14 nightsTwo great places to visit - Lake Maggiore and the Gran Paradiso national park - where you can enjoy the beach, village life, and mountains all in one trip.
Culture, unspoiled nature, lakes, castles, excellent food and wine. This holiday is awesome.
Lake & Mountain: Lake Maggiore and the Gran Paradiso National Park
14 nights
TYPOLOGIES
Fly-Drive Holidays
Settings
Activities/Interests
Hiking, Room with a view
£ 2860 per person
Holiday at Glance
Duration
14 nights
From
from £ 2860 per person
Including
Travel planning
Daily breakfast
Fully comprehensive car hire
4 nights sharing a Suite Lake View at the Hotel Residence La Luna nel Porto in Stresa
4 nights sharing a Superior Lake View at the Park Hotel Villa Belvedere in Cannobio
6 nights sharing a Superior double room at the Hotel Bellevue & Spa in Cogne
Personalise this itinerary
Stresa. The pearl of Lake Maggiore
The beautiful town of Stresa is one of the most beautiful and popular tourist destinations on Lake Maggiore.
This pretty lakeside village has around five thousand residents and is situated in a stunning landscape: from Stresa, you have a great view of the Alps, and the whole municipality overlooks the waters of Lake Maggiore, which has the famous Borromean islands. They can also be visited during the day with organised boat tours.
Highlights
A short distance from Stresa, Orta Lake is certainly a destination not to miss.
The Botanical Gardens of Villa Taranto display many rare species, including the black tulip.
Mottarone's Alpinia Botanical Garden is home to over a thousand species of Alpine and subalpine plants, as well as Japanese, Chinese, and Caucasian flowers.
Do you love pure adrenaline? Then you have to take a tour of Alpyland!
Villa Pallavicino's park is a huge green space with beautiful, tree-lined avenues, and an awesome botanical garden. The park is teeming with animals, including kangaroos, fallow deer, zebras and llamas!
Climbing to the top of Mottarone gives you an exceptional view of Lake Maggiore.
The Hotel Residence La Luna Nel Porto overlooks Lake Maggiore and is the perfect mix of familiarity and charm that will make your holiday special and one of a kind.
Fall In Love With Cannobio
Cannobio is a typical and well-preserved historic centre and features numerous civil and religious architectures. Immersed in a naturalistic context of great value, this municipality also offers excellent complementary services, including visits and excursions, adequately promoted thanks to an effective tourist information service.
Cannobio, with a great view of Lake Maggiore, is perfect for a romantic stroll along the lakefront. Enjoy a delicious drink with a view of the lake and some background music.
This pretty lakeside village has around five thousand residents and is situated in a stunning landscape: from Stresa, you have a great view of the Alps, and the whole municipality overlooks the waters of Lake Maggiore, which has the famous Borromean islands. They can also be visited during the day with organised boat tours.
Highlights
The Orrido di Sant'Anna is located in Traffiume. It's a pretty suggestive place - you can see a rocky gorge that the Cannobino stream carved out over time. There's a stone bridge above the gorge, and if you go behind it, you'll find a seventeenth-century church dedicated to Sant'Anna. You can also drive to the ravine, but we recommend taking a leisurely stroll along the river from Cannobio.
Also worth a stop is Gurro, which was once the largest and most populous municipality in the valley. The most curious legend the town keeps is the Scottish origin of some families. In 1525, some Scottish soldiers, in the pay of King Francis I of France, after the defeat in the Battle of Pavia, retreated to the Valley and settled in the town. Some argue that the Gurro dialect (actually very different from the dialects of other towns in the Valley) has Scottish characteristics.
The Brissago Islands are two islands on Lake Maggiore, off the coast of the Gulf of Ascona. They host a botanical park with subtropical species from all over the world.
A stone's throw from Cannobio is Locarno, a town rich in history. The old city is worth seeing, with its narrow alleys, cafés, boutiques, palaces, churches, and the Visconteo castle.
Just over the Swiss border, Ascona is a lively cultural and artistic centre overlooking Lake Maggiore, with an interesting historic center of historic buildings and elegant boutiques.
The Centovalli (100 valleys) and Vigezzina railway line starts in Domodossola and arrives in Locarno, a name that derives from the numerous valleys present on both sides: Italian and Swiss. The journey is 52 kilometres, with 83 bridges and viaducts, through 34 tunnels of incredible landscapes.
The Park Hotel Villa Belvedere is a great hotel set in an old park with a big swimming pool. The park is huge and well-kept, with lots of plants and flowers that bloom throughout the season. There are hammocks, deck chairs, and benches everywhere, making it the perfect place to relax and recharge--a little break from reality in nature.
Gran Paradiso National Park: valleys, fauna, paths
Cogne is the largest municipality in the Aosta Valley and one of the gateways to the Gran Paradiso National Park, the oldest national park in Italy. You can immerse yourself in nature, among hundreds of flora and fauna species, and spot the ibex, the animal symbol of the park.
There are lots of routes with different levels of difficulty, mostly above 2,000 meters, like Colle del Lauson (3,296 meters), and Colle della Porta (3,002 meters).
Highlights
The Prato di Sant'Orso is an "Italian marvel" and one of the largest mountain meadows in Europe.
The Paradisia Botanical Garden, located in Valnontey at 1700 m above sea level, is named after the Paradisia Liliastrum, or mountain lily. The garden has around 1000 species of plants and flowers from the Alps and the Apennines, as well as other specimens from the rest of the world.
Cogne offers rafting and canyoning for those who love "wild waters." These are adventurous walks along rivers accompanied by expert guides.
The Lillaz waterfalls, from the Urtier stream, are a 10-minute, flat walk from Lillaz and about 150 meters high.
Cogne has seven itineraries, perfect for bikers of all levels, including kids, to enjoy some two wheels fun while respecting nature.
The gondola lift from Cogne to Montseuc is 2081 meters. The Sentiero Natura has easy and difficult sections. The easier sections lead to a balcony with a view of the Cogne valley, the Gran Paradiso and Mont Blanc. The more difficult sections climb over 2240 meters to the Grand Crot chairlift, which returns you to Cogne.
A tradition of hospitality almost a century long. Which is renewed with Le sources del Gran Paradiso, 1200 m2 Spa of aquatic and wellness paths overlooking Monte Rosa. But the flagship remains the gastronomic offer, from Le Petit Restaurant, with just four tables and a Michelin star, to the Bar à Fromage.
Personalise this itinerary
Like what you see? Tell us your wishes and we'll create the perfect holiday for you and your loved ones, at the time of year you prefer, and make you live the experiences you've always dreamed of.
Map
What are our customers saying?
Antonio booked our honeymoon in 2012 and we had an amazing visit to Rome, Naples and Sorrento. He was the obvious choice to organise our 10th wedding anniversary and came up absolute trumps with an itinerary including Naples and Ischia.Two amazing hotels, the Caruso Place bang in the heart of Naples with shops, restaurants, attractions within very close walking distance. On the stunningly beautiful island of Ischia the Botania Relais Hotel and Spa was amazing and exceptional on every level. Beautiful setting and great facilities, wonderful pool, restaurants on site, food excellent and very helpful staff (as were the team at Caruso Place). Grazie mille Antonio!
Antonio and Expert to Italy planned, organised and executed a truly excellent and magical holiday experience for us. They understood our brief, suggested a wonderful itinerary that met our brief completely and all of the destinations exceeded our already high expectations (this was our 3rd holiday with Expert to Italy). We particularly appreciated the following:- Local insight and understanding to suggest places we had never heard of and that gave us a real taste of Italy- Commitment to proactively suggest and amend details of our holiday even when it was fully booked and paid for- The personal relationship Antonio clearly has with the hotels we visited- Attention to detail and all arrangements considered to ensure we could relax to the maximumWe thank you for a wonderful holiday experience.
Outstanding service from Antonio and his team. Thank you for a holiday we will never forget.
Antonio is the best travel agent we have ever worked with. without question. He helped to plan our somewhat complicated Italian road trip and really took on board what we wanted (in terms of itinerary, type of hotels, etc). He did a fantastic job at rearranging our trip twice as a result of the Covid pandemic and, when the time finally came that we could go ahead, he was full of great suggestions for places to visit, scenic routes to take, things not to miss, places to eat, etc. He was also in touch with us while we were away and was incredibly proactive, re-booking a restaurant that he had previously booked for us when he found out it was going to be closed, and proactively booking 3 (excellent!) restaurants at Lake Como when he realised that everywhere was getting booked up quickly. We can't thank him enough for providing such a great service and ensuring we had a really marvellous holiday.
We have been on three lovely holidays arranged by ExpertoItaly. Our hotels have always been well-chosen and we get great advice about where to stay and places to visit. Antonio listens carefully to our requirements and reacts positively to questions and comments.
An intriguing part of a much loved country that I had undiscovered.ExpertoItaly - Antonio was attentive, helpful and meticulous at every turn. A fabulous support in navigating new territories. Truly an expert and nothing is ever too much trouble. Appreciated and highly recommended.
Antonio was a huge help in planning our big trip to Italy. He listened to what we wanted, what was important to us and factored it all into the plan. We had the best trip. The hotels were lovely and well located. Throughout our trip Antonio was available on WhatsApp if we had any queries or needed advice. We definitely had a better holiday because of his support. If you want to experience Italy and get great inside tips speak to Antonio!
My friend and I have just had a stunning holiday in Italy, all organised by Antonio. All the travel arrangements (we went by train from London to Paris, Turin, Florence, Siena and further south to Foligno) went like clockwork, and we stayed in simply beautiful palazzos, with glorious comfortable rooms , conveniently situated for the sightseeing we had planned. The palazzo staff/owners were very welcoming, extremely helpful in booking restaurants and taxis, printing entry tickets for cathedrals etc . Having Antonio make the arrangements took all the stress out of the holiday planning, and he remained in contact in case any difficulties were to arise. This was my second holiday organised by Antonio, the first being equally successful taking my 90 year old mother in 2017 to Venice and Florence, and my friend and I are now starting to think about the next one!
Being a single woman, traveling the globe for trade fairs in my industry, and never quite knowing where to stay and how to attain the best experience, ExpertoItaly was recommended to me by a colleague in the UK and I am thrilled to share that this was the best investment I could have made.To my amazement, this company spent countless hours supporting my travels, mapping out my routes, train stops, airlines, restaurants, shops, and more to inspire the most remarkable trip! Always available, with the most dedicated support, I can't begin to tell you how this made my travels the most remarkable experience~!I was abroad for 13 days for both business and pleasure and I could have never had the experience I did without the support, patience, kindness, and knowledge of this company. As I traveled, I spoke with innkeepers, restaurant owners, and many who knew this company from previous engagements and always smiled when I mentioned their company. This to me is stellar as I knew that I was in the right care.I will certainly refer and promote EXPERTOITALY to many of my colleagues, friends, and family because everyone deserves to travel the world and feel safe, and secure and have the best itinerary to explore as they travel! Much gratitude to EXPERTOITALY, I will be forever grateful and you can count on my business in the future!For corporate or family travel, this company will ensure your best experience. BRAVO!!!
We loved our week in Villa Lighea booked through Expertoitaly. If you are looking for a romantic, water-front cottage, this is it. We swam in the sea every day.It’s a bit remote from the major cities of Sicily but we hadn’t planned a lot of sightseeing. We ate at a few great restaurants but mostly cooked at the villa. Great weather and warm water in September.Antonio was easy to work with and flexible when we had to reschedule due to COVID. We would book with him again.
Antonio arranged a great two weeks in Campania for us this year. It was excellent to get to places that were quiet, smart and friendly. Everything worked just right, even this crazy year. Previously he has sorted us out a car tour of Sicily, two return visits to that lovely island, and breaks in the bay of Naples. We had done quite a lot of Italy under our own steam, but ExpertoItaly really are experts with a fantastic set of choices , and you get a great personal service. We will be back again next year.
Outstanding service, advice and organisation of our holiday combined with an intimate understanding and knowledge of places to stay and see.go no further.
Expertoitaly (and Antonio) first came to our attention in 2014 when we were planning a celebratory trip to Italy for 2015. Although we approached a number of household names about our plans and itinerary by e-mail Antonio immediately stood out. He phoned back almost straight away to get to know something about us and what we liked to do.On the back of that discussion he quickly put together a trip and budget. Given his obvious knowledge of the country and his quick grasp of what we were looking for together with the attention to detail it was a 'no brainer' to put our trust in this company. As a consequence we duly enjoyed a 3 week multi-stop trip in July 2015 tailored to suit us perfectly!On return we almost immediately booked to return in October for a short break to 2 of the locations in Tuscany we particularly enjoyed - Lucca and Montepulciano both of which are delightful.We fell in love with Italy and have returned several times since then all courtesy of Antonio:2016 - A short break to attend the Opera in Verona.2017 - 2 weeks in Sicily2018 - the same - we love Sicily and would urge anyone to go. (where we finally got to meet Antonio in Ragusa which was great)We were due to return to Italy this year for a 3 week road trip - albeit with private transfers rather than actual driving - from Verona to just south of Naples - all immaculately put together by Antonio of course. Alas Covid-19 had different ideas.We can only say that Expertoitaly have dealt with this professionally and as speedily as circumstances allowed and have refunded all the monies. We have no reservations about using them again in the future. In fact Antonio is already on standby to reprise the 'lost' trip as soon as this madness ends and unhindered travel becomes possible again - just extended an improved.Andrew & Susan SmithTadworthSurrey
If you are looking to go to Italy for a holiday, Antonio at Experto Italy is amazing. We have just come back from our fourth holiday he has arranged for us. He sent us to places that days of googling would never have found.He also has a knack of keeping to budget even with my numerous demands!Fabulous fabulous!!
Just returned from a fab trip to Italy - all organised by Antonio. His time and effort to get what was just right for us was amazing.. he had a lot to put up with! We have used Expertoitaly before and will do again.We visited Ischia and Naples. Both very different and wonderful. Ischia is perfect for a good rest (visits to the Giardini La Mortella and the Ravino Gardens are a must). The Gardens & Villas Resort is a beautiful setting, very private, calm with amazing staff. Also the little town of Lacco Ameno has some really nice restaurants. Naples was very HOT! but we still managed to spend 7 hours walking about just soaking up the atmosphere and visiting some of the fantastic historic sights. Visit to the underground roman town is well worth it - it is mind boggling to think it was built thousands of years ago.
This is the third occasion that Antonio has organised an Italian holiday for me. As it was a Birthday celebration involving a party of 10, the arrangements were complex, involving a villa, guides and attendance at the Palio on July 2nd. Without exception everything went exactly as planned. The recommended villa on the Montestigliano Estate, south west of Siena, was wonderful. Our guide made sure we had a full understanding of the history and culture of the Palio which meant that, with a spectacular view over the Campo from the apartment booked by Antonio, we were able to appreciate the event that much more.We shall certainly be going back to Italy with Expertoitaly.
We had an amazing trip organised by Antonio, we visited Naples for a few days then stayed in Sant’ Agata. Both hotels had fabulous amenities and restaurants. The trip was effortless and everything was meticulously arranged. Antonio was also on had for anything we needed during the trip.I would definitely recommend Expert to Italy and we will definitely use this company again in the future
Antonio with his meticulous planning and caring service has been solely responsible for the best Italian holidays we have had. His ability to offer excellent hotel accommodation which provides for every need and requirement is second to none . Hotels that are not main stream , that provide high quality of service in excellent locations are one of Antonio’s strength. It’s great to have a provider that know and understands his market. Grant B Stupart
July 2018_________________________________Have just completed another 10 day holiday arranged by Antonio at Expert to Italy. We went with Antonio's suggestion and spent 2 days at Matera and then the remainder in Pisciotta in the Cilento. Matera was amazing and felt completely different to anywhere else we have been in Italy. We loved Pisciotta and the hotel was wonderful with lovely owners who were great at suggesting things to do. We visited a buffalo farm, a vinyard and tooks boats to isolated coves with lovely clear water. All arrangements were absolutely faultless. We would never have found such lovely places without Antonio!2016_________________________________We have just returned from a fantastic holiday suggested no arranged by ExpertTo Italy. Once again the organisation by Antonio was flawless and everything worked perfectly. We spent 5 nights by lake Maggiore and 3 in Cogne in the Italian Alps. Both hotels and locations were fantastic - particularly the Bellvue in Cogne. Please see trip advisor if interested in the hotels as I will give a more specific review there - I'm not a fanatic reviewer but both really deserve it. We have used this company for the past 5 years and Antonio seems to have a real gift for finding fantastic hotels and matching locations to his clients. I would not usually put the level of trust in anyone to arrange holidays for me that I have with Antonio but he has delivered every time and I can unreservedly recommend his services. Italy is a beautiful country with huge variety - if you describe what you like to Antonio and let him make suggestions then you will not be disappointed. Very definitely 5 stars from me. So - Antonio and team, please keep it up!Jon
Antonio delivered more than expected! Our family of four stayed at two beautiful villa's on the Amalfi Coast. Both of the locations were top class. Antonio provided excellent service and was always available if we had questions about the details of our trip. He was easy to work with and we would recommend his services to others traveling to Italy.
This was our second holiday with ExpertoItaly, and it was just as good as the first! Antonio provided us with fast, efficient and personal attention. His choice of hotels was first class. Real attention to detail means that you get a holiday that really suits your personal requirements. Brilliant!
We have just made an amazing journey by train, taxi, boat and bus through France, a night in Paris, then a night on a mountain in Switzerland, train across the alps on the Bernina Express, 5 days on Lake Como and 6 days on Lake Maggiore. We stayed in the most glorious quality hotels. We made visits to local towns and attractions using buses and boats. Every connection on the journey was planned and executed wonderfully.This is 5 star planning, 5 star service, 5 star experience all personally organised by Antonio at ExpertoItaly. We must never forget the James Bond moment of being whisked across Como by Luca in his luxury Taxiboat from Varenna to the Hotel Filario in Lezzeno with Pavarotti as our musical accompaniment then met on the jetty by a lovely suited receptionist. A dream. Thanks Antonio.See views from our rooms Como then Maggiore.
SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER (it's free)
Are you thinking of Italy for your holiday? Then you are in the right place.
Join us to celebrate the best of Italy – a heady cocktail of holiday ideas, destination delights, family villas, natural wonders and fascinating insights, our monthly newsletter is a voyage of discovery around Italy.
If you share our passion for Italy, we’d love to welcome you on board.
We’ll always treat your personal details with the utmost care and will never sell them to other companies. See our privacy policy
Follow us on
Package holidays are sold by ExpertoItaly Ltd (Reg. 12035194)
TTA membership Q8055
Email us on holidays@expertoitaly.com
Call us on +44 (0) 77 3838 5790
Registered office: 33 Miles Close, London, SE28 0NJ
Business Hours
Monday – Thursday 9am to 6pm
Friday 9am to 5:30pm
Saturday – please send us an enquiry form
Sunday – please send us an enquiry form