Lake region of Italy
 

has any one been to lake maggiore. we are considering visiting there in July and staying at the hotel bristol. What is the weather like then? Any news on the hotel? Any advice, suggestions. Any one travel from there to Zermatt Switzerland. How Long was the trip? Other thoughts. All advice and comments welcome. Thanks

Hi Diane, <BR>We stayed on Lago Maggiore last summer, at Hotel Regina for 2 or 3 nights and loved it. We went to all the islands one day, and it was fun. We ate dinner one night at Restaurante el Rustico, which was off the beaten tourist track and wonderful. You should have a wonderful time.

I visited Lake Maggiore in 1990 and stayed in Stressa (don't remember the hotel) but there was a very fun Irish pub in the town. We met a lot people, had great Irish coffees. The place was owned by an Irish woman and her Italian husband. Hope you can find it if you're in Stressa.

Diane,<BR><BR>We were in Lago Maggiore last July, stayed at the Hotel Palma, which is located on the main street, at the water's edge. The hotel has its own beach and a beautiful lakeside pool. We had really nice rooms there with incredible views of the lake and the Alps. While we were there, we had some memorable thunderstorms, common for that time of year, awesome to watch from the safety of La Palma's lobby, while drinking their amazing hot chocolate! Some places not to miss: The Borromean Islands, which are just offshsore from Stresa, esp. the Isola Bella and Isola Madre, both famous for their sumptous villas and terraced gardens,one of which featured lots of exotic birds including white peacocks! You can make arrangements with a water taxi for the short ride there. ( takes about 20 minutes). We didn't find any great places to eat in Stresa, although I'm sure there must be some. To us, that was the most disappointing part of our stay there, the rest was pure magic! Can't wait to go back... Have fun!

Diane: We were also there in late July and the weather was fine. We stayed at the Albergo Verbano on Isola dei Pescatori (Verbano Hotel on the Island of Fishermen {that's close}. While it is rated three star, it has lovely large rooms decorated in an old world style. The lobby and sitting rooms are beutiful as well. Dinner on the terrace with the lights from the Borromean Islands and Stresa twinkling close by is as romantic as it gets (you get the same views from your room). The food is excellent. You must get to the island by ferry which runs frequently or water taxi (your own private speed boat). Either way it is about a ten minute trip from Stresa. Stresa is a fun villlage with lots of shops, cafes, wonderous lanes to roam and, yes, good restaurants too. Wandering the Isola dei Pescatori is fun too. Really narrow alleys (remember, it was a fishing village) and little shops tucked in between the colorful houses. The ferries to the other islands are also short trips and well worth while as noted above. You can ferry to Zermatt or drive as a day trip. We loved our stay here. Have a great trip.

Hi Diane, You'll love Lago Maggiore, especially if you contrast it with a place like Zermatt. You didn't mention the length of your trip, but you could easily spend four nights there if you like to savor a place. All the islands are interesting and different from one another, and there are numerous lakeside day-trip destinations like Villa Taranto, Cannero Riviera, Ascona, and Locarno (if you boat or drive). And we keep hearing lovely things about Lago d'Orta just to the south-east of Stresa. <BR><BR>I checked the SBB site, and Zermatt seems to be about 3 1/2 hours away by train, but they would be hours with spectacular views. FYI, this past June Lago Maggiore was hot. J.

Wherever you stay on Lago Maggiore, be sure to take a boat ride to Locarno and the Centovalli train. Also from Locarno a 20 minute train ride takes you to Bellinzona and the three beautiful Roman castles dating back to 1200.