Start your exploration of Lake Orta with a stay at the Lake's most charming village, Orta San Giulio, with houses topped in thick slate tiles and adorned with wrought-iron balustrades and balconies.
The island of San Giulio, the only island in Orta, is accessible by hired boat, where the views of Orta with Sacro Monte, or sacred mountain, rising up behind are spectacular in late afternoon.
The climb up Sacro Monte from the village takes maybe an hour round trip. On top is a sanctuary built in 1591 with 20 small chapels dedicated to St. Francis, many containing 17th century terracotta statues revealing the high points of the saint's life.
Lake Orta has always been a haven for poets and other creative people. Nietzsche spent the years 1883 to 1885 in retreat at Lake d'Orta to write "Thus Spoke Zarathustra."
Find out more about Lake Orta: Lake Orta Travel Directory.