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Lake Maggiore vs Lake Orta??

Posted by on

Hi there!

I had posted earlier for tips in planning my late May - early June trip to Piedmont, including the Langhe, the Aosta Valley, and 2.5 days for an Italian Lake (I say 2.5, as our first day will consist travel/a drive down from the Aosta Valley).

My trip is all planned and I had even gotten everything set to stay in Stresa....however I still feel so pulled towards Orta San Giulio! Any recommendations are welcome :)

As we love small towns and getting off the usual touristy path, I would love to stay in Orta San Giulio. Is there enough to do there to keep busy though? Is there a car rental company nearby the town we could drop our car off to before leaving? (we do NOT want to drop off at Malpensa as we have an early AM flight heading home).

If Stresa, we plan to stay at La Palma and having an Avis to drop it off in town when we arrive would be wonderful. We would stop at Orta San Giulio on our drive down to Stresa. Then, do a day for the Islands and a day going up to Locarno. If anyone has done the day to Locarno on the train/ferry combo...do you think it would be packed the first week in June?

Appreciate any suggestions/opinions!

Posted by
28971 posts

I haven't take the train/ferry combo from Stresa to Locarno, but I love the Centovalli train between Domodossola and Locarno. A loop trip might be possible if you don't want much time in Locarno.

Posted by
3659 posts

I would go for the 2nd plan. Lovely as it is, there's not much to do in Orta San Giulio after you go out to the island, I'd be surprised if there's a car rental office in such a small town. Stresa will be a better base all-round.

Posted by
32455 posts

kapri,

I'd suggest staying with Lake Maggiore and Stresa as it's a larger town with more options for sightseeing and day trips. As someone else mentioned, it's easily possible to take a day trip to Locarno (CH) on the scenic Centro Valli Railway, returning in the evening via Ferrry. It's a very pleasant trip. In Stresa you could also visit the beautiful Borromeo Islands or take a trip to Mt. Mottarone.

Orta San Giulio is more challenging if using public transit to get there and back, and there's also not a lot to do there compared to other places. Two nights and one day would probably be enough. As I recall, driving into the town is not possible. I believe there's a Bus or Shuttle from Stresa to Orta, so you might also be able to stay in Stresa and take a day trip there. However it's late and I haven't checked the details on that.

Posted by
16575 posts

Orta San Giulio can be visited from Stresa.
Although I have done so by car, and it's a very quick drive (about 20-25 min), you can do the same with a combination of buses and trains, or just trains (change at Cuzzago). Takes some planning and it's a bit longer, but doable. If there are a few of you it might pay to share a taxi. Not as cheap as trains, but way faster.

Posted by
45 posts

Thank you so much everyone for all your replies!! I feel validated to stay in Stresa and do a day trip to Orta Dan Giulio. We'll stop there first on our drive down from the Aosta Valley. I just booked with La Palma!!

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