Campeggio Hermitage

To go deeper into the wilderness, make your way to the Alta Valle Antrona Natural Park an hour’s drive away, for hikes through wooded hills of birch and larch and mountain lakes surrounded by meadows of wildflowers. If you want the mountains without the mammoth effort, the Centovalli Railway is just the ticket: the line from Domodossola (25 minutes) to Locarno in Switzerland passes, as the name suggests, through a hundred valleys, with jaw-dropping views all the way. Or just gaze up at the peaks from your inflatable down on the waters of Lake Maggiore... Cannobio (45 minutes) is your nearest lakeside spot, a pleasure town on the shores of a playground and a destination for everyone into watersports. Ride the ferries and visit the islands, hire bikes and cycle round, stopping for dips and bites whenever you fancy; alternatively, do dolce far niente as they say in Italy, as sweet nothing is supremely easy to do here. If you do get itchy feet, cross the border and cruise into Locarno (45 minutes), in the Italian-speaking Swiss canton of Ticino. It's very unSwiss if your idea of the country is all cheese and cowbells; Locarno with its steamy climate and palm trees seems somehow tropical. If you've had enough of Lake Maggiore, visit Locarno's falconry centre to see fab displays of feathered predators.