—All day
Lake Orta
Lake Orta, also called Cusio, lies just west of Lake Maggiore: 13.4 km long, at most 2.5 km wide and 143 m deep, at 290 m above sea level. Unusually for an Alpine lake, it drains north: its only outflow, the Nigoglia, leaves the lake at Omegna.
Eight comuni share its shore, from Omegna in the north to Gozzano in the south. In the middle, about 400 m off Orta San Giulio, lies Isola San Giulio with its Romanesque basilica. Above the town, the Sacro Monte di Orta has 20 chapels on the life of Saint Francis, begun in 1590 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2003.
Navigazione Lago d'Orta runs the public boats from March to October. Trains on the Novara–Domodossola line stop at Orta-Miasino station.
What to see
Isola San Giulio
Isola San Giulio is the only island in Lake Orta: 275 m long and 140 m wide, about 400 m off the shore of Orta San Giulio, the comune it belongs to. Only a few families live there all year, beside the Benedictine nuns of the Mater Ecclesiae abbey.
The towns around Lake Orta
Omegna
- On the lake
- Train station
- 14,294 residents
Nonio
- Above the lake
- 834 residents
Pettenasco
- On the lake
- 1,340 residents
Miasino
- Above the lake
- 818 residents
Orta San Giulio
- On the lake
- Train station
- 1,047 residents
Gozzano
- Above the lake
- Train station
- 5,499 residents
San Maurizio d'Opaglio
- Above the lake
- 2,955 residents
Pella
- On the lake
- 885 residents
What’s on around Lake Orta2
Sunday 1 November1
Running all through1
17 Oct
Boats and things to do on Lake Orta4
Pella · Lake Orta
Boatyard in Pella, across from Orta and Isola San Giulio, that rents licence-free 20 hp and 40 hp boats, an electric boat and kayaks.
Licence-free and electric boats from €160 for 5 h
Languages: ITOmegna · Lake Orta
Beach club on Lake Orta at Omegna that rents licence-free open boats, a cabin boat and Whaly RIBs, and delivers boats anywhere on the lake.
Licence-free boats from €130 for 3 h
Season: All year (on reservation)
Languages: EN · ITOmegna · Lake Orta
Rents small licence-free boats from Omegna on Lake Orta, with a web app for GPS tracking, an SOS button and audio guides.
Licence-free boats from €110 for 3 h, fuel included
Languages: ITOrta San Giulio · Lake Orta
Consortium that runs the boat service between Orta and Isola San Giulio and also hires out boats with a driver, on request.
Languages: IT · EN · FR
Researched from: it.wikipedia.org, navigazionelagodorta.it · checked 2026-10-25. 8 towns.