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home > EXPRESS TOUR OF THE LAKES / 3 days

EXPRESS TOUR OF THE LAKES / 3 days

Lake Maggiore and Lake Orta

Day 1 : ARRIVAL, VILLA TARANTO BOTANIC GARDEN

Early afternoon arrival at Lake Maggiore. Meet your guide at Villa Taranto in Verbania, for a guided tour of Villa Taranto, one of Italy’s richest botanical gardens and a major tourist attraction on Lake Maggiore. Transformed in 1931 by Scottish Captain Neil McEacharn, it has over 20,000 varieties of plants, many very rare, 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.
Transfer by coach to your hotel, for check-in, welcome drink and dinner.

Day 2 : STRESA: BORROMEO ISLANDS

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 park, a masterpiece of Italian gardens, laid out on ten stepped terraces descending to the water. 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 delicious lake fish specialties at one of the island’s many restaurants and then explore the village before re-boarding for Isola Madre to visit the largest of the Borromean Islands, now an extensive botanical garden, where exotic peacocks and pheasants roam the grounds. Tour the 16th century Palace, with its  reconstructed period rooms that recreate the atmosphere of yesteryear. Back to Stresa by private launch for a quick tour of this fashionable tourist destination and free time to stroll around town and admire some of the most elegant villas and opulent hotels on Lake Maggiore.
Return to the hotel for dinner.

Day 3 :  LAKE ORTA AND DEPARTURE

After a buffet breakfast at the hotel, meet your guide for the short coach ride to Orta and 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 picturesque lanes lined with elegant sixteenth and seventeenth-century townhouses with small wrought iron 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. It was then enlarged several times and completely rebuilt between the XIth and XIIth centuries. The adjacent nineteenth-century building houses a community of Benedictine nuns.
Lunch in Orta or return to the hotel by coach
The price includes:

3 days/2 nights
2 HB in 3-5 star hotel  
2 HD + 1 FD tour guide
Private boats  for Borromee Islands and Isola di San Giulio
Entrances:  Isola Bella, Isola Madre and Villa Taranto

Tel. +39 0323 1981000
Fax. +39 0323 1970474
  • Duration: 3 gg
  • Price: PRICE ON DEMAND
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