Things to do in  Lake Maggiore

Straddling the border between Italy and Switzerland, Lake Maggiore is the second largest northern Italian lake, but it captures first place in scenery and style. Ringed by picturesque towns like Stresa and Verbania that serve as ideal locations to experience the local cuisine—as well as jumping-off spots for the lake's gem-like Borromean Islands, handsome villas and their lavish botanical gardens, and vineyard-covered hills—the lake offers leisurely paced sightseeing, languid lunches, and an overall genteel style of holidaying that harks back to the Grand Tour.