BevS

Three women, middle aged and up, and we are traveling to "somewhere in the Lakes". Have been to Como and Varenna before and loved it and are looking for someplace different this time. We need a place easy to access by train and would like some charm and points of interest (ex. the ferries to the islands).
Please share experiences and thoughts. We are planning two days and nights for this portion of the trip.

Traveler863

Stresa is beautiful, highly recommended. Ferries leave directly from Stresa out to the islands and also take one that goes across the lake to the Hermitage of Santa Caterina del Sasso. We privately hired a ferry for $200 for 3 hours...so that is an option but I'll admit it was not the easiest task...apparently no one had ever done that before. The guy driving our boat had to shoo people away that tried to board it while it sat docked empty waiting on us.

For accomodations I've stayed at the Grand Hotel Bristol, very nice and also the Villa Carlotta but that is a few miles outside of town.

You'll enjoy Stresa, the town is delightful to walk through with shops and restaurants.

pat

If you stay in Stresa, be sure and take the train to Locarno, Switzerland. The scenery is awesome! Come back on the boat from Locarno to Stresa.

Raineydae

Stresa is only an hour train ride from Milan. Isola Bella, Madre and Superior is a short boat ride away. Many small charming towns to explore on Lago Maggiore. Stresa also has a nice promenade with beautiful views.

suntravler

Anyone know about these hotels in Stresa:

Hotel La Palma?
Antico Palazzo?

I have read about them on tripadvisor but any other information is welcome.

Does anyone know about a car service that would drive us to Malpensa airport?

Thanks.

joegri

BevS: The Verbano hotel on the little Island of Pescatore (Isola dei Pescatore, a five minute ferry ride from Stresa) is not inexpensive, but I would call it moderate. It is a three star. However, it is absolutely charming and the views, especially at night with the lights at Stresa and the Borromeo Islands , are fantastic. The hotel is old-world in architecture and decor. The dinning area on a vast patio, again with the views of Stresa and the Borromeos, is idyllic.
The little lanes and walkways on the tiny island are fun to wander, especially when you stumble upon a little shop (and you will, several times). Going back and forth to the other islands and to Stresa is done by ferry which run frequently and, again, "the views". You will love this little hotel where Toscanini loved to stay. Good luck

bobthenavigator

www.stresa.net

BevS

Thanks for all the input. The more I know, the better prepared we shall be. It sounds like a great place to go.

JeanneB

Pat:
Where can I get info about the train from Stresa to Locarno. Does that take us over the Alps?

bobthenavigator

There is no train from Stresa to Locarno directly. You train to Domodossala where you connect with the Centovalli train to Locarno. From there, you can take the lake ferry back home. Search under "centovalli".

JeanneB

Thanks, Bob. I looked at it...looks like a long day. We'll have a car, so will probably drive up to Locarno.

Weadles

suntraveler,

We stayed at La Palma a few years ago, and I would definitely recommend it. The hotel is on the main street in Stresa, and an easy walk to the center of town.

Most of the rooms come with terraces that face the lake. The views were spectactular.

The hotel had very good service, and a beautiful lakeside pool which was surprisingly empty in July!

lincasanova

from stresa go over to lake orta, stopping at villa crespi at san giulio or a tea or something. orta is a darling island also.
agree with stresa area, too.
we went to fun wine bar, then by recommendation for lunch at the train station restaurant. all the business men of town were there.

enjoy.
orta has some great little hotels also.

MrAmazed

Take the boat from Stresa to Locarno. It's a nice day.

JeanneB

Re: the boat trip to Locarno. How long does it take? Does the boat make other stops along the way?

cmt

When I took it FROM Locarno back TO Stresa, it stopped at each town along the way.

cmt

I've been hesitating to post on this thread, because my opinion may be so atypical. I did not like Stresa, and did not find it "charming" at all. However, mine is probably a minority point of view. It you want me to elaborate on negatives, please post somewhere conspicuously.

jmw44

cmt, I agree, but perhaps not so forcefully (I found a couple of quiet streets). I think folks gravitate there because at that end of the lake it's most convenient to public transportation. I prefer Locarno, Ascona, and my little discovery, Gerra-Gambarogno at the Swiss end of the lake. At the Italian end, I much prefer Cannero Riviera and Isole di Pescatore (apologies for likely spelling errors). There. I've joined you as a naysayer. p.s., BevS, I'm middle-aged and way up.

jmw44

Jeanne, the lakeboat (NLM) takes about 2 hours (if memory serves), and it does permit a dockside view of several pretty towns. However, there are not very many boats each day, so you can't hop on and off the way you can use Swiss buses and trains. You can check schedules by going to the sbb.ch website and plugging in Stresa and Locarno. But you must substitute a June date in order for those boat schedules to come up (they're not year round).
J.

jmw44

p.s. (I'm desperate for traveltalk) When a schedule comes up which includes NLM, you can go to it and click on the boat number. That should bring up the entire schedule of stops for that particular boat.