The Italian lakes have become a byword for a certain type of glamour. Como, Maggiore, even the supposed ‘secret’ lake Iseo roll off the tongues of the well-travelled, conjuring images of grand Belle Epoque hotels, glitzy wedding parties and the faint chance of a Clooney sighting.
But try Lake Orta on even the most in-the-know British traveller and prepare to be met with a blank stare.
It is fairly remarkable that the lake, which plays little spoon to Lake Maggiore’s border-straddling hug, flies so far under the radar given its credentials.
In Orta San Giulio it boasts one of the officially designated ‘most beautiful towns in Italy’ with its winding cobbled streets, pretty painted Baroque buildings and mysterious monastery island still inhabited by nuns, while Villa Crespi is home to a hotel and restaurant run by nine Michelin star-holding Italian TV chef Antonino Cannavacciuolo.
And yet, its swimmable waters and walkable shoreline, dotted with wonderful places to eat, drink and stay and embraced by gentle tree-covered mountains make for a peaceful retreat less than an hour from Milan, where a British traveller is unlikely to bump into everyone they know – at least for now.
Where to stay in Lake Orta
For its sheer prettiness — and to best take advantage of all the holiday pursuits the lake offers — it’s best to base yourself in Orta San Giulio, a 49-minute drive from Milan Malpensa airport or short taxi ride from Pettenasco train station.
Nestled above the lake, just a few minutes’ drive from the village is La Darbia (from £257 per night), the most laid-back of the area’s five-star offerings.
Set in its own pretty gardens and vineyards, the hotel’s 20 guest apartments with kitchenettes are built around a nineteenth-century stone tower.
The property was bought in 2008 by Gian Carlo and Matteo Primatesta, two architect brothers who have used their professional nous to renovate the rustic historic extant buildings and in the modern additions.
It's a mere 20-minute walk to pretty Orta San Guilio (uphill on the way back), but it is pretty easy to spend an entire lazy day enjoying the secluded hotel and its rural surrounds.
The relaxed atmosphere and sprawling layout make the hotel very family-friendly too, and high chairs and cots are provided on request.
There’s plentiful space to lounge around the saltwater swimming pool, with loungers that can be curtained off for shade or privacy, or it’s a fragrant stroll along the lavender-bordered path to the small spa with a treatment room where guests can choose from a brief relaxation massage selection (from 85 Euro for half an hour).
Total relaxation is encouraged from the start of the day with breakfast baskets delivered to each apartment, to linger over in the privacy of your own terrace in your pyjamas if you so please.
Fresh baked bread, homemade jams, local farm yoghurt and butter and eggs or crepes prepared by the kitchen are all eaten with one eye on the view of kitchen gardens and vineyards tumbling down to the lake.
In keeping with this informal abundance, on Wednesday evenings guests are treated to an open table and wine tasting at La Cantina, the cellar for the hotel’s small-scale wine production.
A communal atmosphere is encouraged with a groaning buffet of antipasti and flowing wine beneath twinkling string lights and a playlist originally shared by a young British guest.
Where to eat and drink in Lake Orta
La Darbia’s restaurant is open to hotel guests and outsiders who come to enjoy chef Matteo Monfrinotti’s tasting menus offering elegant twists on Piedmontese classics.
During a September stay this included such dishes as chargrilled red peppers with burnt onion, a bagnetto verde mousse and stuffed rabbit with foie gras and parsley potatoes.
A delicious but slightly unnerving bit of theatre rounds off the meal as a trolley laden with a (increasingly phallic as the evening progresses) chunk of homemade gianduja — posh Nutella, another dish of local origin — which gets scraped onto a spoon for diners to lick.
Outside La Darbia, Lake Orta has its bombastic moment at the Villa Crespi, whose three Michelin-starred hotel restaurant draws the Instaglam crowd from Milan to the neo-Moorish building whose décor has to be seen to be believed.
At the other end of the scale, but also in Orta San Giulio, La Campana is a no-frills pizzeria with tables spilling down a cobbled back street and a good selection of pizzas, most priced at 10 Euros or less.
For something between the two, head to the old town square Piazzetta Ernesto Ragazzoni, where the smattering of lakefront restaurants all offer stunning views of the Isola San Giulio and solid menus.
Take an aperitivo at Pan&Vino Enogastronomia and you might regret your dinner reservation so you can get stuck into their charcuterie and cheese boards.
For serious wine drinking in atmospheric surroundings head to Al Boeuc on via Bersani, which feels like a secret — situated as it is one street back from the main drag on a romantic, winding old street where its red check-clad tables are lit only by lanterns and candles — even as you’ll struggle to bag a table at peak times.
Where to shop
Pick up foodie gifts including cookbooks, pasta and chocolates at Cannavacciulo’s boutique or go for a linen tea towel or tablecloth at Penelope (both in Orta San Giulio), who specialise in wood block printing in natural colours with 18th-century floral designs.
There’s a small market in the Piazza Mario Motta selling mostly tourist tat — which seems a little incongruous in the off-season and is one of the only hints that the lake gets busy in high summer.
Iconic Italian design house Alessi is based on the lake and its outlet store selling cut price items just outside the town of Omegna is well worth a visit for design nuts.
What to do in Lake Orta
Sitting so close to Milan with a plentiful water supply, Lake Orta was an industrial hub from the 1920s onwards and became heavily polluted by discharge from a rayon factory.
Thanks to a successful clean-up operation begun in the early 1980s, the lake is now safe even to swim in and there are plentiful opportunities to mess about on the water, from stand up paddleboarding to hiring a motor boat to cruise around the island of San Giulio, where a community of cloisetered Benedictine nuns lives.
Up hill from town, the Sacro Monte is well worth a visit for a stroll around the Mannerist kitsch of the complex of 21 chapels, complete with chromatic statues and spectacular frescoes.
Getting to Lake Orta
It is around an hour’s drive from Milan or it’s a two-hour train ride from Milano Centrale, with a change in Novara. ladarbia.com
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