Trip to Stresa
A few weekends ago, my parents visited, and we went to Stresa — a beautiful small town on the other side of Lago (Lake) Maggiore. Located directly between the lake’s shores (just south of the Borromean Islands) and the foot of Monte Mottarone (a mountain in the western Alps), Stresa hosts some of the most incredible views of the area. The town itself is also quite charming: filled with brightly coloured houses, grand old-style hotels, and parks with look-out points along the waters edge.
The two recommendations I got for the town were going up Monte Mottarone by cable car, and visiting the Barromean Islands. Monte Mottarone is a ski resort mountain with 21 kilometers (13 miles) of slopes, so it has various cable cars that go from Stresa to the mountain’s peak. During the summer, you can go up with the cable cars to the top and see the seven lakes of the area. The Barromean Islands are a group of three small islands and two islets in Lago (Lake) Maggiore. They are known for their picturesque scenery, palaces, and gardens.
The day we went, it was a little foggy in the morning, so we decided not to go up Monte Mottarone. Instead, we explored the town a bit. There was a market going on that stretched across a few parks and terraces along the shore of Lago (Lake) Maggiore, so we walked around that. There were stalls with artisanal souvenirs, bags, and wooden bowls, as well as stalls with special risottos, different types of olive oils, varieties of hams, and the most amazing array of cheeses. We tried many samples of the food. It was all really good. The cheese, especially, was one of my favourites.
We then took a boat to Isola (Island) Bella, one of the Barromean Islands. At this point in the day, it had started to lightly rain, so when we got to the island, we spent most of our time in one of the lake side cafés waiting for the rain to stop. I didn’t mind too much though, because the best part of the island was seeing it from the boat. Isola (Island) Bella has an Italianate garden built on a system of ten terraces. The garden is absolutely beautiful — the literal embodiment of what I imagine the hanging gardens of Babylon would have looked like.
Overall, Stresa was a wonderful town to visit, and I really enjoyed going there with my parents. It was unfortunate that the weather wasn’t great, otherwise I’m sure we would have gone up Monte Mottarone as well. I have been told the view from the peak over the lakes is breathtaking. I would love to go back another time to see it, and possibly even stay the night to watch the sunrise, which you can apparently see beautifully form the mountain’s summit. Hopefully, I’ll come back to visit one day.
