DK Travel : Milan and the Lakes : Smaller Lakes and Towns

While it is true that the lakes of Maggiore, Como and Garda are the best-developed and most obvious tourist destinations of the region, offering a wide range of accommodation and watersports facilities, do not overlook the lesser-known lakes and towns of Lombardy. The museums of Bergamo, Mantova and others may not be as important as Milan’s, the villas less grand than Como’s, but a few days spent off the beaten path can offer a rewarding break from the crowds that throng Milan’s great sights and back up traffic for hours along the Big Three lakes.

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Antica Agnello, Lake Orta

Cosy taverna serving lake fish, local game and creative regional dishes. Always the freshest ingredients.
Antica Hosteria del Vino Buono, Bergamo

Hearty bergamasco fare and some good tasting menus in the simple rooms of a wedge-shaped medieval palazzo .
Armani Factory Store, Vertemate

Well worth a visit, especially for the massive discounts (30–50%) on men’s and women’s clothing.
Bergamo

A vibrant city of medieval streets, fashionable boutiques and Renaissance churches, Bergamo is one of the Top 10 of the region.
Brescia

The industrialized face of Brescia hides a fine medieval and Renaissance centre, with several mementos of its time as a Roman colony (including a temple and theatre in the heart of the town). Installed in the ancient San Salvatore e Santa Giulia monastery is the excellent Museo della Città, a repository of prehistoric, Roman and medieval objects and artworks. The painting gallery (Pinacoteca Tosio-Matinengo) sports works by local Renaissance artists as well as the great Raphael and Tintoretto.
Caffè del Tasso, Bergamo

This historic café on the main piazza has been a local living room (and site of rebellious debates) since the 16th century.
Concerts and Opera at Fondazione Teatro Ponchielli, Cremona

Fancy hearing a string quartet composed entirely of Stradivarius instruments? Cremona’s Teatro Ponchielli is about the only place in the world where this happens regularly.
Cremona

This town has been home to some of the world’s finest ever makers of stringed instruments, a craft that reached its pinnacle in the 17th century at the workshop of Antonio Stradivari. It is hardly surprising, then, that Cremona’s top sights are fiddle-oriented: the Raccolta dei Violini is a roomful of exquisite 17th- and 18th-century instruments; while Museo Stradivariano pulls out all the big names in violin-making (Amati, Stradivarius, Guaneri).

Piazza del Comune, Cremona
Da Candida, Campione d’Italia, Lake Lugano

Elegant restaurant mixing French and Italian cuisine, famed for its homemade fois gras and polenta slow-cooked over the dining room’s open fireplace.
Due Stelle, Brescia

Satisfying foodies for over a century with local cuisine and a choice of settings: around a 16th-century courtyard fountain or by the fireplace inside.

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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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