LAKES AND VALLEYS TOUR / 5 days

Arrival at your hotel on Lake  Maggiore, welcome drink, dinner 

After a buffet breakfast at the hotel, meet your guide and transfer by private launch to Isola Bella, the most famous of the Borromeo Islands. Visit the 17th-century Palace, rich in history, art and culture, and its extraordinary landscaped grounds, a masterpiece of Italian gardens, laid out on ten stepped terraces descending to the water’s edge. Free time for shopping and exploring the island. Then on to Isola dei Pescatori, the centuries’old working fisherman’s island, with its picturesque lanes and alleyways, typical dwellings and the small church dedicated to San Vittore. Free time for lunch to try lake delicious fish specialties at one of the island’s many restaurants and explore the village. Afternoon transfer by private launch to Isola Madre to visit the largest of the Borromean Islands, with its extensive botanical garden, aviary, and exotic peacocks and pheasants freely roaming the grounds. Tour the 16th century Palace, its reconstructed period rooms recreating the atmosphere of yesteryear. Back to Stresa by private launch and return to the hotel for dinner.

After a buffet breakfast at the hotel, meet your guide and transfer by private coach to Verbania for a  guided tour of Villa Taranto, one of Italy’s richest botanical gardens and a major tourist attraction of Lake Maggiore. Transformed in 1931 by Scottish Captain Neil McEacharn, it has over 20,000 varieties of plants, many rare and imported from all over the world. The garden covers an area of 20 hectares and is crossed by 7 km of paths. An uninterrupted show of spectacular blooms dazzles visitors from April to October. The tour lasts about 2 hours. Re-board your coach for the short drive to Orta and a guided tour of this charming medieval village: Piazza Motta, on the lakefront just opposite the island of San Giulio, the heart of the town with its “Palazzotto” dating back to 1582, and narrow lanes lined with elegant sixteenth and seventeenth-century townhouses with their characteristic wrought iron gates and balconies, testamony to the local artisans of the period. The tour continues by small private motorboat across to the island of San Giulio, known for its Romanesque basilica founded, according to tradition, by the saint at the end of the fourth century. Enlarged several times, it was then completely rebuilt between the XIth and XIIth centuries. The adjacent nineteenth-century building houses a community of Benedictine nuns. 

Return to Orta by private launch and then back to the hotel by coach. Dinner.

After a buffet breakfast, departure from the hotel and transfer by private coach to the town of Domodossola. Here, board the characteristic sCentovallis, train for a pleasant hour and a half scenic ride through the Vigezzo Valley, also known as the “Painters’ Valleys. Journey past uncontaminated forests, pristine waterfalls, and spectacular cliffs, as well as vineyards, picturesque villages, and the town of Re, famous for the shrine dedicated to Our Lady of the Blood.

Continue on to Locarno in Canton Ticino (Switzerland), an attractive city on the shores of Lake Maggiore, and host to the famous international film festival. Guided tour followed by free time for lunch, with the afternoon for shopping and exploring at leisure. Return by scheduled public Locarno-Intra ferry (about 2 hours) and then board private coach back to the hotel for dinner. 

After a breakfast buffet, check-out and departure.