Quaint lakeside villages - discover typical Italian architecture
Spectacular lake and mountain scenery
Street markets - Omegna’s is lively and colourful
Boat trips - enjoy Orta and Maggiore from the water
Religious sites - peaceful and fascinating
Tour highlights include two of Italy's most striking lakes - Orta, and Maggiore. You will also visit Varallo, the tranquil Sacro Monte, a complex of religious buildings, Monte Rosa, the highest mountain in Switzerland and second largest in Europe, the charming resort of Stresa and Lake Maggiore's stunning Borromean Islands with spectacular mountain and lake scenery at every turn.
One of the tour's most appealing features is our base at Lake Orta staying at the charming family run four-star Giardinetto Hotel, situated in lovely gardens right on Lake Orta with fantastic lake views. Dinner is included here every night in its lakeside restaurant offering excellent local cuisine and stunning views.
Available Departures |
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| 15 - September - 2025 | £ 1699.00 | Travel Info Book Now |
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Provisional Timings London Heathrow Departing: 15th September 2025 at 09:05 Returning: 22nd September 2025 at 15:55 |
Day 1: Fly from London Heathrow to Milan. On arrival, transfer by coach to Lake Orta (approx. one hour) and the Giardinetto Hotel for check-in and evening welcome drink and dinner.
Day 2: Full day to relax and explore Lake Orta at your leisure.
The Hotel Giardinetto sits on the edge of Orta just four kilometres from the lake’s main town, Orta San Giulio which has a beautiful historic centre containing handsome palazzi and pretty houses with decorative wrought-iron balconies. In the main square is the town hall, a frescoed building dating from 1582 and a host of restaurants with outdoor terraces, perfect for a relaxed lunch. If you are feeling energetic, the amazing Sanctuary of Sacro Monte, high above the town, was built between 1591 to 1770 and contains 21 chapels in which a variety of scenes from the life of St Francis of Assisi are shown. You could take a boat trip to visit the tiny Isola San Giulio with a pretty church containing a 12th century pulpit.
Day 3: Full day tour to Lake Maggiore.
A wonderfully scenic introduction to the area is a full day tour of one of the principal lakes of the region: the relaxing Lake Maggiore. With spectacular lake, mountain, and village views, you will be enchanted at every turn. Our main visit today is Villa Taranto, known as the 'Kew Gardens' of Lake Maggiore, then Cannobio for lunch (own expense) and free time for an afternoon stroll on the west coast of the lake.
Day 4: Full day tour to Omegna.
Travelling by boat today we head for Omegna, Lake Orta’s other main settlement, where there will be the opportunity to visit the colourful local market. Omegna’s centre is also very pleasant around the Piazza del Municipio where a bridge spans the River Nigoglia. This evening there will be a wine-tasting at the hotel before dinner.
Day 5: Full day tour to Varallo.
Nestled in the foothills of the Alps, Varallo is a small town on the confluence of two rivers – the Sesia and Mastallone. Visit the 15th century church of Santa Maria delle Grazie to see beautifully restored 16th century frescoes by local Gaudenzo Ferrari. Sitting 150 metres above the town in the Sacro Monte de Varallo, one of the most famous pilgrimage sites in Piedmont. A series of 44 chapels are filled with 800 life-sized religious statues dating back to the 15th century.
Day 6: Full day tour to Macugnaga and Monte Rosa.
The mountain village of Macugnaga sits at the base of Monte Rosa, the second highest mountain in western Europe, in both Italy and Switzerland, and is dramatically surrounded by a series of high peaks. Due to its location, it is a quiet place, making it perfect to appreciate the wild and spectacular scenery of the area as well as its charming mountain architecture.
Day 7: Full day tour to Stresa and the Borromean Islands.
Returning to Lake Maggiore, we start the day exploring the chic lakeside town of Stresa, which has been a holiday spot for the aristocracy of Europe for centuries, who have left behind a wealth of lovely villas. From Stresa we will take a boat out to the Borromean Islands, a group of three islands in Lake Maggiore. Isola Bella is the location of the splendid 17th century Palazzo Borromeo; Isola Madre is home to a beautiful botanical garden; and Isola dei Pescatori, the only inhabited island, has a quaint and picturesque fishing village.
Day 8: Transfer to Milan for the return flight to London Heathrow.
NB: Exact order of itinerary may vary according to local conditions and tour manager's discretion.
Please note the maximum group size on this tour is 35 passengers.
Tour Grading: Please note that this tour has been graded as moderate due to the amount of walking at attractions and time spent standing for viewing. At attractions, surfaces may be uneven or cobbled, and include steps. On Days 4 and 7 travel is by boat with 3-4 very steep steps into the cabin.
On Day 5 there is a steep (although short) descent over cobblestone from the coach to the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, then another short ascent over cobblestone to the cable car to the Sacro Monte.
On Day 7 at Isola Bella there are many steps, some without handrail. Access to the garden is through the Villa.
For further information please visit the mobility page of our website, or contact our team prior to booking.
INCLUDED
NOT INCLUDED
Giardinetto Hotel, Lake Orta
The charming four-star Giardinetto Hotel is located on the lake about 4km from Orta San Giulio and offers lovely views. Facilities at this friendly, family-run hotel include heated pool, lakeside terrace restaurant serving local cuisine, bar and comfortable bedrooms with private bath/shower, TV, telephone and minibar. Rooms with a lake view and balcony are also avaialble subject to availability and supplement.
Giardinetto Hotel Website
OUR VIEW ON THE HOTEL
The hotel is in a wonderful isolated position directly on the lake with the upgraded lake view rooms with a balcony a worthwhile option. It also has a nice dining room overlooking the lake which is where you shall enjoy dinner (set menu) each evening.
Overall the tours were good. I particularly liked the Villa Taranto gardens and the additional trip to Isola St Giulio and Orta St Giulio. The trip to the Borromean islands warranted more time (two visits) and taking us on a Sunday was not a good idea. The crowds were horrendous especially at the Isola Madre Villa. Omegna was not particularly interesting.
Review by Crabtree who travelled 16-September-2024
Travel Editions feedback:
We hope that you enjoyed the tour overall. Thank you for your feedback which is invaluable to us and helps us to improve the tour.
Review by Anonymous who travelled 16-September-2024
Hotel was in a lovely location and the accommodation was very comfortable. The group meals provided by the hotel were adequate but bland in flavour and served lukewarm. We visited some lovely places but we always arrived when shops/museums were closed and left before they opened. The best part of the trip was Tessa, the exceptional guide. Her lovely personality, knowledge and communication style kept the group together and made the trip special.
Review by Lillington who travelled 16-September-2024
Travel Editions feedback:
Thank you for your feedback which is invaluable to us and we hope that overall, you enjoyed the tour. We are already looking at amending the running order for the visits on this tour for next year and will be speaking with the hotel about the standard of the meals. Previously the food has been good at the hotel. Thank you for your lovely comments about Tessa.
Excellent holiday. Great choice of places to visit. Tessa was an excellent hostess and guide. Hotel was actually better than I anticipated. I was very pleased that we were given a choice of dishes for dinner each night. The fact that the hotel has its own pier for boats made the trips to Orta and Omegna very easy indeed.
Review by Giangrande who travelled 16-September-2024
Lake Orta did not disappoint and our hotel was idyllic, the staff and amenities were excellent. Tessa was the perfect tour leader, always mindful of special requirements and helpful. The tours were great except for day 3, it was too long a journey in the coach and we didn't enjoy Lugano. Day 7, which we were really looking forward to was spoilt by being on a Sunday and the islands were very crowded. Overall a wonderful holiday with perfect weather.
Review by Slee who travelled 25-September-2023
Review by Yan Kam Cheong who travelled 04-December-2024
Lovely location. Excellent tour manager. Out-dated bedroom. Faulty TV not put right. 'Information overload' from local guide. Disappointing dinners, especially vegetarian options.
Review by Simmons who travelled 04-December-2024
Very excellent tour Manager, a lot of coach travel on the sightseeing tours, rooms were good but not that good, food very good.
Review by Allsop who travelled 04-December-2024
We would have preferred the return journey to include an overnight stop and not to have such an early start. Some more elderly travellers found it difficult and some had long onward travel in the UK. Whilst the hotel was excellent, the dinner was sometimes rather disappointing. Finally can we say how wonderful Tessa was - very caring, thoughtful and always with a cheery smile. All in all, a very enjoyable experience - we shall travel with you again.
Review by Savage who travelled 04-December-2024
Review by Pagler who travelled 04-December-2024
A very enjoyable holiday overall. However, the evening meals were adequate but not up to the standard we would expect from a 3* hotel. The meals certainly did not delight us but when we had an issue with a meal (pasta that was hard), the staff were quick to provide an alternative. The hotel staff were excellent but we would reserve our highest accolades for Tessa, our tour guide, who was superb.
Review by Barker who travelled 25-September-2023
The trip to Lugano was a complete waste of time and was the only bad thing about the holiday. A horrible city, full of really expensive shops and banks, city people rushing around and loads of traffic. It would have been much nicer if after Cannobio we went on to somewhere like Villa Taranto.
Review by Auger who travelled 25-September-2023
Lovely hotel and setting, good food with friendly and efficient staff. We enjoyed the company of our tour group members. Holiday let down by choice and length of daily trips. Some day trips lasted for 9 hours with destinations such as Lugano, not justified - a busy commercial city with little to appeal to tourists- an art gallery would have been welcome.. Likewise a very long day to Borromeo Islands didn't need an extra hour in Stresa at the end. The impression on several trips was that we were having to fill in time while waiting for the coach. The two best days involved boat trips from the hotel jetty to Orta St Julian ( an extra to the holiday programme) and to Omegna at the far end of the lake. Some of the older/more infirm group members found the going very tough and the description of the holiday as "gentle "was over optimistic.
Review by Hodgson who travelled 25-September-2023
Hotel in fantastic position on the lake - perfect for swimming - with lovely views. Excellent room. Staff were charming, efficient and friendly. Evening meal was hit and miss - more miss than hit but they had huge numbers to cope with. Outings were mostly v. good although we would suggest you drop Lugano trip - too long in coach with poor leg room to see not very much. Also, we would have preferred to get back to the hotel earlier every day to swim before dusk and relax. Tessa was a brilliant guide who enriched the trip.
Review by Symons who travelled 25-September-2023
All coach drivers were excellent. Breakfasts at the hotel were always very good with lots of choice. However, dinners were variable, ranging from excellent at the beginning of our stay, when both the quality of the food and the service provided were superb, to very poor. During the middle period of our stay for example, the cod in onion sauce was absolutely foul and the service then was atrocious. Lake Orta was beautiful and the hotel's location much appreciated. We enjoyed travelling by boat on Lake Orta. Some of the visits were excellent e.g. Macugnaga and the Barromean Islands but too much time was allowed visiting the world heritage site Sacro Monti di Varallo - the Italian guide was difficult to understand and boring. Seeing a couple of the painted terra cotta statues in the "Chapels" may have been interesting but there were so many!! They were in the same style as those in Sacro Monte di Orta above Orta San Giulia, whose statues were even worse. We had not thought this tour would resemble a pilgrimage in places.
Review by Everatt who travelled 25-September-2023
Review by Anonymous who travelled 25-September-2023
Accommodation score is for hotel and room only. As far as food was concerned it was Poor to Satisfactory - felt like 2nd class citizens. The trip to Maggiore and Lugano took 6 hours in the coach (including 1 hour of traffic delays) for 3 hours on the ground was not worth it. Suggest cut out Lugano and add a garden/site of interest nearer the hotel. Tessa was more than excellent.
Review by Anonymous who travelled 25-September-2023
very good
Review by McWatt who travelled 18-September-2022
As I said in my phone call last week, this was an excellent T.E. trip in many regards with the initial overnight stay in Paris being. very welcome indeed. That makes a contrast, though, with the really gruelling return which brought us to a terrible drenching around and then outside Gare Du Nord. Very, very, fortunately no-one slipped and fell! Highlights: Isola Bella, Sacra Monte di Varallo, the lovely town of Orta itself and several small exploratory excursions which we made ourselves around the hotel and lake. And on top of that we can now tell anyone who wants to know that we've now been down a goldmine!
Review by Montgomery who travelled 18-September-2022
The holiday met my expectations
Review by Anonymous who travelled 18-September-2022
The stopover in Paris was a bonus negated by the the train journey to Turin. Left late and arrival at 9.30pm was very late. Slightly underwhelmed by the dinners
Review by Fisher who travelled 18-September-2022
Hotel was excellent, food was varied and well prepared. However, the late train from Paris was not very nice, meaning a very late arrival. The very early start for the return was quite a challenge. Karen was always cheerful and helpful. Considering that she had never been on this tour before she really knew a lot about the area.
Review by Grimshaw who travelled 18-September-2022
Review by Anonymous who travelled 18-September-2022
A very interesting trip despite some challenging timings on both outward and return journeys! Tour manager was pro-active and engaging and the group gelled very well. Hotel staff were welcoming and breaktasts and evening meals were attractively presented and varied. Unfortunately, our day visit fo the mountain area was spoilt by the weather and the goldmine visit proved disappointing. The island hopping on Lake Marggiore was one of the highlights of the trip. It was also good to spend time in Paris on the outward journey.
Review by Smith who travelled 18-September-2022
The timings for both inward and outward journeys were difficult, particularly the 4.30 am start on the return journey.
Review by Anonymous who travelled 18-September-2022
Review by Anonymous who travelled 08-September-2019
Review by Anonymous who travelled 08-September-2019
Tessa really went the extra mile for everyone. One disappointment was scheduling the visit to the islands of Maggiore on a Sunday with so many visitors and on the last day with a 5.30am start and a long journey the following day. Bearing in mind Paris traffic at rush hour do you allow enough time between arrival at GdeLyon and Eurostar departure from GdNord for the transfer? We missed the train!
Review by Wilson who travelled 08-September-2019
Tessa Say was an exceptional tour leader - friendly, very efficient,and impeturbable over problems with the return journey. We missed the Eurostar because the train from Turin was late and Paris traffic was terrible. As this has happened before it might be better to book a later Eurostar.
Review by Ramell who travelled 08-September-2019
Food in the hotel at times was not good enough. Tessa was an excellent guide and showed us the beauty of the places visited. We would like to bypass Paris on outward and return journeys in future.
Review by McDowell who travelled 08-September-2019
A well balanced tour. The timings were good and the visits enhanced by excellent weather. Opening the curtains whilst lying in bed and having an uninterrupted lake view together with the snow on Monte Rosa and brilliant blue sky, will be unforgettable memories. Tessa was an excellent tour manager. Very helpful and totally unflappable..
Review by Harrison who travelled 08-September-2019
Review by Anonymous who travelled 08-September-2019
Review by Anonymous who travelled 09-September-2018
Our tour manager Tessa, was exceptional. She organised an additional tour on the day off. The return journey was very eventful with both trains running very late. She calmly dealt with the problems and was still checking on us up to midnight when we left St Pancras.
Review by Moore who travelled 09-September-2018
Review by who travelled 09-September-2018
Review by who travelled 09-September-2018
This is the third time that we have used Travel Editions and we consider them to be the best you can get. The holiday was absolutely wonderful with sightseeing tours that were breathtaking. The tour guide Tessa was outstanding, very knowledgeable and helpful. The only downside was that the journey home by train was a disaster. The train frm Italy to Paris was delayed by two hours due to a police operation, causing us to miss our Eurostar connection. Then the Later Eurostar train that we got had turn turn back to Paris due a technical fault. We got home eventually in the early hours of the next day. However, Tessa, the tour guide was an absolute hero. She worked hard on the journey home to get everyone back as efficiently as possible uinder the most difficult of circumstances. We would really commend her professionalism. Regardless, we will not hesitate to use Travel Editions again and intend to in the near future.
Review by Drizen who travelled 09-September-2018
1. Location of the hotel is, in most respects, very good indeed. However, a slight niggle results from the rather frequent and longish coach journeys that are required to visit "local" places of interest. 2. Room 155 technically had a "Lake view". I fact, it was rather restricted as compared with the other "lake view" rooms. 3. The evening meal was certainly variable in attractiveness and quality. On several evenings one had the distinct feeling that it was made 'down to the budget'. If this was the case then charge us a little more rather than leave this slightly bad taste in our mouths. 4. Hotel staff that we came into contact with were unfailingly helpful, cheerful and polite. However, when our table made a complaint about the standard of the last night's dinner it was lest to the waiters to apologise. No evidence of a Manager, Maitre d' or anyone else in authority. 5. When the toilet in some other rom was flushed it created a noticeable noise in our bathroom. Not very welcome in the middle of the night. Regrettably we did not report this to the Hotel staff. 6. Don't know what you pay the Tour Manager. Whatever that might be, she deserves a substantial rise.
Review by Mr Douglas Brodie who travelled 11-September-2016
Some of the people on the tour did not like the food supplied by the hotel but on the whole I enjoyed it, especially the soups, the potatoes, the savoy cabbage and the desserts. On the last day we had a four course meal. The first course was very good and the risotto was pleasant but there was too much for me so I did not finish it and I could not eat the third course except for a little taste. I did however manage the dessert which was a light mousse.
Review by Mrs Frances Shawcross who travelled 11-September-2016
This was our 5th tour with the company and the most enjoyable. What made it so was Tessa Saye who must have returned exhausted after the effort put in for our benefit. On day 2 at the hotel she had organised tables for 9 at the evening meal and suggested we mingled over the course of the week. The result was more like a reunion than first off meeting. The only disappointment was the evening meal. We were not expecting cordon bleu but good local dishes, in fact the majority of dishes were bland.
Review by Mr Michael Sheridan who travelled 11-September-2016
Review by who travelled 11-September-2016
Misunderstanding as to who were to share the room. Single passenger's tickets not sent separately. Very friendly and helpful hotel. Very good and well informed Tour Manager. Very good coach driver and local guide-Sylvia.
Review by Mrs Elisabeth Murphy who travelled 13-September-2015
With hindsight we would prefer to have flown to our destination. It was hard work managing a small suitcase transferring on 2 trains and 2 coaches email to follow.
Review by Mrs Ann Pollock who travelled 13-September-2015
We enjoyed this trip despite the inclement weather for part of the time. The hotel was comfortable and accommodating. The menus were varied and interesting and of good quality. The tour manager, Serge Bertini, went out of his way to uphold the Travel Editions philosophy. We were certainly treated as travellers not tourists and in league with the coach driver, Enrico, varied the itinerary according to the weather and traveller requests with even additional places visited or routes taken at the request of travellers . He treated everyone as an individual. We will definitely travel with Travel Editions again( it will then be our 3rd trip).
Review by Mr C Pepper who travelled 13-September-2015
Tour guide was excellent. Sergei. Always helpful to everyone.
Review by Mrs Sheila Morrison who travelled 13-September-2015
The only reason I have given a 'good' for the sightseeing tours rather than 'excellent' is that we had quite a lot of rain during the first 5 days of the holiday. I realise that you can do nothing about that. The holiday was very enjoyable - our tour manager and the other guide that we had both did an excellent job.
Review by Mr Roger Dangerfield who travelled 13-September-2015
Very enjoyable despite the awful weather (not your fault). Lovely hotel, but typically Italian in that not altogether practical for oldies - no drawer or shelf space, light didn't work despite reporting it twice, bath so high it almost needed a ladder to get in and out. A kettle in the room would have been welcome though we were aware from brochure that there wuoldn't be one. Food was excellent though, and hostess most hospitable. Serge, our Tour Manager, was excellent - very helpful, very knowledgeable. Administration fell down somewhat in getting our rooms muddled - allocating double room to me and my sister instead of to me and my partner. (thought that would have been clear from the booking form). Overall, this was our second trip with Travel Editions and we would use them again. Thank you.
Review by Mrs Elisabeth Murphy who travelled 13-September-2015
Because of the torrential rain, two of the excursions which involved lengthy coach journeys were marred as it was difficult to appreciate the beauty of the area. It might have been sensible to offer an alternative excursion to, for example, Milan and its culture. The very long return journey back to the UK could have been made more bearable by an overnight stop in Paris for which we would happily have paid extra.
Review by Mr Nicholas Brewster who travelled 13-September-2015
Giardinetto hotel served good food with friendly staff. Rooms were not modern. Ours had no dressing table and the only mirror in dark corner. The area fronting the lake was a modern extension with lovely views. The rear would benefit from modernisation. Difficult to walk from hotel as it is on busy road without pavement. Nontheless enyoyed our stay.
Review by Mr Graham Oliver who travelled 14-June-2015
Review by who travelled 14-June-2015
Hotel generally excellent but the food was very bland and disappointing, and often not very warm when served.
Review by Mr Keith Foggin who travelled 14-June-2015
Tour manager was outstanding. Brochure should make clear that Orta St Giulio only accessible by boat/taxi. Suggest drop trip to Lugano - too long and rather dull. Make more of Lake Orta itself e.g. tour on day 1 or 2, to include Omegna which only needs an hour or so.
Review by Dr Lynne Ridler-Wall who travelled 14-September-2014
It would have been nice to have had tea/coffee making facilities in our room. Only put satisfactory for train because of problem with outward Paris/Milan train where we had to change trains. This was not the fault of Travel Editions.
Review by Mrs Kay Hardy who travelled 14-September-2014
Review by who travelled 31-August-2014
Review by Smith who travelled 09-December-2013
