Villa Taranto

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At Villa Taranto it's all about the gardens (the house itself is not open to the public). The grounds of this late-19th-century villa are one of Lake Maggiore's highlights. A Scottish captain, Neil McEacharn, bought the Normandy-style villa from the Savoy family in 1931 after spotting an ad in the Times. He planted some 20,000 plant species over 30 years, and today it's considered one of Europe’s finest botanic gardens. Even the main entrance path is a grand affair, bordered by lawns and a cornucopia of colourful flowers.

What you'll see changes with the seasons: the winding dahlia path shows off blooms from more than 300 species from June to October; in April and May, the dogwood and related flowers run riot. In the hothouses you can admire extraordinary equatorial water lilies.

The villa has its own ferry dock, or it's a lovely 30-minute walk (some of it on cycle paths) from Verbania Pallanza.

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