Lake Maggiore & Lake Orta: old villages & tastes
Package price per person, 5 days from € 239,00
Group price valid from 20 participants.Lake Orta is known as Lake Maggiore’s quiet brother, less flashy but full of suggestive corners. Experience first hand the contrast between Maggiore’s sumptuous palaces and prestigious gardens and the wild nature of Orta and its small well-groomed villages. What they have in common are islands in the lakes: the classic well-known destinations of Isola Bella and Isola Pescatori compared to the quiet island of San Giulio on Lake Orta, almost only inhabited by the nuns in the austere Abbey. Learn about the reputation the nuns have for restoring antique fabrics, from tapestries to liturgical vestments.
Tour includes
- 4 Nights half board in a good 3* hotel on Lake Maggiore
- 1 Complimentary bottle of wine per room
- 1 Half day guide excursion to Isola Bella & Pescatori
- 1 Private boat to the islands
- 1 Lunch in a typical restaurant on Isola Pescatori
- 1 Full day guide for excursion to Novara and visit to a wine cellar
- 1 Visit to a wine cellar with wine and gorgonzola cheese tasting
- 1 Full-day guide for excursion to Lake Orta
- 1 Boat Pettenasco-Orta-Pella
- 1 Small train Pella-Madonna del Sasso-Pella
- 1 Break for ice-cream
Day 1 Arrival in hotel on Lake Maggiore, dinner and overnight stay.
Day 2 After breakfast meeting with guide. Small boats to Isola Bella, a natural pearl made more precious by man. The island is dominated by a beautiful Baroque palace, with a lush Italian garden , laid out on ten top-down terraces. Followed by transfer to Isola Pescatori. The only Borromeo island to be inhabited all year round, with a small village of fifty inhabitants full of narrow, winding alleys. As its name tells us, fishing is still an important activity. You will have the pleasure of enjoying its fruits in one of the many trattorias overlooking the lake. Afternoon free in Stresa, the queen of Lake Maggiore. Return to hotel, dinner and overnight stay.
Day 3 After breakfast, departure for Novara. Though still not very well known, this town is the second in Piedmont for population and an important crossroads for commercial traffic between the various roads connecting Turin to Milan and Genoa to Switzerland. Novara is in an area that has grown rice for centuries, and is not far from the famous “Colline Novaresi” vineyards. After visiting the town rich in shops and coffee bars, with roads that still have their Roman layout and traditional porphyry paving, a coach will take you to Ghemme/Sizzano for a trip through the courtyards, roads and alleyways of a Castle; to end with a tasting of wine, cold cuts and the typical cheeses of the Novara and Ossola areas.. Return to hotel, dinner and overnight stay.
Day 4 After breakfast, departure by coach to the charming Lake Orta, showing you breathtaking views of hills and mountains and on to interesting monuments and medieval and Renaissance architecture. Visit of romantic Orta San Giulio and then on by boat to Pella, small village on the western shore of the Lake. Departure by small train to the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Sasso standing on a rocky granite cliff spur over the lake called “The Cusio balcony”. Visit to the Sanctuary then back to Pella on the train and return by coach to the hotel. Dinner and overnight stay.
Day 5 Departure.
By Air: The group arrives by air and services usually start at the arrival at the airport. Included ground services like local coach or assistance at the airport will be specified in the section “Description – Tour Includes”
By Coach: The group arrives by coach from the country of origin.
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