re : stresa 🗺

So how was it in Stresa? Really nice and some of the things covered in that article did not cover up so lets get that sorted.

No cable car

So the cable car is not operating. There was some kind of official note on the station down in Stresa that I didn’t understand. No worries - I had rented a car and it was possible to drive up the mountain. Mottarone - as it is called. Really lovely tour. And what if there is not a nice little cafe on top of the mountain. Sipping a Capucchino while taking in the views!

Orta

Mottarone is also called Monte di Due Lago - the montain of the two lakes. But someone there are seven. It lays between Maggioer and Orta. I can reommend going down on the other side and head for Orta and the Lago next to it. A bit touristy perhaps but a nice little city to visit as well. A nice eatery here is Pane e Vino claiming to only have local cuisine - no pasta or pizza. Here I also tried the Gattinara the first time.

Orta also has one of the Sacre Monti - sacred mountains - of Piedmonte. It is an extra sacred place where lots of chapels for different purposes. It is majestic even if you don’t believe in the stuff. All the effort being put into this kind of thing.

Best tartar?

I had one of the best tartars ever as a starter at “Lo Stornello”. If you have a chance to get there - take it. It was something special.

Baveno and Arona - less posh

The image in that post is not of Stresa but of Baveno - the next city up the coast. Not as touristy - a bit more laidback than Stresa. I mean what did I think - the place where there are rentals are mose likely the most touristy place around…. Another nice city by the Lago that I visited briefly is Arona. If I come back to this area I will probably pick one of them to stay in rather than Stresa.

Isola Borromee

I guess the main tourist attraction of Stresa is gettingon a boat to Isola Borromee - a couple of islands that has been heavily built upon a long time ago. Quite spectacular but the only thing hapening on them now is waves of tourists. Nevertheless nice to get out on the lago for a while.

written by fredrik at 2023-09-10