Fully escorted tour includes:
- Return flights
- Seven nights four-star accommodation with spectacular lake views, plus breakfast and dinner
- Visit to the enchanting Isola Bella, its enchanting 17th century baroque villa crammed with art and the stunning formal gardens
- Visit to Zermatt in the Swiss Alps seeing the Matterhorn, probably the world’s most instantly recognisable peak
- Visit to Lake Como, described by Wordsworth as ‘a treasure the world keeps to itself’
- Travel on the famous Centovalli railway famous for its spectacular alpine views
- Cruise on Lake Maggiore to chic Locarno
- Visit to probably Italy’s most romantic lake, enchanting Lake Orta and the delightful 14th century medieval village Orta San Giulio
- Escorted by our experienced tour manager
Just as our desire to explore and experience new lands is timeless, so too is the beauty of the Italian Lakes, unfailingly delighting visitors for centuries. Indeed it was the influx of the pioneering British during the days of the Grand Tour, who first brought fame to the majestic Lake Maggiore and helped to create the sophisticated lakeside villages, nestling like pearls on a string, along its picturesque, verbena-clad shores. This wonderful combination of truly awesome Swiss mountain scenery and the tranquillity of the crystal clear Italian Lakes in a montage of splendour, cries out to be explored.
It is very difficult to describe the sheer stunning beauty of the Italian Lakes and it is hardly surprising that so many composers like Verdi and Rossini, plus countless poets and writers have sought peace and inspiration here. Its heady mix of serene, deep waters, fragrant orange blossom and verbena lend their delicate scents to the warm air whilst forest-clad hillsides, typical Italian medieval villages, mouth-watering fresh food and an effervescent people unique on the planet make it hard to beat.
Lake Maggiore itself straddles both Italy and Switzerland, and we stay in Stresa, a very stylish typical Italian town and once a favourite haunt of Hemingway, Chaplin and many others. We explore not only Lake Maggiore, but the equally beautiful Lake Como as well, plus the hidden gem that is Lake Orta, probably one of the most entrancing places you will ever visit. With the arc of the majestic Alps stretching out along the horizon you will enjoy probably the finest mountain scenery in the world during your visits to Switzerland, chic Locarno and dramatic Zermatt, nestling famously at the foot of the mighty Matterhorn, the world’s most charismatic peak. Then there are the delightful lost valleys, tumbling glacier streams and classic chalet scenes all blended together to offer a truly inspirational tour.
