COLMEGNA - PONTE TRESA

COLMEGNA - PONTE TRESA

15 km - 1 hour - easy

An easy route in the plain between the town of Colmegna and Lavena Ponte Tresa, border town between Italy and Switzerland on the road from Varese and out of the green ValGanna valley.

The first stretch of road is a chance to admire the beautiful view of the lakeside between Colmegna and Luino, unfortunately there is no bicycle lane, so we recommend caution. Around the lakeside of Luino it is a good idea to enjoy a break in one of the famous coffee bars of this pleasant lake town. Once you arrive around the Old Port, where a beautiful golden statue of the Virgin Mary stretches out its arms as if to protect the city, why not take a stroll along the small alleys, crowding on your left, towards the centre of Luino.

Back to the lakeside road, having cycled along Via Vittorio Veneto, a busy commercial street, follow the signs for the town center of Creva, where the path skirts the river Tresa, on the far side (a stream which, further down the valley, feeds the Verbano). A quiet and well-paved road will ensure you enjoy your ride with ease, its wide curves opening onto vast landscapes beyond.

Soon after the turn for the centre of Creva, you will encounter the only unpleasant stretch of the route: a passage inside a tunnel which is NOT lit up; luckily, the traffic within is controlled by a traffic light. Don’t worry: the tunnel is only a few dozen of meters long, and once you are out the panorama opens up to the left and you will catch a first glimpse of the low hills , first sentinels of the great mountains beyond, such as Mount Lema.

The flowing river and its chattery waterfowl will be your constant travel companions, as you wiz in front of the Border Station of Cremenaga, almost to the town doors of Lavena Ponte Tresa.
Once having reached Ponte Tresa, the road turns to avoid the old town, leading to the Swiss border. It is now time to decide whether to visit the center of Lavena Ponte Tresa (the old nucleus is Lavena), with remnants of its past seventeenth-century glory, or leave Italy and follow the soft flow of the waters of the  Ceresio, which turns, in this area, from lake into river (the Tresa).