Orta San Giulio on Lake Orta

I took this RS tour last year this time and had a wonderful time. The 1/2 day in Orta San Giulio is mostly free time to wander around. We just had a short overview walk. There are really no major sites, but it is a beautiful area, more like Switzerland or Germany than Italy. I'd stay and relax, maybe go out to the island in the middle of the lake. The hotel we had was very nice with a balcony and a view. Have a wonderful time.

Laurie:

The folks from RS suggested that we go to Stresa Sunday am, stay there that night and go to MXP the next day since the transportation connections from Stresa to MXP are much better.

Stresa looks great but the idea of a rest day after 4 days in Venice and the better part of 2 weeks on the road on a RS Tour is somewhat appealing. We spent an extra day in Villefranche at the end of our Paris Provence Tour in 2007 and really enjoyed the day.

What did folks do at the end of your tour? Did the transportation connections back to MXP work out for those who chose to go that route? Did you stay at the Hotel Bussola?

April, 2008 we decided on an extra night in Orta San Giulio. We were glad that we had booked an extra night at the RS hotel there. It was very nice, and the hotel & town were so much more relaxing than the Cinque Terre, where we had just come from. It was an Italian holiday when we were in CT and so crowded we really enjoyed the quietness of the last days on Lake Orta. Have a great time, let me know if you have any more questions.

Thanks Mimi.

Spending an extra day in Orta San Giulio is the what we are leaning towards.

Anything else you would recommend seeing when there?

How were the connections to the airport (MXP)?

We were on the Village Italy tour last June and also finished up in Orta. We elected to go to Stresa for our final day before flying home from Malpensa also. Our tour guide helped us with our plans which involved taking a bus from the train station in Orta to meet a train in Cuzzago which took us to Stresa. Cute little town and more things to see than Orta. You can also take a boat tour of Lago Maggiore to visit the islands on the Lago. The sea was rough the day we were there, so we just explored the town. We had our tour guide also help us book the bus the following morning to Malpensa. They picked us up right on time in front of the church on the main street and easily took us in the minibus to Malpensa, very easy. Hope you enjoy your Village Italy tour and if you get Lisa Anderson as your guide, you will love her.

Orta is really it's own attraction. Just hanging out along the water is relaxing. Two things you can do without a car are taking a boat to the island and walking the meditation path there. Also the Sacred Mountain behind the town has a pleasant hike through a series of altars.

But for ease of transportation, I would consider going to Stresa to stay overnight before getting a bus directly to Malpensa.

I took the RS tour last July (the same one as Dan above). I stayed on at the Hotel Bussola the extra night. It was nice to have some relaxation time. Orta is rather small, however, so it may be a 'nothing' day for you. When we arrived last year, Lisa A., our guide, arranged for a boat tour out to the small island on Saturday afternoon, so, on Sunday, there wasn't tons to do (actually they had a HUGE thunderstorm, so I spent most of the day at the hotel on Sunday). However, it was a good way to end and Lisa arrranged a taxi service directly from the hotel to the airport for me on Monday morning. I was the only one left at that point, but I had no problems getting to MXP. ENJOY and HAVE FUN!

I agree that there is not a lot to do in Orta if you stay over like we did. We just wanted to catch our breath at the end of the trip. I love wandering down every back street in the small towns. Lisa had arranged for a taxi for us, also. If you get Lisa or Nina tell them hi for us! Stresa does sound interesting, we'll keep that in mind for another trip. Either way, have a great time. We are taking the South Italy trip in September and looking forward to that. Let us know what you thought of your trip & what you decided to do at the end.