gondola, or a chairlift, but truly in a large bucket that you stand in.

Having taken the ride, I can tell you that it is not as scary as it sounds. Here are some facts: The ride takes 16 minutes, and brings you to the top of Sasso del Ferro, an altitude of 1,100 meters. It's silent, and if you're truly nervous, there are also closed "buckets" you can choose to ride in. At the top, there is a restaurant and a bar, along with a park area, and a launching pad where you can watch the hang gliders, which I found fascinating.

The best way to get there from Stresa is to take the traghetto from Verbania Intra; the traghetto is the car ferry that crosses Lago Maggiore every 20 minutes. Just walk right on... Great views crossing the lake, and the ferry drops you in the town of Laveno Mombello, a charming town to walk around in before or after the trip up the mountain.

Here's the website, for all the information: www.funiviedellagomaggiore.it