The best time to take a trip to astonishing Verbania is at the first signs of spring. The reason why the town was called "a garden at the lake" is because it overlooks the Borromean Gulf. Founded in 1939 by the merger of Intra and Pallanza, it has been the capital of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola since 1992 and is an elegant international holiday resort lying between Omegna on Lake Orta and Val Formazza in the north of Piemonte. The aristocratic villas and parks are among the major tourist attractions: Botanic Gardens of Villa Taranto - with its 1000 plants and about 20,000 varieties and species of botanical interest; Park of Villa San Remigio; Villa Giulia overlooking Isolino di San Giovanni (property of the Borromeo family), which was the favourite summer destination of maestro Arturo Toscanini. There is a monument placed on top of the Castagnola promontory next to Romanesque buildings such as the Madonna di Campagna church and the Oratory of San Remigio. Baroque style dominates the historic centre of Pallanza, where nowadays, Palazzo Viani Dugnani is one of the headquarters of the Museo del Paesaggio (Landscape Museum). A little more than ten kilometres away, you reach Stresa: from its shores you can enjoy the splendid view of the Borromeo Gulf with the small archipelago of the islands: Isola Madre, Isola Bella and Isola dei Pescatori. Find out more on www.distrettolaghi.it