Stresa: what to see, where to stay and how to get around

Now in Stresa--:--:--

--°

The Borromeo family, counts and cardinals of Milan, have owned islands on this lake since the sixteenth century, and they still own two of the three in front of Stresa. In the 1600s they turned a rock into a palace and a garden shaped like a ship. This route takes the public boats from Stresa to all three islands and on to the gardens of Villa Taranto across the bay. A full day without the car; buy a ticket for all the islands at the pier, and the entry to each palace and garden separately. Most of them open from late March to early November only.

Live camera

A short history of Stresa

For generations Stresa was a fishing village on the western shore of Lake Maggiore, ruled by the Borromeo family, who also owned the islands off the shore. In 1632 Carlo III Borromeo began turning a small rock into Isola Bella, with a palace and terraced gardens named after his wife Isabella. In 1863 the Grand Hotel des Iles Borromées opened in the town, and after the Simplon Tunnel was inaugurated in 1906 trains from France and Switzerland arrived straight at the lakeside. In April 1935 Mussolini and representatives of Britain and France met here at the Stresa Conference, a short-lived attempt to hold back Hitler. Hemingway sent the hero of A Farewell to Arms here.

The ten best sights in Stresa

1
Palazzo Borromeo, Isola Bella
The palace and its terraced garden take two hours; go on the first boat, before the tour groups
2
Sanctuary of the Crucifix
The church of the Rosminian college on the hill, where the philosopher Antonio Rosmini is buried
3
Villa Ducale
An eighteenth-century villa on the lakefront, now a study centre on Rosmini; seen from the street
4
Rocca di Angera
A castle across the water on the Lombard shore, with medieval frescoes and a doll museum; 40 minutes by car round the south of the lake
5
Santa Caterina del Sasso
A hermitage stuck to a cliff on the far shore; come by boat from Stresa, or park above and take the lift or 268 steps
6
San Carlone
A giant copper saint above Arona that you can climb inside; on the way back to Milan
7
Site of the Hotel Meina
In September 1943 SS soldiers murdered sixteen Jewish guests of the hotel that stood here and threw their bodies into the lake; the hotel is gone, the old boathouses remain
8
Basilica of San Giulio
The church on the island in Lake Orta; look at the dark stone pulpit carved with monsters
9
Sacro Monte di Orta
Twenty chapels in a wood above Orta; a fifteen-minute walk up from the square
10
Museo del Paesaggio
Pallanza's museum, with a room of Paolo Troubetzkoy's sculptures; pair it with Villa Taranto

sleepntripRoad and rail routesEvery night on the road, our hotel

Whole routes, with a room up to $80 at every stop.

To the routes

What is an audio walk?

Tours in Stresa →

A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Stresa:

Free walking tours in Stresa

The Borromeo islands

Stresa ferry pier · The public boats on Lake Maggiore are run by a state company, and the same network crosses the border: the north end of the lake lies in Switzerland, and boats run up to Locarno. The islands are five to fifteen minutes away.
Isola Bella · In 1632 Count Carlo III Borromeo began turning a bare rock with a fishing village into a summer palace, and named it after his wife, Isabella d'Adda. The garden rises in ten terraces to the unicorn, the family emblem, with white peacocks walking the lawns.
Palazzo Borromeo, Isola Bella · Napoleon and Josephine slept here in 1797. In April 1935 Mussolini met the prime ministers of Britain and France in the palace's music room and formed the Stresa Front against Hitler's rearmament — an alliance that fell apart within months.
Isola dei Pescatori · Its proper name is Isola Superiore, and it is the only one of the three islands that is lived on all year, by a few dozen people. The lanes are so narrow that the island has no cars, and the fishing boats are pulled up between the houses.
Isola Madre · The island is one big botanical garden, with parrots and pheasants living loose among the plants. Its great Kashmir cypress, some two centuries old, was torn out of the ground by a storm in 2006 and pulled upright again with cables, and it still stands.
Villa Taranto Gardens · A Scottish captain, Neil McEacharn, bought the estate in 1931 and spent his fortune turning it into a botanical garden, which he named after an ancestor made Duke of Taranto by Napoleon. He gave it to the Italian state and is buried in a chapel in the garden.

A writer, a philosopher and a princess

Stresa became a resort in the nineteenth century, when the Simplon road and then the railway brought the royal families and the rich of Europe to its hotels. A philosopher spent his last years here, a princess gave her name to its biscuits, and a young American came to recover from his war wounds. This route walks the lakefront and the hill behind it, then drives ten minutes up to a village that sent umbrella makers all over Italy. Half a day, mostly on foot.

Grand Hotel des Iles Borromées · Ernest Hemingway stayed here in 1918 while recovering from wounds he took as an ambulance volunteer on the Italian front. He put the hotel into A Farewell to Arms, whose hero rows across the lake from Stresa to Switzerland at night.
Villa Ducale · The villa was built in the 1770s by the Bolongaro family, and the philosopher Antonio Rosmini lived and died in it in 1855. It was later bought by the Duchess of Genoa, mother of Queen Margherita of Italy, and took its name from her.
Bar Pasticceria Bolongaro · The Margheritine di Stresa, small butter biscuits with cooked egg yolk in the dough, were created here in 1857 by the pastry cook Pietro Antonio Bolongaro for the young Princess Margherita of Savoy, who spent her summers in Stresa. The shop still bakes them.
Sanctuary of the Crucifix · Rosmini, a priest from Rovereto, founded the Institute of Charity, the Rosminians, and built their college here on the hill. His work was condemned by the Church after his death and rehabilitated more than a century later; he was beatified in 2007 and lies in this church.
Villa Pallavicino · The villa was built in 1855 for Ruggero Bonghi, a writer and later minister of education, and bought a few years later by the Pallavicino family, who still own it. Its park now keeps animals and birds, flamingos among them, under old trees above the lake.
Museo dell'Ombrello e del Parasole · The villages of the Vergante, the hills behind Stresa, were poor, and for generations their men went down to the cities of Italy to make and mend umbrellas, with a slang of their own. The museum in Gignese keeps their tools and some hundreds of umbrellas and parasols.

Over the mountain to Lake Orta

Behind Stresa rises the Mottarone, and on its far side lies Lake Orta, small, quiet and turned the other way, with an island of nuns in the middle. The road climbs through the Vergante past an alpine garden, crosses the shoulder of the mountain and comes down to Orta San Giulio. A day by car with walking at each end; the centre of Orta is closed to traffic, so park in the car parks above it and walk down. Boats to the island leave from the main square every few minutes.

Giardino Botanico Alpinia · The garden was laid out in the 1930s on a terrace some 800 metres up, to grow flowers of the Alps and of mountains elsewhere. From its edge the three Borromean islands lie directly below, like a map.
Mottarone · From the summit, at about 1,490 metres, you can count seven lakes on a clear day. On 23 May 2021 the hauling cable of the cable car from Stresa snapped near the top station and a cabin fell, killing fourteen people; the emergency brakes had been deliberately disabled. The only survivor was Eitan, a five-year-old Israeli boy who lost his parents, his little brother and his great-grandparents.
Orta San Giulio · The main square, Piazza Motta, opens straight onto the water, and in it stands the Palazzotto of 1582, the old town hall raised on columns with frescoes on its walls. The village belonged to the bishops of Novara, not to any duke, for most of its history.
Basilica of San Giulio · Legend says Julius came here in 390, crossed the water on his spread cloak, drove the serpents and dragons off the island and built his hundredth church. The pulpit, of dark green serpentine stone from the twelfth century, is carved with beasts, and the sacristy keeps a huge bone said to be a dragon's vertebra.
Isola San Giulio · Most of the island is taken up by an abbey of Benedictine nuns founded in 1973. A single lane loops round it, the Way of Silence, with signs on the walls inviting walkers to listen and be quiet, in several languages.
Sacro Monte di Orta · Twenty chapels on the life of Saint Francis, built from 1590 and filled with life-size painted terracotta figures; since 2003 it has been a World Heritage site with the other Sacred Mountains of Piedmont and Lombardy. In May 1882 Friedrich Nietzsche walked here with Lou Salomé, and he said later that he owed her the most beautiful dream of his life.

sleepntripFree cancellationEvery room we sell cancels for free

Plans change? Until the date on the card it costs nothing.

Find a room

Getting to Stresa and getting around

Milan Malpensa Airport · The airport is on this side of Milan, about 45 minutes from Stresa by car — the easiest end of the trip to fly home from
Stresa Station · On the line from Milan to the Simplon tunnel and Switzerland; a ten-minute walk down to the lake

Cheap eats in Stresa

Stresa stands in Piedmont, on the Lombard border, and eats from both: risotto and polenta, cheeses from the Ossola valleys to the north, and lake fish, perch and whitefish, fried or in risotto. The local sweet is the Margheritina, a soft butter biscuit sold in tins. For lunch between boats a bar with a counter, a slice of pizza or a panino on the lakefront costs a fraction of a restaurant with a view of the islands.

Bar Pasticceria Bolongaro · Margheritine and coffee at the counter, about 3-6 euros
Pasticceria Marcolini · Pastries and brioche for the boat, about 2-4 euros
Caffè Savoy · Toasties and a spritz by the pier, about 6-10 euros
Caffé degli Artisti · Panini and salads in the centre, about 6-9 euros
Ristorante Pizzeria Rosa dei Venti · Pizza near the lakefront, about 8-12 euros
Ristorante Pizzeria Grano Duro · Pizza on the way up to the station, about 8-12 euros
Stresa weekly market · Cheese and salami for a picnic on the islands, about 8-12 euros
Bar La Verbanella · Coffee and a sandwich on the lakefront, about 4-7 euros

Museums in Stresa

Palazzo Borromeo, Isola Bella · Palace rooms, grottoes and the terraced garden; two hours
Rocca di Angera · Frescoes, towers and dolls; across the lake on the Lombard side
Museo del Paesaggio · Troubetzkoy's sculptures and lake paintings in Pallanza
Museo dell'Ombrello e del Parasole · Umbrellas of the Vergante makers, ten minutes up the hill
Villa Ducale · Rosmini's house, now a study centre; open on request

Nature and day trips near Stresa

Isola Madre · A whole island of garden; give it two hours
Villa Taranto Gardens · Tulips in April, dahlias in late summer
Mottarone · Seven lakes from the top on a clear day
Giardino Botanico Alpinia · Alpine flowers and the islands below
Lido di Stresa · A pebble beach at Carciano for a summer swim

Things to do in Stresa with kids

San Carlone · Climb inside a giant; not for small children or the claustrophobic
Villa Pallavicino · Animals and a playground, walking distance from town
Alpyland · An alpine coaster on the Mottarone
Rocca di Angera · A real castle with a museum of dolls and toys
Isola dei Pescatori · An island with no cars to run around

Where to eat in Stresa

Trattoria Due Piccioni · A trattoria in the lanes behind the lakefront
Trattoria La Botte · Piedmontese dishes in the centre
Osteria degli Amici · A busy osteria with tables outside; book in summer
Osteria Mercato · On the market square, a short walk from the pier
Enoteca da Giannino · A glass of Ghemme with dinner
Trattoria Imbarcadero · Dinner on the fishermen's island; mind the last boat

sleepntripNine conditionsA double bed and your own shower. Always.

A hotel, not a hostel. Air con, Wi-Fi, a score of 8 or more.

How we choose

Frequently asked questions about Stresa

What is there to see in Stresa?

The top sights in Stresa are Palazzo Borromeo, Isola Bella, Sanctuary of the Crucifix and Villa Ducale. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.

How many days do you need in Stresa?

Three to four days are enough to see the best of Stresa without rushing, including at least one walking tour.

Is there a free walking tour in Stresa?

Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Stresa, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The Borromeo islands.

How do you get to Stresa and get around?

The main ways are Milan Malpensa Airport and Stresa Station. Full details are in the transport section on this page.

Where to stay in Stresa, and for how much?

sleepntrip shows only rooms in Stresa that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.

Looking for a hotel in Stresa for your dates?

Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.

All hotels in Stresa

Plan a trip across ItalyLa dolce vita from north to south→