The picturesque village of Orta San Giulio on Lake Orta is an absolute must-have addresses when I have friends or relatives to visit. Many of the attractions here at Lago Maggiore, I give myself for years and I have not - like the gardens of Villa Taranto - ever visited before. But Orta I find romantic, sweet and definitely worth the walk. Orta San Giulio is a good strong town of 1,000 residents on the same lake and is situated between Lake Maggiore and the provincial capital of Novara. Located on a promontory that projects into the Voralpensse especially the old town and traffic liberated the island of Isola San Giulio interesting tourist - unfortunately so interesting that the town is completely overrun in the season on weekends and holidays. The best way to approach the area during the week or during the low season in order to keep the romance at least a little.

The car you simply put on one of the many parking spaces from the entrance and turned a lap on foot through the Old Town manageable. Striking is the Palazotto della Comunitá, the former town hall, which increases on "stilts" in the middle of the Piazza Motta is and should be known by the German commercial for Dr. Oetker pizza Ciabatone ("top pizza, ciabatta down"). On the east side of the square rises the alley Salita della Motta, perched at the upper end of the church of Santa Maria Assunta. Directly in front of Piazza Motta is the ferry terminal, from where you can translate by scheduled ferry or taxi boat to the offshore island with the monastery Mater Ecclesiae. On the waterfront is, of course romantic dinner, when the island seems to float in the lake illuminated by headlights. Beautiful are the narrow streets with their picturesque murals, winding its annexes and easily weathered charm.

Orta is terribly overcrowded touristy, so I would recommend eating out when you have too much money anyway it; in the prices tourist's view of the lake and supplement generously with factored. Otherwise, it is always recommended, einzukehren few kilometers outside the town is not so big that you would not get through without meals stage. The same considerations apply also to the many shops with grotesquely overpriced Touristennepp, which you can buy some for a third in Esselunga of Verbania. Grappa bottles of silly on it in the bath towels with additional design to the lake to dried porcini mushrooms in truffle prices, there are all that no sane person would ever put himself into the living room. Completely exempt pain can also travel in a sort of toy train on the main square and it looks stupid. I would like to exclude the 3-4 excellent ice cream parlors, which offer even in very cold spring, excellent hand-made ice cream ("produzione propria") - and certainly at regular prices. There is the beauty of the place and the landscape is, after all, nothing and is definitely worth the trip - an exception!

For the return trip to Lake Maggiore offers the route via the Mottarone with its spectacular view of Lake Maggiore. This is also one of the impressive Villa Crespi over, had built a Milanese merchant 1879 from enthusiasm for Oriental in Moorish style.