Lake Varese opens a day shaped by changing shorelines. The route reaches Angera, then resumes across Lake Maggiore at Stresa, where grand hotels face the water and the Borromean Islands lie offshore. Baveno and Omegna lead onwards to Lake Orta. At Orta San Giulio, the nearby island and its basilica fill the view from the waterfront, while narrow lanes climb between old houses. Beyond Pogno, the road turns into the hills, crossing Borgosesia and the wooded country around Biella. The final climb continues to Oropa, a vast pilgrimage sanctuary set in a mountain hollow at around 1,200 metres. Its courtyards and basilicas mark a striking change from the lakeside towns: the day finishes enclosed by steep slopes, with the plains now far below.
