LakeOrta.com - a very accessible location well served by all modes of transportHoliday Homes at Lake Orta

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Lake Orta | Getting There | Table of Flights | Car Hire | Local Sights
Day Trips | Calendar | Orta San Giulio | Vacciago | Lortallo | Pella
Omegna | Miami | Lagna | San Vito | Walking | Nature Walks | Golf
Skiing | Sports | Shopping | Eating Out | Cooking Classes


Arriving by Air

The closest airport to Lake Orta is Milan Malpensa (MXP), just 24 miles (40 km) from the lake.  Three other airports, Milan Linate (LIN), Milan Bergamo (Orio al Serio) (BGY) and Turin Caselle (TRN) are all within 2 hours drive.  For flights from the UK, Ireland, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden, see flights to Lake Orta.

We recommend you pick up a hire car at the airport.  See car hire companies at local airports.  A hire car is the easiest way of doing the transfer, can be cheaper than return taxi transfers, and will help you get more out of the area (even if you don't need the car some days).

Arriving by public transport from Malpensa is possible with two straightforward changes, but needs to be planned as there are only connections at certain times of day.  See below for trains from Malpensa airport.  Public transport from the other airports means going via Milan with multiple changes and is not convenient.

Train from Malpensa Airport

The best route, which takes just 2 hours, is from Malpensa to Busto Arsizio Nord (13 minutes), and from there to Novara Nord (29 minutes).  From Novara Nord station it's a few minutes walk via an underpass to the main train station (just "Novara"), from where there are direct trains to Orta-Miasino (50 minutes).  Between Malpensa and Novara Nord the trains are frequent, but between Novara and Orta-Miasino the trains are less frequent with a big gap mid-morning, and no trains on Sundays between Novara and Orta-Miasino (Sunday service was stopped in 2017).  The train from Malpensa Airport was extended to Terminal 2 in early 2017.  There are now stops at both Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, see the timetables below.

Orta-Miasino station is actually in Legro, less than 1km from Orta San Giulio, 1km from Miasino, 2km from Vacciago, and 3km from Lortallo.

Train Timetable for Malpensa Airport to Orta-Miasino

Here is the Timetable from Malpensa to Orta-Miasino (updated January 2022).  Mon-Sun means the trains run every day.  Mon-Sat means the trains run every day except Sunday.  Mon-Fri means the trains do not run on a Saturday or Sunday.  Always check the times of your chosen train on www.trenitalia.com or www.lefrecce.it for the actual day of your journey.

Station Mon-Sat Mon-Sun Mon-Sun Mon-Sat
Malpensa Aeroporto T2 depart 1150 1350 1550 1750
Malpensa Aeroporto T1 depart 1156 1356 1556 1756
Busto Arsizio Nord arrive 1203 1403 1603 1803
Busto Arsizio Nord depart 1220 1420 1620 1820
Novara Nord arrive 1249 1449 1649 1849
Novara depart 1345 1515 1734 1915
Orta-Miasino arrive 1431 1604 1825 2005

Sometimes there are taxis at Orta-Miasino station, if not ask in the station bar to book you a taxi.

· It's walkable from Orta-Miasino station to Orta San Giulio in about 20 minutes if you have light luggage.  Left out the station.  Left at the end.  Pass under the railway bridge and walk down to the roundabout (cross on the right at the zebra).  Straight over the roundabout.  Turn left after the Villa Crespi, and keep going (as you round the corner, this is the nicest bit and by far the best way to arrive in Orta!).

· It's also possible to walk from Orta-Miasino up to Corconio, Vacciago and Lortallo on footpaths staying off the roads in about 35 minutes if you have light luggage.  Right out the station and follow the road (called Prisciola) up the hill.  At the T-junction:

At the fork:

Train Timetable for Orta-Miasino to Malpensa Airport

Here is the Timetable from Orta-Miasino to Malpensa (updated January 2022).  Mon-Sun means the trains run every day.  Mon-Sat means the trains run every day except Sunday.  Mon-Fri means the trains run every day except Saturday and Sunday.  Always check the times of your chosen train on www.trenitalia.com or www.lefrecce.it for the actual day of your journey.

Station Mon-Fri Mon-Sat Mon-Sun Mon-Sun Mon-Sat Mon-Sat Mon-Sat Mon-Sat
Orta-Miasino depart 0626 0712 0804 1351 1456 1653 1854 1952
Novara arrive 0716 0754 0843 1437 1541 1740 1943 2039
Novara Nord depart 0741 0811 0911 1511 1611 1811 2011 2200
Busto Arsizio Nord arrive 0808 0838 0938 1538 1638 1838 2038 2248
Busto Arsizio Nord depart 0825 0855 0955 1555 1655 1855 2055 2307
Malpensa Aeroporto T1 arrive 0834 0904 1004 1604 1704 1904 2104 2316
Malpensa Aeroporto T2 arrive 0840 0910 1010 1610 1710 1910 2110 2320

Accommodation at Malpensa

If these train times don't suit, or you need to stay a night at the airport anyway, there is a Sheraton Hotel at Malpensa Terminal 1, and a Moxy Hotel (+39-02-9475.7100, part of the Marriott group) at Malpensa Terminal 2.  Both of these are right at the respective terminals.  In addition, there are several hotels located between the two terminals (so not really at either), including a Holiday Inn, Idea Hotel and Crowne Plaza.  You will find all these hotels on booking.com and the other main accommodation sites.

Arriving by Car

All our holiday homes are easily reached by road, and detailed directions are supplied in your location pack.

To find the location of the holiday homes on Google maps enter the location as follows.

Holiday Home Location
Bluewater Via Provinciale 21, Crabbia, Italy
Casa Fiori Via Petrarca, Pella, Italy
Isola Piazza Motta, Orta San Giulio, Italy

Travelling by Car from the UK

Lake Orta is just 670 miles from Calais (just two thirds of the distance to Tuscany!) so it's an easy two day drive.

Kandersteg - Goppenstein rail tunnel - drive-on drive-off and stay in your car - superb swiss efficiency! Preferable (imho) to the queues for the Gotthard road tunnel!

We have two route suggestions:

If you don't fancy driving on the alpine passes, you can book a place on the train that goes right through from Kandersteg to Iselle.  Book at www.bls.ch/e/autoverlad/iselle.php.  This service now operates only a few trains at weekends between April and October.  The journey takes 60 minutes, you stay in the car.  Trains south depart around 0700 or 1800, trains north depart around an hour later.  The cost is CHF 98 one way (2018 price).  With these train times, it probably makes sense to break the journey in Kandersteg, a delightful alpine village, the Adler is particularly recommended if you like your whirlpool bath with you in it to slide out at the touch of a button onto your open air balcony with stunning view of the Alps!!

If you take an early morning ferry across the channel and follow either of the above routes, a wonderful hotel to break the drive is Husseren Les Chateux in Alsace.  It's about 6 hours drive from Calais, and 5 hours from Lake Orta.

Telepass for the Autostrada, Liber-T for the Autoroute

To avoid any delays at the motorway tolls and at the Swiss border, French Liber-T boxes, Swiss Vignettes, Italian Telepass devices and Italian VIACards can be bought online at www.tolltickets.com.  Feedback on services provided by this website will be appreciated.

Travelling by Train from the UK

The Eurostar service from St. Pancras International through the Channel Tunnel takes between 10 and 12 hours to Orta-Miasino station, including changes, if you travel during the day.  Overnight service is longer.

Two high speed routes are possible: St Pancras - Paris - Lausanne - Domodossola - Milan or St Pancras - Paris - Turin - Novara.  You generally need to change station in Paris using the metro.

The route via Turin no longer stops at Novara, so it can be best to change at Turin (Porta Susa station), otherwise you need to change at Milan and come back to Novara.  From Novara, pick up the local train to Orta-Miasino.  This is the branch-line between Novara and Domodossola, with 5 or 6 trains a day in each direction (no service now on Sundays).

For the route via Domodossola, either take the branch line from Domodossola to Orta-Miasino, or get off at Arona and take a taxi (about 50 euros).

Web sites for booking Italian and European train tickets include www.trenitalia.com and Deutsche Bahn (bahn.hafas.de).  An excellent independent web site with a wealth of useful info on European train travel is www.seat61.com

Notes: for these web sites you must type in the station Orta-Miasino in full with the hyphen!  And don't forget to validate ("convalidare") local train tickets in the yellow machines before you get on the train!

Travelling by Bus

The local bus company is Comazzi, their web site www.comazzibus.com lists a number of local services.  Phone number 0322-844862 (+39-0322-844862 from outside Italy).

A bus runs from Malpensa airport to and from Novara every one to two hours, this bus is provided by STN (Società Trasporti Novaresi), the timetable is at www.stnnet.it/novaramalpensa.html, cost approx €7.  From Novara, take the train to Orta-Miasino (details above).

Taxis

The following local firms operate taxis in the area:

More taxi numbers are provided in your location pack.

Chaffeur

Rita and Paolo (see above) will be happy to offer a chaffeur service for evenings out or day trips (car or minibus).

Alternatively, contact Gilardetti at Borgomanero.  Telephone +39-0322-844.744  Web site www.gilardetti.net  Claudio specialises in wine and cheese tours to the Gattinara valleys, organising trips to the local golf clubs, as well as airport transfers.

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