Mottarone Summit (1,491 m)
From the grassy crown of Monte Mottarone on a clear morning you can count seven lakes — Maggiore, Orta, Varese, Comabbio, Monate, Mergozzo and Biandronno — while the full arc of Monte Rosa and the Mischabel massif fills the northern horizon. It is one of the most expansive viewpoints in the pre-Alps, and it is reached in under twenty minutes from Stresa.
Getting Up There
The Stresa–Alpino–Mottarone cable car departs from Via Lido, just south of the town centre, and climbs through chestnut forest and alpine meadow in two stages. The intermediate stop at Alpino is home to the Giardino Botanico Alpinia, a compact but charming garden of mountain flora worth thirty minutes of your time on the way up or down.
Alternatively, a winding road allows you to drive or cycle to the summit. Serious road cyclists treat the ascent as a classic training climb; on weekend mornings you will share the hairpins with groups of Lycra-clad Milanese.
At the Top
The summit plateau is open and grassy, dotted with picnic tables and a small bar-restaurant, Ristorante Mottarone, serving honest mountain food — polenta, local cheeses, grilled meats. In winter the slopes become a modest ski area popular with families from Milan.
Sunrise and the hour before sunset produce the most photogenic light: the lakes below turn silver-pink and the snow peaks glow amber. A short signed walking trail loops the summit and reaches a large cross at the highest point, giving an unobstructed 360-degree view.
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