Gourmet products local specialties and wines Lacs italiens

At the entrance to the historic centre, at the foot of the ramparts, La Marianna has been run by the same family since 1961. They are credited with the invention of stracciatella, an ice cream delicately sprinkled with chocolate chips. And we advise you to try it, it is excellent and really generous in chocolate! Whether this legend is true or false, in any case, the Bergamasques have not lost the habit of going there for Sunday breakfast, at aperitif time, or for brunching in the pretty garden when the weather is nice.

The queue is often long in front of the counterold style but, rest assured, the service is fast. Since 1939, this gelateria, unlike any other, has been known in Verona for its sweet treats. So order a giandujotto (chocolate ice cream + melted chocolate + fresh cream + hazelnuts!) or a pinguino (vanilla and chocolate stick), and eat them while walking through the streets of the old town. Depending on your taste, you can also opt for a fruit verrine, a tiramisu or an iced millefeuille, among other sweets.

An unmissable address to have a good time while discovering the different and numerous wines of the region and Italy in general. In this charming little 18th century cellar, completely renovated, you can taste a rich selection of local and national wines, while eating delicious cheese antipasti or typical cold meats. The service is attentive, in a cosy setting. If you want to bring back a few bottles, here you will find some very good advice on how to find the ideal wine to offer or treat yourself.

For more than 40 years, this artisanal pastry shop has excelled in its house specialty, margheritine, small light and melting cookies first made in 1868 for the Queen of Italy, Margherita. They are now the pride of the city. You can't leave Stresa without tasting them. The cookies can be bought by the gram. To make a gift, they are packed in a pretty cardboard box with the representation of the city in engraving. Other tempting sweets: panettone, filled mini-croissants, tarts...

Next to the restaurant-osteria del Castello, the boss opened a cellar, the Magnum kingdom, where you can taste the Italian wine of your choice. Wines of Alba and Monferrato, Barbera d'Alba, Nebbiolo d'Alba. The cellar has a terrace where you can enjoy an aperitif.

The shop, in the heart of the city, prides itself on being "the best glacier on Lake Orta". It is worth mentioning that it has been awarded the qualification of artisan excellence by the Piedmont Region! It has an assortment of uncommon natural flavours, a truly artisanal production and a special respect for intolerances (gluten-free, lactose-free, etc.), with products of the highest quality. Fruit sorbets in summer, cream ice cream in winter. It's the perfect place to take a cone and go admire the lake.

On the lakeside, we have tested a lot this ice-cream parlour and we can assure you: it is one of the best in this region of Italy! We come there to get drunk of the numerous fruit flavors or we opt for a more original ice cream as, for example, those with tiramisu, with honey or with cinnamon... The pistachio ice cream is simply excellent and reveals all the flavors. Unforgettable! Il Gelato dei Masters also offers very good milkshakes. Very friendly staff. Attention, payment only in cash.

An exceptional estate, born of the passion and love of founder Vittorio Moretti. The Bellavista vineyards cover more than 190 ha, and more than 1,150,000 bottles are produced each year. To give you an idea, Bellavista is the official supplier of Milan's Scala! The estate's care is not confined to wine alone: an enchanting garden completes the estate, ranked among the most beautiful in Italy. The estate is home to Relais & Châteaux l'Albereta and the restaurant of top Italian chef Gualtiero Marchesi.

Visiting the Ca' del Bosco estate and cellars is a sensory experience that combines the pleasure of good wine with a love of beautiful things. The estate is dotted with works of contemporary art, while the cellars, entirely designed by renowned architects, look more like a spaceship than a traditional wine cellar. You will discover how these great vintages are produced, through the different phases of production and in the laboratory. At the end of the tour, you will be able to order your favourite bottles

A piece of Bergamo history dated 1476. Situated in the enchanting Piazza Vecchia, the retro and elegant décor will take you back to an atmosphere of yesteryear. The bar offers excellent pastry specialties such as torta donizetti, the traditional local sweet cake with apricots and pineapple slices. There is also a fast food restaurant at lunchtime. You will enjoy the beauty of the setting, although the service is sometimes a little slow. And if you are in too much of a hurry, you can simply lean back at the bar to have a coffee!

A paradise for gourmets, Mangili is the perfect address if you want to take home a small basket of Bergamasque flavours. From the butcher's department you will choose the Bergamo sausage, among the pasta one or two portions of fresh casoncelli (to be eaten quickly!), among the cheeses a nice slice of taleggio and, on the delicatessen shelves, some nougats or dry cakes. We let ourselves be advised by the boss, very friendly and good advice. Some good local wines. And then, of course, let yourself be tempted by everything else!

Allow yourself a moment in this street adjacent to the popular Corso Cavour. Sitting at the table of this modern stall, enjoy a gourmet break at breakfast time, over a cappuccino, hot chocolate, tea or homemade fruit juice, accompanied by a generous selection of pastries. If you choose lunch or an evening aperitif, opt for a beer or glass of wine with a snack brimming with vegetables or charcuterie.

Did you know that it is in Verona that the pandoro is produced, this sweet star-shaped bun sprinkled with icing sugar, a must for Christmas? Well, the Barini pastry shop has been making it its speciality for over 50 years. Just a few steps from the bullring, Barini is also a cafeteria where you can sip a creamy cappuccino or a strong espresso and bite into little cakes with names as bewitching as their flavour: Romeo's Kisses (with almond and butter cream), Juliet's Kisses (with hazelnut and chocolate cream).

Since 1970, Verona's best baccalà! Taken over in 2014 by the current owner, Giovanni Cipriani, the house has made cod its specialty. The fish arrives dried directly from the port of Genoa, then comes the painstaking work of desalting it and making the tender flesh ready for use in the kitchen, notably to prepare the famous baccalà alla vicentina, where the cod is whipped into a cream with milk. If you can't bring home dried fish, the store is well worth a visit, if only to learn about the region's culinary traditions.

A small shop that smells like the shops of yesteryear, in the Veronetta district, across the river. Elisabetta Gozzo, the owner, is brimming with imagination to perpetuate the culinary tradition of ravioli typical of the town. Everything here is made rigorously by hand, stuffed with the most varied fillings, including original flavours such as donkey meat stew or red onion and fresh cheese or lemon and asparagus. Well packaged, the ravioli will keep for a few days, so don't hesitate to shop around.

Certainly the best ice in the city, which is tasting during the beautiful season, when the sun illuminates the narrow streets, and ice by hand, we can walk a nonchalant step in the city of Romeo and Juliet… Top perfumes, which regularly renew over the seasons. Classics (coffee, chocolate, hazelnut) are a safe value. Guaranteed ingredients 100% freshness and high quality, ancestral know-how, and a business that works hard!

Gourmands, forget your diet before approaching this Ali Baba's cave. A French-style pastry shop in the heart of Verona that concocts mille-feuilles, macaroons (try the one with cappuccino) and mont-blanc, as well as Sicilian cannoli, fruit tarts and brioches filled to perfection. Available at any time of the day, from breakfast to aperitif. At the back of the store, a small tea room allows the impatient to taste these delicacies accompanied by hot drinks.

Since 1888, the Peverelli family's pastry-making know-how has been passed on! The candy boxes colour the shop with their sugared almonds and sweets. A nice place for a typical breakfast or a gourmet break in the beautiful Piazza Collegiata. One rushes there especially to taste the famous bissoli with chestnut flour and chocolate. The ice creams are to die for with very original flavours such as lavender or almond. If you wish to send a message, it is possible to have it written on a bread crown.

Superb, located on the magnificent Piazza Riforma, well known in Lugano for its delicious ice creams (homemade cones) and pastries, which can be enjoyed at any time of day. Vanini is also a bar where Spritz blossoms on the terraces in summer! An old house that plays with the spirit of the times and offers a sophisticated, professional welcome. Ticino locals like to come here for breakfast on weekends, to enjoy a delicious homemade hot chocolate: elegant surroundings, delicate tasting of quality products and an intimate atmosphere.

Switzerland means cheese, and inevitably chocolate! Lugano is a prime setting for Swiss chocolatier Läderer, whose points of sale are deployed in over twenty addresses across the confederation but also abroad. At the 2018 World Chocolate Masters in Paris, two creations impressed the jury and have since been on sale: the Masters caramel tablet and the Masters mandarin bonbon. Come and stock up here on tablets, chocolate casse, fine and seasonal chocolates, sweet souvenirs to take home.