Lake Orta is a quiet lake, 15 kilometres long and two kilometres wide, in the southern Alps just west of Lake Maggiore and in the Piedmont region if Italy. To the west of the better known Lombardy lakes such as Maggiore, Iseo, Garda and Como, it is smaller than these other lakes – and less visited, although even Lake Orta can become quite busy in the summer.
The lake is in a picturesque setting surrounded by woods and hills, and it is said that the Italians who know about Lago d’Orta prefer to keep it a secret to avoid it becoming as commercialised as the larger lakes. In any case both the town of Orta San Giulio and the lake are extremely pretty and a visit is highly recommended.
Explore Lake Orta
Although you can explore all around the lake, most visits are centred on a visit to the pretty village of Orta San Giulio, and a boat trip across to Isola San Giulio. If you would like to further explore Lake Orta the bike ride around the lake is lovely and although there are a few small hills there is nothing too arduous. Alternatively you can just relax on Miami Beach, a nice sandy lake beach at Orta San Giulio.
