The town's hotels are quite expensive, and there's not a lot to do in Stresa other than catch a boat to the Isole Borromee (something that can be just as easily done from any number of other villages), making it difficult to recommend Stresa as a base - although fans of classical music might want to catch a concert or two at its prestigious international music festival , held annually in late August and early September. If you are here for any length of time, after strolling up and down the promenade, where the Grand Hotel des Iles Borromees (tel 0323.938.938, fax 0323.32.405; over L400,000/a?¬206.58) was used as a location by Hemingway in A Farewell to Arms , you might want to laze around at Stresa's Lido (open summer only) to the north, close to the Mottarone cable car station. From here, you can also catch a cable car up Monte Mottarone (daily every 20min 9.20am-noon & 1.40-5pm; L11,000/a?¬5.68 one way, L18,000/a?¬9.30 return). It's hardly the most sensational of hills, but undeserving of Ruskin's derision - he referred to it as "the stupidest of mountains" and thought the views of the Alps dull. Ruskin's mood or the weather must have been bad, for the views stretch from Monte Rosa on the Valle d'Aosta/Swiss border across to the Adamello. Its wooded western slopes are now a favourite destination for family outings, and on summer Sundays the roadside is lined with everything-but-the-kitchen-sink picnickers. If you want to range a bit further, you can rent mountain bikes near the summit (L30,000/a?¬15.49 per day). Lago d'Orta lies on the other side of the mountain, and though it is possible to walk down to the lake, it's a tedious three-hour tramp.

Stresa's Pro Loco tourist office at Via Canonica 8 (summer daily 10am-12.30pm & 3-6.30pm; winter Mon-Fri 10am-12.30pm & 3-6.30pm, Sat 10am-12.30pm; tel 0323.31.308, fax 0323.3133.2561, www.lagomaggiore.it ), as well as dispensing the usual local information, has programmes for the festival of classical music; tickets for this are on sale at the cambio /excursion booking booth on the lakefront, opposite the Regina Palace Hotel - expect to pay around L30,000/a?¬15.49. If you want to stay in Stresa, the cheapest and most congenial option is the Orsola , Via Duchessa di Genova 45 (tel 0323.31.087; L60,000-90,000/a?¬30.99-46.48), a comfortable place with good-value single and double rooms, and just three minutes' walk from the train station - turn right out of the station, and the hotel is just to the left down Via Duchessa di Genova. Otherwise the well-maintained villa of Mon Toc , Via Duchessa di Genova 69 (tel 0323.30.282; L90,000-120,000/a?¬46.48-61.98) - turn right from the train station up Via Duchessa di Genova - is not greatly more expensive, and there are rooms above the Chez Osvaldo restaurant, at Via Anna Maria Bolongaro 57 (tel 0323.31.948; L60,000-90,000/a?¬30.99-46.48); turn right out of the station and keep on straight ahead along the upper edge of the town for about ten minutes, and the street is off to the left. If you don't mind being a ferry ride from the mainland, you could also consider the Elvezia on Isola Bella .

The best places for meals are the Ristorante Venezia , Via Duchessa di Genova (closed Wed), which does interesting salads and risottos as well as wood-fired pizzas, the Orsola , next door, and the Osteria degli Amici at Via Anna Maria Bolongaro 27 (closed Wed); all are reasonably priced. For snacks and booze, the Red Baron , five minutes' walk along from the train station at Via Roma 63, is an amiable place run by a friendly English woman who serves up great sandwiches, hearty bruschette and beer on tap. Finally, don't miss the Casa del CaffA? , Via Anna Maria Bolongaro 26, one of the town's few authentic (and cheap) bars.