Discovering the Art Nouveau style between Varese and Luino

( 2 days / 1 night - Saturday and Sunday)

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• 1st day: Varese Art Nouveau tour

Together with our Travel Specialist, a true connoisseur of local places and experiences, we will begin the Art Nouveau tour around Varese City.
The first stop is at the Angelo Poretti Brewery which represents one of the rare examples of Liberty industrial building. Built across the Olona river in the 1880s, the factory began production in 1887. Over time, new buildings were added to the original nucleus, recognizable by the exquisite external decorations in yellow and gray, destined to contain new plants and machinery. Valuable is the ancient cooking room with the elegance of the interior finishes.

We will move to the Sacro Monte whose slopes are dotted with luxurious Art Nouveau villas built at the behest of the Milanese and Lombard business magnates. We will reach the funicular whose system was built in the early 1900s to connect Sacro Monte (a renowned tourist resort of the time) to the underlying city of Varese by a tram line.
Walk in the historic village of Santa Maria del Monte where, in addition to going through its narrow streets, you can enjoy a splendid view of the Lombard lakes and the Sky-line of nearby Milan.

Lunch will be served in the restaurant that is one of the most romantic hotels in Italy: crossing its threshold means entering another world. You will find yourself suspended between the Art Nouveau style of a hotel with attention to every detail and the panorama that can already be glimpsed from the large windows of the circular dining room.
In the afternoon we will walk down the Via Sacra dotted with 14 chapels that house valuable statues and frescoes and at the same time admire a splendid panorama of the 7 lakes region.

Overnight stay in an authentic Art Nouveau hotel designed by the Architect Sommaruga, one of the greatest exponents of this current at the beginning of the 1900s.

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• 2nd day: Luino - the city of the Belle Epoque

After breakfast, always together with our Travel Specialist, we will make a real journey through time immersing ourselves in the historical, socio-cultural and artistic European period that goes from the last twenty years of the nineteenth century to the beginning of the First World War . We are in Luino, a town that can be considered, thanks to its strategic position, the gateway to Europe.

Here you can admire the wonderful Palazzo Verbania, redeveloped in 2019, designed as Kursaal in 1904 by the architect Giuseppe Petrolo. The renovation has brought to light precious decorations of yesteryear in delicate nuances such as pale pink, pale yellow, bottle green that decorate the ceilings and halls. The absolute wonder is the terrace on the second floor overlooking Maggiore Lake and which, on clear days, allows you to admire not only the coast, but also the mountains that surround it, from Piedmont to Switzerland.
We continue along the new lakefront: here you can admire some buildings in Belle Epoque style such as Palazzo Crivelli Serbelloni with the lovely Church of San Giuseppe, the old tramway station, the pier and the famous Caffè Clerici where we will taste a famous aperitivo. Caffè Clerici has been the protagonist of many film shootings thanks to Piero Chiara who has inspired over time films that have written the history of cinema.

Lunch will be served in a historic restaurant where you can savor a Liberty menu.

In the afternoon the visit continues to the Santuario del Carmine, near which there are the villas and the Rotonda which testify to the prestigious past of the late 19th - early 20th century.
The city, in fact, had a great development during the Belle Epoque, thanks to the choice to strengthen public and commercial transport between the Mediterranean and the Gotthard and the International Station is testimony to this. In the square where the station stands you can admire the facade of Casa Branca, formerly Grand Hotel Luino & Terminus.

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Duration: 2 days / 1 night
When: from APRIL to OCTOBER only on Saturday  (subject to availability)

Reservation required.
What is included: travel specialist at your side for the duration of the tour, entrances, 2 typical lunches and 1 dinner (drinks not included), aperitivo at Clerici cafè, overnight stay in the hotel and breakfast (tourism tax not included)

NOT included: transfers during the tour will take place by your own car or on board public transport whose ticket can be purchased on site.

On request and with extra-charge, we can provide a private transfer by car / minivan. On request it is possible to organize a private transfer service (car or minivan) from / to Varese city or other places of origin.

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Price per person:

• € 380,00 per person
• Extra charge for single room: € 30,00

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For families with children, price on request.

For private tours, price on request.

For large GROUPS, price on request.

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The availability is subject to confirmation. The tour operator will confirm you within 24/48 hours from booking. Therefore no charge will be made until you receive confirmation of the booking.

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