Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BEST HIKING AROUND LAKE MAGGIORE
Parco Nazionale Val Grande
(
Click here
) Extensive wilderness trails northwest of Lake Maggiore.
Monte Mottarone
(
Click here
) Take the cable car up and walk back down with fine Lake Maggiore views.
Cimetta
(
Click here
) High-altitude trekking from the top chairlift station above Locarno.
Cardada
(
Click here
) Take the cable car up high above Locarno, with forest trails leading back down.
Via delle Genti
(
Click here
) Historic path that links Switzerland to Ghiffa on Lake Maggiore's west bank.
Valle Maggia
(
Click here
) Remote mountain trails in one of Swiss Ticino's loveliest valleys.
Festivals & Events
Stresa Festival
(
www.stresafestival.eu
)
A prestigious festival that dates back more than half a century, with
classical concerts, as well as midsummer jazz performances. It runs from mid- July to
early September.
MUSIC
Eating
La Botte
( 0323 3 04 62; Via Mazzini 6; meals €25-30; noon-2pm & 6.30-9pm Fri-Wed)
Polenta is at the heart
of this Piedmontese trattoria's business where they serve up all sorts of regional dishes
that will warm the cockles of your heart. The location is an unchanged traditional
osteria
(casual tavern or eatery presided over by a host) just in from the lakefront, with simple,
dark timber furniture and decades of accumulated baubles hanging on the walls. The
grilled polenta or risotto with blue cheese and pears are fine ways to get things going.
PIEDMONTESE
€€
Osteria degli Amici
ITALIAN
€€
( 0323 3 04 53; Via Anna Maria Bolongaro 33; pizzas €5-10, meals €30-35; noon-2.30pm & 7-11pm Thu-Tue,
closed Jan)
You may need to queue here, but it's worth it to dine under vines on one of
Stresa's prettiest terraces in the centre of town, just off pedestrianised Via Mazzini. If it's
a little cool for sitting outside, the indoor dining room, with its canary-yellow paint job
and round tables, is an equally good setting for getting stuck into a pizza.
