A city that the lakes aficionados spend much time trying to avoid. Sacro Monte, with church, shrine and stations of the Cross above the chestnut groves, is worth the climb and the surrounding countryside is not entirely ruined by the epidemic of house and factory building. Compared with the real lakes, the Lake of Varese is a large stagnant pond. It has a tourist airfield, gliding and some water sports.

En route to or from Milan, make a note of Castiglione d’Olona, 15 km south of Varese. The church and baptistery on the hill hold rare paintings by Masolino (1383-1440) the great Tuscan primitive (see www.museocollegiata.it). They were uncovered in 1843 in one of the most satisfying art discoveries of the century. Sixty years later Bernard Berenson found some more frescocs, also under whitewash, in a neighbouring villa.