Discover blue waters, vibrant gardens, and a very famous mountain in one of Europe’s most scenic corners – Lake Maggiore, Piedmont & the Matterhorn.

From an elegant base on the shore of glittering Lake Maggiore, visit idyllic islands, sumptuous villas and world-class gardens. Take a journey into the Piedmont region to visit Alba, a gourmet paradise, and Barolo, a centre of world-class wine production. Head into Switzerland, to the famous resort-town of Zermatt, where one of the world’s most iconic peaks – the towering, triangular Matterhorn – draws the awe-struck eye, and where you’ll have the chance to board a mountain train for a ride through the alpine meadows.

Lake Maggiore, Piedmont & the Matterhorn Available Departures:

• Fly from Edinburgh – various dates until October 2021 – from £967pp
• Dates and prices published on this page are for the departures flying from Edinburgh only.
• Flights also available from other UK airports – Belfast International, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cardiff, Cornwall Newquay, Durham Tees Valley, Humberside, London Gatwick, London Luton, London Southend, London Stansted, Manchester & Norwich – click here for more information on available dates and prices.

The Matterhorn Tour Highlights:

• Tour Lake Maggiore’s exquisite Borromean Isles
• Cross into Switzerland to stop at the foot of the Matterhorn
• Visit Verbania’s stunning Villa Taranto gardens
• Taste some of Italy’s best red wine at Castello di Barolo
• Discover Turin, the capital of Piedmont, on an optional excursion
• A guided tour of Alba – home of white truffles and dark chocolate

Price Includes

• Seven nights’ bed and breakfast or half-board accommodation at your chosen hotel
• Three included excursions
• Return flights to Italy
• Comfortable coach travel and transfers throughout
• Fully escorted by a friendly, experienced tour Manager

Single supplements apply. Offer subject to availability.

The Matterhorn Itinerary

Day One – Fly to Italy

Fly to Italy and transfer to your hotel in either Stresa or Belgirate. In the evening, depending on your arrival time, perhaps take a stroll along the promenade that fringes the lake, before enjoying dinner.

Day Two – Included Lake Maggiore boat trip

Today you’ll explore beautiful Maggiore, Italy’s second-largest lake, mountain-backed and famed for the beautiful gardens that line its shores. Board a water-taxi or steamer for the crossing to the idyllic Borromean Islands. Visit Isola Bella and its water gardens, where you may choose to enter the 17th-century Baroque palace, and stop in charmingly picturesque Isola dei Pescatori, inhabited by a long-standing community of fishermen and a perfect place for a lunch of lake fish.

Round off your day with a visit to Verbania, where the world-famous gardens of Villa Taranto, created by an ex-pat Scotsman, are even more stunning than those on the islands. Then return to your hotel for dinner.

Day Three – Optional visit to Lake Como

Today you’re free to enjoy the delights of Belgirate or Stresa. Wander past the elegant villas that line the shore, or take in the view from above the lake. Alternatively, board another lake steamer to travel further afield and enjoy a leisurely lunch in the sunshine or a delicious ice cream on the water’s edge.

You’ll also have the opportunity to head into Lombardy on an optional excursion to Lake Como. Discover another of Italy’s most picturesque places, and enjoy visits to exquisite Bellagio and elegant Como Town before returning to your hotel for the evening.

Day Four – Included tour of Alba

Your second included excursion takes you south on a panoramic tour of Langhe, where the UNESCO-protected hillsides are covered in cascading vineyards and hazelnut groves. Take a tour of Alba to seethe historic centre and 100 towers of the town, which is best known for being the gastronomic home of white truffles and dark chocolate (and the headquarters of Ferrero Rocher).

After a fascinating few hours, you’ll head further south to the vineyards of Barolo, which produce the “king of Italian wines”. No visit to this region is complete without enjoying a glass of wine at Castello di Barolo, an enoteca housed inside the turreted walls of Barolo’s ancient castle. It’s the final highlight of a really enjoyable day.

Day Five – Rest and relax

Today is another on which you can enjoy your hotel and its surroundings. In Stresa you’ll find piazzas filled with the bustle of the cafés and – this being Italy – any number of gelataria. Why not take the cable car from Stresa up modest-by-Alpine-standards Monte Mottarone, from atop which the views of the distant ‘proper’ Alps are simply stunning.

Day Six – Included visit to Zermatt to see the Matterhorn

Saving the best till last, today’s included excursion takes you to the world-famous Swiss resort of Zermatt, beneath the craggy pyramid of the Matterhorn. Travel via the Simplon Pass into Switzerland, climbing high into the Alps, hoping for clear skies so you can catch your first sight of the mighty mountain peaks as you go. Once in Zermatt, why not join an optional journey on the famous Gornergrat Railway, and head through alpine meadows to the summit station? From here, on a clear day, some 29 peaks – including the Matterhorn – and great glaciers offer visitors an unforgettable view. Head out on a mountain trail, or simply take in the view before enjoying lunch in the mountain restaurant. Return to Belgirate or Stresa this evening.

Day Seven – Optional excursion to Piedmont

You have one final full day to soak up the atmosphere of this idyllic corner of the world. Why not take a last cruise on the water, enjoy a long leisurely lunch, or join our optional excursion to the stately capital of Piedmont, Turin?

This ancient city nestles at the foot of the Alps, and boasts a delightful Baroque heart that seems somehow at odds with its modern reputation for industry. Wander down Via Roma past ultra-chic stores, and cross grand Piazza San Carlo with its elegant facades. Stop for coffee or bicerin – a Torinese speciality that combines espresso, high-quality drinking chocolate and milk – in one of the many ornate, traditional cafés. Petrol-heads can head to the city’s predictably fine motor museum – Fiat once employed over 120,000 of its inhabitants – while the curious might visit the cathedral, where the Turin Shroud is kept under lock and key.

Day Eight – Fly back to the UK

Leave Maggiore’s beautiful shores behind, and return to the airport to board your flight back to the UK.