For the best passeggiata (afternoon stroll) on Lake Maggiore head for Stresa, where a 2km-long lakeside promenade meanders through florid gardens and past grand Liberty-style hotels, with the attractive hump of Isola Bella omnipresent across the water. The journey northwest from the Stresa ferry dock takes you past a couple of cafes, several prestigious hotels and a variety of statues, fountains and sculptures, many of them dedicated to events and personalities from WWII.
A convenient turn-around point is the ferry dock at Carciano, also base station for the Monte Mottarone cable-car.