Camping Playa di Valverde

Arona, 45 minutes' drive away, is one of many pleasant stopping spots on Lake Maggiore, with a ninth-century ruined castle to explore and a vast bronze statue to climb up… and inside. Stresa, an hour away, has watersporting opportunities by the bucketload, as well as a zoo, botanical gardens and a boat service to the Borromean islands in the lake. Purchased by a wealthy dynasty in the 16th century, two of these isles are dotted with lavish houses and elegant gardens while the third preserves the lake-fishing traditions of long ago. The Milanese call Orta San Giulio (an hour's drive) and its lake La Cenerentola or Cinderella, as it’s the much-ignored little sister to Maggiore. That only makes it all the more inviting for day jaunts, gentle wanders round the sloping town and its hilltop sanctuary and boat rides out to the Benedictine monastery on the island. There are wildlife and walks aplenty within the Ticino valley, but for something wilder, drive for half an hour to Pombia Safari Park, where rhinos, giraffes and lions wander the Lombardy landscape. And for a fix of city sights, it’s an hour to Milan where you can see Da Vinci’s Last Supper hanging in the dining room of the former Santa Maria delle Grazie convent, tour Leonardo's workshops and half a dozen museums in the 15th-century Sforza Castle, or dine on a tram-restaurant and shop until you drop in the ‘golden triangle’ of commercial streets and boutiques.