By car
4 minutes on foot from the car park
Head for the public car park at Via Acquadro, 47 Bodio Lomnago VA.
From there, walk down towards the lake.
As you near the lido, turn left into Via Monte Rosa and follow it for 150 metres to the Museum.
By bus
9 minutes from the Via Risorgimento bus stop
Take bus V110 or V123 to the Bodio Lomnago, Risorgimento/Piave stop (in Google Maps, set your destination to Lido di Bodio Lomnago by public transport).
Walk down Via Acquadro towards the lake.
As you near the lido, turn left into Via Monte Rosa and follow it for 150 metres to the Museum.
Recommended route
Visiting the lido
Walking down Via Acquadro towards the lake, you come to the Lido di Bodio Lomnago ( 04 ), a quiet spot with sweeping views over Lake Varese. From the jetty you can watch the local wildlife and the shoreline vegetation so characteristic of the Varese lakes.
The boardwalk to the lake
Fifty metres before the lido you reach the turning for Via Monte Rosa, the street leading to the Museum and the boardwalk. Follow it for 150 metres: on your left is the Museum entrance, on your right the wooden boardwalk down to the lake ( 03 ). The walkway threads through a gap in the dense lakeside vegetation, letting you admire it at close range. It stops just short of the shore: here the plant life is out of bounds, considered too precious to cut through. Beside you, an information panel tells the story of the pile-dwelling sites and how they changed over time — and you will discover for yourself just how ancient these settlements are, resting today on the bottom of the lake.
Entering the Museum
Retrace your steps along the boardwalk and you arrive at the Museum entrance ( 01 ). The building, as you will see, is a giant of glass — and not by chance: its designers conceived it as a portal through time. Beyond the Museum lies a park ( 02 ) where time seems to stand still: at its centre, a small pond, and above the water a prehistoric hut raised on piles. Trees and cultivated fields enclose the park, shielding visitors from the bustle outside. And as you explore the Museum's collection — pottery and other finds from the lakes of the Varese area — you will be standing at the very heart of this leap through time.
