Lake Maggiore, west of Lake Como, is Italy’s second-largest lake. Lake Maggiore is a long, narrow lake with more than 90 miles of shoreline that sits in a beautiful setting in the Alps, making it an ideal location from which to explore the parks and mountains. With a fairly mild climate and year-round activities, it’s a good place to visit almost any time of the year

Stresa is the town best set up for tourism. It has many restaurants and shops, a train station and harbor with excursion boats, hydrofoils, and ferries to the Borromean islands and towns around the lake. Along the lake is a walking path with gardens and Belle Epoque mansions. Isola Bella is 10 minutes by boat from Stresa and from town there are great views of the island. Villa Pallavicino, an easy walk along the lake shore from Stresa, has a large zoological park with botanical gardens and more than 40 animal species.