EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

CANNOBIO is perhaps the most appealing place to stay on the western shore of the lake, its lakefront road of pastel-washed houses giving onto a series of stepped alleyways leading into a tightly tangled old village of stone houses. The only sight as such is the Santuario della Pietà , a Bramante-inspired church with a curious openwork cupola. It was built on the site of a 1522 miracle, when a picture of the Pietà suddenly began to bleed; shortly afterwards Cannobio remained unscathed while the plague ravished other villages nearby, and superstitious religious minds could do nothing but link the two events. Carlo Borromeo, anxious as ever to boost the morale of Catholics in the face of the snowballing power of the Protestant church, ordered a chapel to be built to house the painting. It's still there, though curiously there's no sign of blood stains.

Cannobio is well served by both ferries and buses, and you could catch one of the latter from the jetty up the Val Cannobina, a rarely visited valley punctuated by a few ancient stone-built hamlets. From Falmonta at the end of the bus route you could walk or drive up to the winter resort of Malesco from where you can pick up the privately run FART train to Locarno in Switzerland .

To the far left of the lakefront (as you face the village) a ramp-like street leads up to the main drag, Via Marconi . At the head of Via Marconi is the SS34 coast road, on which you'll find the tourist office (Mon-Sat 9am-noon & 4.30-7pm, Sun 9am-noon; tel 0323.71.212) and a couple of supermarkets. Sadly, Cannobio's hotels are expensive: perhaps the best value is offered by the newly refurbished Antica Stallera , Via P. Zacchero (tel 0323.715.95; L120,000-150,000/¬61.98-77.47), the attractive Hotel Pironi , Via G. Marconi 35 (tel 0323.706.24; L200,000-250,000/¬103.29-129.11), and the swish Elvezia , Viale Rimembranza 1 (tel 0323.70.142; L120,000-150,000/¬61.98-77.47). Otherwise, try the cheaper (and scruffier) Giardino , on Via Veneto - the SS34 - at no. 24 (tel 0323.71.482; L60,000-90,000/¬30.99-46.48), or the much more appealingly positioned but grotty Cannobio on the lakefront (tel 0323.71.390; L90,000-120,000/¬46.48-61.98). If the prices are getting too much for you, head out of town on the SS34: just past the River Cannobino is the very popular La Residence   campsite (tel 0323.71.190; March-Oct) where, in addition to tent pitches, there are rooms in a clean, modern villa (L90,000-120,000/¬46.48-61.98). There are also simple rooms to be had above a nearby pizzeria: cross the road and follow the signposts for Locanda del Fiume , Via Darbedo 26 (tel 0323.70.192; L90,000-120,000/¬46.48-61.98).

As for eating , Verbano , by the lake (closed Wed), is one of Cannobio's more reasonable café-restaurants, serving hot dishes and sandwiches, and as good a place as any to waste an hour or so. The Osteria La Streccia , up a narrow cobbled alley off the lakefront (closed Tues), has the best food on offer in Cannobio in a rustic, low-ceilinged dining room. Up in the village, the Ristorante Antica Stallera , Via P. Zacchero 7 (closed Tues), is a pleasant and reasonably priced place for lunch or dinner, where you can eat home-made pasta in the garden under a vine-covered trellis. The only place to go at night, for draught beer and snacks, is Birreria Scurrone on Vicolo Scurrone, reached through a tunnelling alleyway at the southern end of the lakefront.