Stresa, Italy – Spring Jaunt

Enjoying the beautiful weather in Turin, we looked at each other one day and exclaimed it was time to go somewhere local again. Seeing a weather prediction of rain about a week and half out, we decided to travel to Stresa and Lake Maggiore for our Easter weekend. Little did we know, everyone else in Italy, France and Germany was thinking the same thing! So be warned, Easter may be a very busy weekend on the lake.

Stresa

We have been in Stresa before and enjoyed it thoroughly the last time. We rebooked the same hotel for five nights and left Turin, destined for new adventures in this beautiful lake area.

Getting There

From Turin we took the Freccia Rossa from Torino Porta Nuovo to Milan Rho-Fiera and then one of the Regional Express trains to Stresa for a total trip time of about two hours.

Where We Stayed

We stayed at the Regina Palace Hotel again, since we had such a good time on our previous visit. From there we were able to witness a forest fire that broke out on the other side of the lake. It burned for two days and was finally put out with the help of helicopters.

Regina Palace Hotel

Unfortunately, our booking put us in a rather large room, number 115, which was located right above the bar and almost directly in front of the main stairwell. The noise on our first evening was ridiculous and I did not get to sleep until some time after twelve.

The bar plays music from seven in the evening until midnight, and the later it got, the louder it got. So the next morning, I had our room moved to one of the extremities of the hotel, which was much quieter and overall much more enjoyable.

Regina Palace Hotel – Afternoon View – Stresa, Italy

Lungolago

Stresa has a beautiful boardwalk along the lake. It winds its way along the western side, all the way down to Piazzale Lido, another boat launch on the lake. There is only one short stretch you have to walk along the road, which is where the Borromeo estates are located, since they have complete lake access. Other than that, it’s a fine walk to enjoy the view and take photographs.

Lungolago – Isola Bella and Pescatore – Stresa, Italy

Restaurants

Since we have been to Stresa before, our concentration was more on day trips from the location, rather than visiting the city itself. However, we were able to enjoy some restaurants and cafes while we were here.

Il Vicoletto Ristoranti

A typical italian restaurant that serves fine food. The service is good and the meals are well portioned and taste great.

Menu – Il Vicoletto Ristoranti – Stresa, Italy

Erick – Il Vicoletto Ristoranti – Stresa, Italy

The desserts are exceptional, from the Almond Torte to the Panna Cotta, and commendable.

Tagliatelli with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage – Il Vicoletto Ristoranti – Stresa, Italy

Plin Sugo and Sage – Il Vicoletto Ristoranti – Stresa, Italy

Almond Torte – Il Vicoletto Ristoranti – Stresa, Italy

Panna cotta al Mojto – Il Vicoletto Ristoranti – Stresa, Italy

Al Buscion

More of a cafe or bistro, this little place has something for everyone. It is one of the few places in Stresa, where you will find more than one kind of soup being served. It is more known for its charcuterie boards and paninis, than anything else, though we never had the chance to order one.

Inside – Al Buscion Cafe – Stresa, Italy

La Piola

If you like finer dining, then look no further than La Piola.

We thoroughly enjoyed the food here, though we didn’t order any dessert. The pasta dish was excellent and very tasty, and Patti enjoyed here Chicken Cutlet as well.

Filetto of Chicken – La Piola Cafe – Stresa, Italy

Spaghetti – La Piola Cafe – Stresa, Italy

El Gato Negro Cafe

We stopped at El Gato Negro for a late lunch and glad we did. They have very tasty soups, salads and sandwiches at very reasonable prices. The pastrami sandwich, though not like pastrami in the States, was delicious. It had an exceptional dressing on it that complimented the tomatoes, lettuce and pastrami to perfection.

Pastrami sandwich – El Gato Negro Cafe – Stresa, Italy

Il Centrale

Though inside the city a bit, it is more of a tourist trap restaurant than any of the other ones we have patronized. If you are looking for something to eat, you cannot go wrong here, but it is definitely nothing special.

Placesetting – El Gato Negro Cafe – Stresa, Italy

The food is okay and the service is a bit slow. But for what you get, we found them a bit pricey and the coperto^[1]This is a cover charge in Italy. It is suppose to offset the fee of table linens, cutlery, napkins, etc., and is applied unevenly throughout the country. It will most often be found in tourist areas, … Continue reading was a bit high for our liking.

Plin al sugo and Salad – Il Centrale – Stresa, Italy

Pasta Vongole – Il Centrale – Stresa, Italy

References[+]

References
↑1	This is a cover charge in Italy. It is suppose to offset the fee of table linens, cutlery, napkins, etc., and is applied unevenly throughout the country. It will most often be found in tourist areas, where the establishments can get away with charging it. If so, DO NOT leave a tip, you’re covered.

2 July, 2023

Stresa, Italy – Borromeo Islands

Borromeo Islands

Of the five Borromeo islands that make up that small group in Lake Maggiore, three have ferry service to them, one is uninhabitable, but has a beach you can visit, and the other, not far off the coast near Pallanza, is small and not frequented by visitors.

CMA Ship Ticket – Tickets For Two – Three Island Tour – Stresa, Italy

CMA Boat Service to the islands – Stresa, Italy

One should note, at least for our CMA ferry service, the islands are visited in an order, as presented below. Altering this order is impossible, if not very difficult, so plan accordingly.

Isola Bella

Isola Bella is probably the most frequented of the three. It has an ostensibly renowned italianate garden, which you have to purchase tickets for of course, but they do include access to the palazzo and the other gardens on Isola Madre.

Isola Madre from Isola Bella – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy

The Palazzo

The entrance to the gardens is via the palazzo, you cannot just walk into them. We walked through the old fishing town thinking there were multiple entrances to the gardens, there are not. There is only one, through the palazzo and after the ticket counter.

Palazzo Borromea – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Entrance to the palazzo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy

A walk-through of the palazzo is provided in the below slideshow.

Staircase to Salone Nuovo – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Old Marble for staircase – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Sala del Trono and Sala della Regina – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Interesting desk – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Artwork – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Galleria Berthier – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Main Dining – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Sala Nuovo – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Diorama of Palazzo Borromeo – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Sala della Musica – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Murano glass chandeliers – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Puppets and Marionettes – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Odd rock style rooms – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Stone spiral stairway – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Hallway storing other artifacts – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Galleria degli Arazzi – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy

The gardens are accessed from the palazzo through what is called Diana’s Atrium, a small sub-garden with stairways to the garden. There is not much to see here and it is probably meant more as a meeting place, than any important adjunct to the gardens, so we ascended to the gardens almost immediately.

Garden Entrance – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy

The Gardens

The gardens do contain some interesting species, especially the old Camphor tree that was planted there in 1819 by Vitaliano IX Borromeo. It also houses a peacock and peahen, which will provide the necessary background noise in the gardens for any videos you wish to make.

Camphor Tree on Camphor Terrace – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Garden walkway – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Stairs to another level – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Peacock and Peahen – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Stresa – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Gardino d’Amore – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Gardens – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy

The Gardens – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Apparently the pride of the gardens is the Massimo Theater. A rather odd assemblage of opulent statues and finished by Carlo IV, it probably points to the decedent past these properties enjoyed.

Massimo Theater – Palazzo Borromeo – Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Isola dei Pescatori

Even though its proper name of Isola Superiore belies its size, Isola dei Pescatori is the smallest of the three islands. Its main attraction is the small fishing town that stretches from three quarters of its shoreline.

Small town streets – Isola Pescatori, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Narrow alleys – Isola Pescatori, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Jolly Roger – Isola Pescatori, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Hydrangea – Isola Pescatori, Lake Maggiore, Italy

There is only enough room here for restaurants, cafes, shops, boat docks and the odd park on the northwest side of the island. So, casually walking its streets and narrow alleyways is, more or less, the only thing to do here, aside from eating of course.

Rocky beach on the island – Isola Pescatori, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Park at the end of island – Isola Pescatori, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Isola Madre

Isola Madre is the largest of the three and for the most part is an island with a garden and palazzo on it. The garden is entered first, after turning right off the boat and taking the a long garden path walk around a third of the island.

Entrance to gardens – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Old Palm tree – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Coast – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Patti in gardens – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

View of Pallanza and Laveno – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Pallanza – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Once you pass the entrance, where a person will scan your tickets, the garden begins.

Entrance statue – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

The Garden

I found this garden quieter, more casual and more enjoyable overall. It has a few different sections, including a jungle environment which is very wet and grows ferns and other jungle type plants.

Looking back at Stresa – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Patti on garden steps – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Garden walkway – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Eucalyptus trees – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Flowers – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

More flowers and Dark Throat Golden Pheasant – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Dark Throat Golden Pheasant – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

More flowers – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Hydrangea – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Ferns in the wet part of the gardens – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

More ferns – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Old boat or gondola dock – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

An old Taxodium Distichum or swamp cypress – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Leaves of the swamp cypress – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

A rather poor specimen of Sequoiadendron Giganteum, labeled Wellingtonia Gigantea, or the giant sequoia – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Pathway and Bamboo grove – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

The Palazzo

Immediately outside the entrance to the palazzo is a huge Cashmir Cypress tree, that was once blown over by a tornado on the island and later saved. It is indeed a magnificent specimen.

The Cashmir Cypress – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

The interior of the palazzo is very interesting and a bit disturbing as well. It contains a lot of desiderata, so the displays can often appear disjointed and not themed well. However, taken as the idiosyncrasies of its creators and owners, it is perhaps more understandable. I found it enjoyable though confused at times, in its own way.

Antonio Albertini, Biuditta con la Testa di Oloferne – Palazzo dell’Isola Madre – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Exhibit – Palazzo dell’Isola Madre – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Statue – Palazzo dell’Isola Madre – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Cypress tree from balcony – Palazzo dell’Isola Madre – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Main room – Palazzo dell’Isola Madre – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Fireplace – Palazzo dell’Isola Madre – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Hallway crowded with extra furniture – Palazzo dell’Isola Madre – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Chapel and outside garden – Palazzo dell’Isola Madre – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Ivory and Ebony tabletop – Palazzo dell’Isola Madre – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Room with oddities – Palazzo dell’Isola Madre – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Bedroom – Palazzo dell’Isola Madre – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Bedroom for baby and mother – Palazzo dell’Isola Madre – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Cradle – Palazzo dell’Isola Madre – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Hallway – Palazzo dell’Isola Madre – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Elaborate mannequins with Marionette stage – Palazzo dell’Isola Madre – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Marionette stage – Palazzo dell’Isola Madre – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Marionettes and small puppets – Palazzo dell’Isola Madre – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Marionettes on stage – Palazzo dell’Isola Madre – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Odd women’s room – Palazzo dell’Isola Madre – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Dark hallway filled with unused furniture – Palazzo dell’Isola Madre – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Interesting painting – Palazzo dell’Isola Madre – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Study – Palazzo dell’Isola Madre – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Sitting room – Palazzo dell’Isola Madre – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Murano glass chandelier – Palazzo dell’Isola Madre – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Another Murano glass chandelier – Palazzo dell’Isola Madre – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Old chest – Palazzo dell’Isola Madre – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

The Chapel inside – Palazzo dell’Isola Madre – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Outside and exit to boats – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

We thoroughly enjoyed our day visiting all three islands. Though it is a lot to see in one day, it took us about five hours, it is manageable. It might be more difficult if it is hot outside, since all of the gardens are outside and the palazzos do not appears to have any air-conditioning in them. However, there are plenty of places to buy water on each of the islands, so staying hydrated should not be an issue.

Patti by Small pond – Palazzo dell’Isola Madre – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Our CMA ferry – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Leaving the island – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

The island from our ferry – Isola Madre, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Restaurants

Though there are restaurants and cafes on all the islands, we ate on the island of Pescatori because it was in the middle of our day boat trip to all of the islands, and at around half past one, it broke the trip up just about right.

Trattoria Ristorante Imbarcodero

The Trattoria Ristorante Imbarcodero is on the small island of Pescatori. In fact, most of the good restaurants of the three islands are probably here. It has a wide variety of Italian dishes that one can choose from the menu. For lunch, we kept it simple, since we were both not feeling one hundred percent and already had a substantial breakfast at the hotel.

From the boat – Trattoria Ristorante Imbarcadero – Isola Pescatori, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Trattoria Ristorante Imbarcadero – Isola Pescatori, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Spaghetti with tomatoes and lentils – Trattoria Ristorante Imbarcadero – Isola Pescatori, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Spaghetti in simple tomato sauce – Trattoria Ristorante Imbarcadero – Isola Pescatori, Lake Maggiore, Italy

1 July, 2023

Stresa, Italy – Quiet Lake Retreat

Stresa

Stresa is a small lake-side tourist attraction on Lake Maggiore, Italy. It is frequented by Italians, Brits, French, Germans, Asians and the odd American. It is only a tiny strip of about a few kilometers, where there are a dozen or so hotels. It is not very busy, unlike the Mediterranean coast, so it is very laid back and relaxing – a quiet retreat.

The area is know for its three Borromean islands, Isola Bella, Isola dei Pescatori (also known as Isola Superiore) and Isola Madre. More on these later.

The town is rather simple, but it has ample restaurants and other types of shopping. There is also an amazing AgriGelateria at Corso Umberto I, which has excellent gelato with all natural and authentic flavors, a must stop, especially when it is really hot outside.

Lungolago di Stresa

Stresa also has a wonderful boardwalk area stretching from Stresa along the lake front and becoming the Passeggiata del lago di Carciano, which is directly across from Isola Bella. It’s a bit over a kilometer and will take about a quarter to half of an hour to walk, depending on your pace.

Botanical walk towards Bevano – Stresa, Italy

Isola Bella – Botanical walk towards Bevano – Stresa, Italy

Lake Maggiore and Isola Bella, Isola Pescatori – Botanical walk towards Bevano – Stresa, Italy

Lake Maggiore – Botanical walk towards Bevano – Stresa, Italy

Hotel Regina Palace

In its heyday, this four star hotel must have been a place to see and enjoy. However, aside from its opulent structure, this hotel is a solid three-star hotel than what it’s advertised.

The issues we had while here for our short five day star were as follows:

- Our room was not vacuumed for our entire stay.
- There was no Hair Conditioner nor Body Lotion in the bathroom.
- The plumbing is old, requires repairs and updating, some things leak continuously.
- The walls in the rooms are paper-thin and the painting is dated.
- Room service does not fill everything you would expect, e.g. tissues.
- In the dining area – they do not replace things unless you request and even then you might not get it, e.g. syrup for your pancakes.
- In the dining area – you may have to seat yourself, the concierge is not very attentive. I know it’s Italy, but most of the time half of the staff is standing around doing nothing.

The hotel is in a very strategic position along the coast, it is both very close to the islands and the town, this was one of the reasons we selected it. So, if you visit this hotel, be aware of the aforementioned issues and go in with your eyes wide shut.