Breathtaking Lake Maggiore, Italy’s second largest lake, is Mediterranean in climate and has a backdrop of the Alps in the distance. The west bank is in the Italian region of Piedmont and the east is in Lombardy. In the north Lake Maggiore crosses the Swiss border into the canton of Ticino. Ferries criss-cross the lake from one delightful harbour to the next, passing picturesque lakeside villages with their bustling promenades and some also sail into Switzerland. There are markets to visit, shops and boutiques to browse around, colourful gardens to explore and pavement cafes to relax in as you watch the world go by. Stresa is a delightful, traditional Italian lakeside resort which has been popular with British holidaymakers since the late 19th century. It lies in a favoured position in the sheltered Pallanza Bay, on the western shores of the lake. There is a traffic-free Old Town with pavement cafes, ice-cream parlours and restaurants. Beautiful villas and gardens line the shores of the lake and semi-tropical flowers flourish in the mild climate, giving this area a real Mediterranean flavour. Baveno is an enchanting resort on the shores of Lake Maggiore, next door to Stresa. The delightful lakeside promenade has colourful gardens and there are ice-cream parlours and pavement cafes facing out to the small harbour. From here frequent ferries and steamers sail to the Borromean Islands and to other resorts and villages around the lake. Set back from the lakeside, the centre of the resort has narrow, cobblestone streets that lead into a 16th-century square with a beautiful Romanesque church. From Baveno it’s easy to get into Stresa in just a few minutes, either by local bus or by ferry. Our itinerary perfectly balances time exploring (we’ll visit Lake Como and Lake Orta, spend a day in Switzerland, visiting Zermatt at the foot of the Matterhorn mountain, call in at Lugano on Lake Lugano in Switzerland and sail across Lake Maggiore to the Borromean Islands) with time at leisure to take things easy and unwind in our lakeside resort. This is a wonderful, relaxing holiday which combines truly stunning scenery and the old-world charm of Italy’s most beautiful lake. Lake Maggiore has a mild, Mediterranean climate year round and the region enjoys 280 days of sunshine a year.