Many of you may think that Stresa is only a summer destination. But I've been very pleased this year to have many readers write to me that they are planning to visit in the winter, especially over the Christmas and New Year period.  Some like to ski, some like the scenery; others simply like the quiet, warmth and solitude that the winter months offer. And some like to experience the many traditions of the season of Natale here. 

Here is our list of some of the 2011-2012 winter events in Stresa and the surrounding area. I'll  list them chronologically, and they will be added to the Stresa Sights calendar as well. This blog post will also be kept as an important link on the right sidebar, to reference throughout the season as you make your plans or check for updates. Whenever possible there are links to a site with more information about each event. Many of those sites are only available in Italian; I suggest trying a translator program such as Google Translate for the information. ... The list ...

2-4       Piazze Natalizie: Verbania, Intra
3-4       Mercatini di Natale: Christmas market; Caddo, Crevoladossola

3-18     La Vera Grotta di Babbo Natale: Santa's Grotto; Ornavasso
3-18     Mercato di Natale: Ornavasso, in conjunction with Santa's Grotto

3-January 6     The Largest Live Presepe in Piemonte; Ornavasso
4-24     Luci di Natale: Castelletto Ticino

8          Coccole di Natale: Christmas market; Dormelletto
8 - January 6: Stresa is Natale!: Stresa's Christmas Program

8-9       Mercatini di Natale: Christmas market; Macugnaga

10-11   Mercatini di Natale: Santa Maria Maggiore

11        AroNatale: Arona's Christmas market

16-18   Mercatini di Natale: Domodossola
17-18   Mercatini di Natale: Omegna, Lago d'Orta

Skiing Information
For those of you who plan to be here for a good amount of time and plan to ski, consider the VCO Ski Pass Provinciale, an annual ski pass which gives holders access to many of the Province ski mountains for the entire season. Information and purchasing links are found here: http://www.distrettolaghi.it/en/node/15679. It is offered on advance sale through November 15, all prices are listed here: http://www.distrettolaghi.it/sites/default/files/listino_VCO_2011-2012_def.pdf. You may want to also search the blog for previous posts about skiing and winter sports.

Much of this information is from the wonderful Distretto Laghi website. Grazie to them for always providing so much interesting coverage of all of the happenings in the Lago Maggiore area. Here's the direct link to their Christmas 2012 page:  http://www.distrettolaghi.it/natale2011. A few of their pages can be seen in English; for the rest try to use a translator.

To read past posts about winter activities start here: winter