If you’re ready to sit down and sip, the Hotel Belair Sorrento offers stunning views overlooking Sorrento and Mount Vesuvius. But the hidden back lanes of Sorrento are the most tantalizing, filled with shops selling gelato, limoncello, prosecco, leather goods, and more. Tasso’s statue sits in the Piazza Sant’Antonio. Named after an Italian poet, this is the center of life in Sorrento. Start your tour of Sorrento on Piazza Torquato Tasso. You can day trip to Pompeii, Positano, Capri, and even Naples. Wedged on a ledge over the sea, the cliff top town of Sorrento makes a perfect springboard for visiting the Amalfi Coast. > Click here to book a sunset boat tour from Stresa The terraced Italianate gardens are just luscious, with a wafting scent of jasmine floating in the air. Inside it’s exquisite, with an 8th century grotto, decorated floor to ceiling with shell motifs and mosaics. Their grand palace on Isola Bella is a Renaissance masterpiece. Lake Maggiore was their personal playground. The powerful Borromeo family, like the Gazagos, were Lombardian aristocrats. The highlight is the Borromeo Palace on Isola Bella with an 80 foot dome. They’re open to the public between mid March and mid October. The medieval streets are a delightful tangle.īut the best thing to do in Stresa is ferry over to the tiny off shore Borromean Islands - Isola Bella, Isola dei Pescatori, and Isolar Madre.

Grandiose villas line the waterfront promenade, which is made for leisurely strolling. But on the western Lake Maggiore you’ll find a real treasure - Stresa.Įlegant laid back Stresa is easy to fall in love with. Most people settle in at the swishiest village, magical Bellagio on Lake Como. The main lakes are Lake Como, Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. The Italian lake district is one of Italy’s prettiest regions, situated in the shadow of the Alps.

Small italian foodie towns