Stresa, Italy Recommendations

travels

Oct 28

On our way from Zermatt to the Dolomites, we made a quick stop at Stresa on the shores of Lake Maggiore in Italy. We had three days and two nights, and we packed in a LOT of good food.

Where to Stay:

We rented a cute two bedroom, one bath flat on Air B&B with incredible views of the city and Lake Maggiore - . It was in a great location - close enough to walk to anything we were interested in, but a little tucked away from the bustle of the main square. There’s also a laundromat within a short, convenient walk. For hotels, we considered Hotel Regina Palace and Sempione Boutique Hotel.

What to Do and Where to Eat:

What do you do in in Stresa? Well, we mainly enjoyed the amazing food and drink that Stresa had to offer. We did enjoy taking the quick and cheap ferry to Isola Bella in the Borromean Islands. Note - just take the ferry! Don’t get suckered in by the guys in captain hats selling tours. The ferry is under ten euros per person round trip and you get all the same views as the expensive guided tours.

For food, the best meal of our entire trip was at Osteria Mercato. I had incredible mushroom gnocchi and Grey got delicious ravioli. Grey’s negroni was top notch and the aperol spritz I got was (at that point) the best of the trip. We enjoyed drinking more spritzes and sharing a cheese plate at Marconi Beach Stresa which was right on the water with great views. Since we were in Italy, we had to get gelato. We stopped at the Agrigelateria that was on the walk between our flat and the beach. Finally, we had an incredible aperitivo experience at Bar Moka Stresa. The aperol spritz I got here was the best of the trip and best of my life. We also tried a couple of delicious Italian wines, enjoyed the snacks, and soaked in the atmosphere.