Lake Orta - worth seeing it?

I did theVillages tour years ago. Enjoyed the tour but thought that Lake Orta seemed a bit outside the Village box. Nothing wrong with Orta itself, a nice little lakeside town with an alpine vibe, but it was raining so decided to forego the lake trip to the island Monastery. Wandered through the very attractive town and enjoyed relaxing and writing up my journal at a cafe. If weather is good it would be a nice day trip. There is apparently a nice walk around the monastery garden and probably some hikes from the town.

I've been to the three lakes you mention. I've been to Orta twice. I liked Orta because it is much smaller and less crowded than Maggiore and Como.

It would make a good day trip. If you go, think about having lunch at Al Boeuc. The salumeria platter with a nice bottle of wine is wonderful.

My husband and I did the Village Italy tour and weren't bowled over by Lake Orta. We went to the monastery, etc but I don't have any vivid highlights from Lake Orta. I haven't been to Lake Como or Maggiore but I assume they have more to offer than Orta.

I spent five days based in a small family owned hotel up the hill from the village of Orta San Giulio. We thought that this was a great place to be, close to everything, but away from the tourist droves. We took day trips to the Matterhorn, Lake Como and Lake Maggiore from there, but enjoyed the peace in the evening back on Orta. I found the village quite charming, and the Sacro Monte di Orta was very beautiful. I would recommend a visit to the island in the center, but just walking along the lake was stunning to me.

https://www.sacrimonti.org/sacro-monte-di-orta

Since this will be your third time to Lake Maggiore, you might enjoy seeing Lake Orta on this trip. Although I wish the boat would have had more open-air seating, the ride around the lake and the stop on the island was the highlight of our stay here. We've never been to Lake Maggiore, so we don't have a comparison. We both would love to go back to Lake Como, while the one night on the RS tour was plenty at Lake Orta. I felt it was a long drive from Levanto to Lake Orta for what we experienced there.

Hi, Jean. I"ve been to Como and drove along Lago Maggiore. Lago d'Orta is magical! Stayed in Orta San Giulio in 1999 based on the recommendation of a savvy travel advisor. Was not on a RS Tour, but traveling independently. I will never forget walking from the public parking lot at the top of the hill, passing between some buildings into a wide street/pathway leading down to the lake. I was watching my step on the gravel and gasped when I looked up to see the view of the lake and the little island. The whole town was a postcard. We stayed at Hotel Orta at the end of the central piazza. The hotel is unfortunately no longer there, but it sat right on the lake shore. I would definitely recommend a visit and a boat trip from town out to the little island. Too bad it will only be a day visit, as sunset and nighttime views are so beautiful. Have a wonderful time in Italy.

Linda

“ Too bad it will only be a day visit, as sunset and nighttime views are so beautiful.”.

Don’t feel too sorry for me, Linda! : ). I am partly returning to Stresa to stay in the corner balcony room again at Boutique Hotel Elvezia on tiny Isola Bella.

A day trip will be ok. We made the mistake of staying on Lake Orta and ended up going back down to Lake Maggiore a lot of the time.
It was early September, very hot, hotel would not put put a/c on and the nearby paper mills polluted the air, terrible smell. We had already been to Lake Maggiore on an earlier trip and enjoyed it.

Thank you, everyone, for sharing your experiences at Lake Orta! From your summaries, I think I will wait until the week before my trip to check the weather forecast and then go ahead and reserve a spot on the bus if it looks like a nice day to see it.