Overlooking the forest-lined banks of the shimmering Lake Orta, this shore-hugging village has abundant allure. It occupies a kidney-shaped peninsula with most of the narrow lanes running parallel to the water where they converge on Piazza Mario Motta and its small port.
The village and the surrounding hill topped by the Sacro Monte di San Francesco can be circumnavigated on a series of walking paths measuring around 3km in length. You’ll be close to the water for two-thirds of the route, walking through the cobbled streets of Orta San Guilio and along a narrow waterside esplanade that creeps past lakeside gardens, family vegetable plots and private fishing jetties.