Italy Two Centre Holidays - Lake Maggiore

Lake Maggiore is enclosed by steep mountains, sloping down to the verdant plains of Lombardy and poking into Switzerland. The Borromean clan set up their fiefdom on the Lake’s shores in the 15th century, and left the triplet Borromean islands in their wake. The belle époque resort Stresa looks over Isola Bella, the prettiest of the three boasting a palace surrounded by flora and fauna, but the resort is equally delightful, full of palatial villas and landscaped gardens, the air scented with magnolia. Take a steamer along this sleepy stretch of water and discover more verdant retreats, from the Villa Taranto in Pallenza with 50 acres of over 20,000 exotic plants or the wooded hills of the Cannero Riviera, at the foot of Mount Carza. Visit the grand castle of Angera on the southeastern shore, and the small but perfectly formed Eremo di Santa Caterina, a church that seems to have sprung from Maggiore’s lush hills. From the lake you are ideally placed to discover the snow-capped peaks of Switzerland; take a train ride through alpine vistas to Zermatt and Matterhorn or for true romance take a tour in a horse drawn carriage. Lake Orta’s quaint cobbled streets and the enchanting island of San Giulio are also only a scenic drive away.