Palazzo Borromeo — Attraction in Stresa

Didn’t even get to experience the palace. When we arrived there was a tour group of several hundred people waiting in line so we decided to leave and come back after the line died down. When we returned 20 mins later there weren’t as many people in line so we decided to enter at the back end of the tour group we saw earlier. We waited inside for a few minutes as they took their time to move through the first few rooms, thinking we could get a better experience once they moved on. What we didn’t know was in our time waiting another group of several hundred people had arrived down stairs and was beginning to enter right behind us. Once they came upstairs they immediately overtook us and started meandering their way through. It was like livestock being routed to slaughter. We were completely packed in and couldn’t leave even if we wanted to, not only was this a miserable experience since we didn’t get to see anything except the ceiling, but a huge safety concern as well. If there were to be a fire or other emergency we would have had no quick way or escaping besides jumping out the windows into the lake. The rooms were small and everyone was packed in shoulder to shoulder completely oblivious of anything going on around them. I have no idea why these groups are not limited in number or size. I would not recommend visiting here as there was no indication of when or how often these groups would be there and they was a complete waste of money on our part. We even arrived when the Palace first opened to avoid the crowd but ended up being stuck in the middle of the worst crowd we...

This is by far the most interesting island of the 3 that you can visit on this tour. We took the boat from Stresa which is one of the closest town in the area. As mentioned in various posts, the islands can be visited by using a huge variety of boat operators. We took the big boat boat instead of using one of the various charters. This was a very good choice as they come and go on each island every 30 minutes. The wait to get on them is never long and the time tables on each island are very accurate. We also saw people in wheelchairs boarding the boats and they had a lot of room for them.

As for the palace, it’s amazing what you can do with a lot of money and 3 centuries worth of building time!!!

The attention to details in each room is amazing. The tour makes you go in all the palace and it’s very easy to follow. Several panels (FR/EN/IT) explain the history of the place. We spent 2 hours enjoying the palace and it’s gardens. Worth...

It is just beautiful and must see. This was one of the several palaces of the Borromeo family. This was the summer Palace. It's on an island. Lovely place, went on a guided tour for just a few hours . Impressive collection of antiques and art as well. places like "the breakers" for their inspiration, but this is the real deal. It's worthwhile seeing. Probably can spend a couple of hours maybe up to half a day on the island to walk around both inside and outside. Lots of pictures to take. Very pleasant and interesting and some beautiful artifacts. It's more like a museum. The garden was definitely favourite but the Palace was interesting . This is an awesome place to visit! its posted pictures of the views from the boat on the way 8to the island because the views are so beautiful! Each room in the castle is so unique, and the architecture is Baroque 17th century. Amazing, beautiful, unforgettable. This is a must to visit...