Lake Garda is great. Stay in Garda town or nearby and use the boats to get around. You can also catch the bus down to Verona easily about 40mins.
Garda is in the middle of the lake so ideal for covering all the lake.nice bars and restaurants on the lakeside.
we stayed in stresa as Antz mentioned . superb hotel and location . a real bonus was we were on the top floor and the chap in the next room played briefly in pink floyd and roxy music . we had a few good chats. friendly place with lovely shops , loads to do . highly recommended
I remember when on a trip to Amalfi some years back, driving to Naples for the day only to find it was shut because all the Italians had gone on holiday at the same time! About the only thing open was McDonalds.
We had a lovely week in June a few years ago at Lake Orta. It is about the size of Lake Windermere and much quieter and less touristy than the larger lakes. Some good walking, including a hike over the hills to Lake Maggiore. We visited Stressa which was pleasant but a little busy for our tastes.