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The westernmost of Italy’s great lakes straddles the Lombardy-Piemonte border and pokes its head into Switzerland. The southern half was from the 15th century a fiefdom of the powerful Borromeo clan. Maggiore’s development as a holiday retreat for Europeans began in 1800 when Napoleon’s Simplon highway from Geneva to Milan skirted its shores. Maggiore is neither as resorty as Garda nor as breathtaking as Como, and while the triplet Borromean Islands are stunning, few of Maggiore’s other diversions can compare. Still, all this can play in Maggiore’s favour if you’re looking to avoid the over-development of Garda and the crowds of Como.
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Stresa’s top restaurant piles on the elegance with bow-tied service and a wood-panelled dining room. What’s best, though, is the vine-shaded cobbled courtyard, where you can enjoy hearty local dishes with a modern twist.
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The wedge-shaped 15th-century building has a frescoed loggia and splashing fountain. Rooms exude antique charm.
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A small hotel in the pedestrian centre of Stresa. Simple rooms have the basic amenities.
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Tucked away in the upper reaches of town, this restaurant is popular for fish dinners and a Valencian paella (for two or more only) for which it’s best to book ahead.
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This medieval castle, a Borromeo fortress since 1449, preserves a hall of crude frescoes (1342–54), which count among the oldest surviving Lombard-Gothic works on a non-religious subject. Wooden staircases lead to the tower and lake views. Most of the rooms now house a Doll Museum, with its splendid collection of Japanese figures and 18th- and 19th-century European examples (see Rocca di Angera, Lake Maggiore).
Rocca di Angera
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In thanks for being saved from a shipwreck in the 13th century, a local merchant built a chapel into the cliff face above the treacherous, deepest part of the lake. There are some frescoes, but the greatest attraction is the setting itself (see Santa Caterina del Sasso, Lake Maggiore).
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The gateway to the Isole Borromee is a pretty lakeside burg that offers hotels, a grid of trattoria-lined pedestrian streets and quite a good summer music festival (see Settimane Musicali, Stresa). Just south of town, the Villa Pallavicino has a botanical garden and small zoo.
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A country trattoria in the hills above Arona, with seasonal menu composed of excellent home-made pastas and stuffed game meats.
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In 1939 Mussolini gave the ancient Roman name “Verbania” to a group of villages here that include little Suna, industrialized Intra and Pallanza, an important town in the Middle Ages. Pallanza’s main sight is the landscaped garden of Villa Taranto (see Villa Taranto, Lake Maggiore), while its Palazzo Viani-Dugnani houses a collection of landscape paintings.
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A lovely retreat. The much-requested rooms at the front overlook the restaurant (see Il Sole di Ranco, Lake Maggiore).
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Hotel price categories
For a standard, double room per night (with breakfast if included), taxes and extra charges.
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Restaurant price categories
For a three-course meal for one with half a bottle of wine (or equivalent meal), taxes and extra charges.
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