Orta is a pocket-sized lake - 13km long and three wide - where soft morning mists are a way of life.

Orta has a single, must-stay base town of Orta San Giulio, with cream-coloured houses roofed with thick slate tiles, a lakeside central square, Piazza Motta, overlooked by the Palazotto, a frescoed 16th-century building borne up by the stilts of a cosy loggia, and unforgettable views of the island, Isola San Giulio.

Tourist tack is almost absent; instead there are several delicatessens, an antiquarian bookshop, a shop specialising in period jewellery and an excellent wine bar - the cosy Enoteca Re di Coppe at piazza Motta 32.