From Lake Orta to where?
 

I am spending a few days in Italy at the end of May, first in Milan and then in Orta San Giulio. We will be leaving Orta the morning of June 1, and our flight back home leaves from Malpensa at about 4 p.m. on June 2. Where should we spend out last day and night? We do not plan to rent a car for the trip, so are looking for someplace easily accessible by public transportation. We will already have given Milan a couple days and so would like to try something different. I am not sure whether another lake would just seem like more of the same after Orta or would be a good choice. I also am not sure what other options are easily accessible from both Orta and the airport. Thanks for any advice!

I am confused. What public transport do you plan to take to Orta?

I am puzzled too because Orta is not directly connected to Milan. There is a bus that connects Orta to Stresa, then you must take the train from Stresa to Sesto Calende where to connect to Malpensa..... My advice would be that from Orta you should go to Lake Maggiore, Stresa is nice and lively in June and it is well connected by train to Milan.

I understand that I can take the train from Milan to Orta, though I have to change in Novara. So that's the plan.

It must be a town near Orta---not direct to Orta San Guilio. My point is your options for other destinations may be limited by that connection. I would bus to Stresa as a second destination and then you have more direct transport options.

I've actually gone to Orta San Giulio using the train. This was back in 1991, but I doubt that the station has moved!

The train doesn't go to the town of Orta San Giulio, but to Orta Miasino, several miles away through the hills. It's just a little station. When I got there, I asked about calling for a taxi, and a nice Italian woman who heard me and was driving to Orta San Giulio gave me a ride. Otherwise, I have no idea how long I would have had to wait -- it's not like there was a taxi rank, though maybe taxis do meet some of the trains. Or maybe your hotel could arrange for one to meet you. For my return journey, my hotel called a few hours in advance and booked me a taxi. I wouldn't wait until the last minute -- these are small-town taxis, not big-city fleets. Though maybe there are more now, since Orta seems to have gotten a lot more visited since then.

Thanks for the responses. I am going to Orta for a wedding, thus my insistence on going there even though it is not so directly linked by public transportation to Milan. I will ask the bride and groom, who know the area and Italian better, about the details of arranging transport from the Orta-Miasino train station; with any luck they and/or my hotel will be able to assist. (I read somewhere it was only two miles, and thus walkable in a pinch, though less so if you are carrying luggage and don't know where you are going, I suppose. Regardless, I am optimistic that this is a pretty easy problem to overcome.) The bus from Orta to Stresa sounds like an option worth considering for the last day. Where exactly does one catch it, if you know, and how can I find out about schedules? Again, thanks for the responses so far.