Beaches: Lido Blu In Stresa

Friday, June 22, 2012

Beaches: Lido Blu In Stresa

6:53 AM |

Dana Kaplan, Stresa Sights |

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Lido Blu Beach in Stresa is someplace you might not find just by stumbling onto it, and that's exactly what I like about it. It's one of Stresa's newest, and most hidden, beach areas, and it's in a great location right in the center of town. Maybe you are already familiar with Lido Blu Ristorante and Bar, shown in the photo below. The popular casual restaurant is directly on the Lungolago, across from the Regina Palace Hotel. A good spot for a light, inexpensive meal, a drink, a caffe, and a perfect place to watch the sun set behind the mountains. Lido Blu Beach is below the lakeside metal fence of the restaurant, and is reached by descending the staircase you see here next to the blackboard sign.

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If you weren't looking closely, or don't know any Italian, you could think this blackboard was a menu of something for the restaurant, some types of drinks perhaps. But what it is, is a menu of items that can be rented on the beach below: chaises, beach towels, air mattresses, and umbrellas. And for 2 euro you can take a hot shower. Come on, let's go downstairs and see it. And yes, that is a Foosball table you see at the bottom of the stairs.

Here's Lido Blu as seen from the water. Now you can really see how it is carved out of the area below the restaurant, and well hidden from the street above. And of course, it is blue.

It's hard to imagine that only a few years ago this was a neglected area, locked off from the public and a bit of an eyesore. Now it is a clean, quiet little beach, less well known and less crowded than that at Loco Beach in Carciano, or Lido Beach Club in Baveno. And unlike those, this is an area only open during the day, not part of a nightclub. This makes it attractive to those traveling with young children, as does its proximity to the Stresa playground.

Those of you who are used to only powdery, sandy beaches may be disappointed, as this is a bit of a rocky beach. Let's say, it's not as sandy as Carciano or Baveno, which have sand imported, and it's not as rocky as some other beaches you may have seen here. The water here is generally calm, and a safe swimming area has been roped off with yellow markers.

At the bottom of the stairs there is a cement terrace area running the length of the beach. Here there are plastic tables and chairs set up. You can buy food upstairs and bring it down, or, you can bring your own. In the afternoon this terrace becomes shady, making a nice respite from the sun. As does the large tree you can see to your right on the beach. To the left, you have that nice postcard view of the Grand Hotel des iles Borromees, the quarry mountain in Baveno, and the Borromean Islands. The cement barrier walls on each side add to the private feeling of your little, hidden beach spot, right in the center of Stresa.