The 15 Most Beautiful Italian Islands

"A tiny archipelago on Lago Maggiore long owned by the House of Borromeo, framed by sapphire waters and Alpine peaks and renowned for lush gardens and baroque palaces. As Gustave Flaubert wrote, “nature charms you with a thousand strange seductions.” Highlights include a nearly 20-acre botanical garden with more than 2,000 plant species and snow-white peacocks on Isola Madre, the baroque fantasia of Isola Bella with dining and historic apartments, and the red-shingled fishermen's houses and small hotel-restaurant scene of Isola dei Pescatori; hop-on-hop-off boat services run from Stresa, though many operators pause between November and mid-March." - Elizabeth Heath Elizabeth Heath Elizabeth Heath is a writer and editor living on a hill in Umbria, from where she writes about travel in Italy, the rest of Europe, and farther afield. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines