ART HOTEL - LAKE VARESE

ART HOTEL - LAKE VARESE

35km - 3 hours - medium difficulty

 Interesting route that leads from Varese city center to the cycle lane around the Lake

Starting from the entrance of the hotel and turning left you will go through Viale Aguggiari; at the second traffic light, turn right and at the following traffic light turn right again but don’t forget to take a look at the Estense Palace, now behind you . It certainly is worth a visit sometime, ideally with a guide who may unlock all its secrets for you.
Carrying on along this route it will be possible to stop at Villa Recalcati, seat of the Provincial Government and a fine example of the many liberty villas dotting our territory.
Back to the road towards the lake of Varese, access the bicycle route which surrounds the entire lake, in the direction of Gavirate.

Along the route you will see fantastic views and interesting sights, including the Volavela (a restaurant which includes an airport for small planes trailing their gliders) where, if you wish, you can take a tour with a glider.
Continuing on, you will pass by the small village of Groppello, a typical early-twentieth-century settlement. A rare instance in this area is the restaurant “La corte dei brut” set in a Tuscan courtyard. In the outskirts of Gavirate, in the hamlet of Voltorre, you will find a beautiful cloister, one of the best examples of Romanesque art in the Province.
You will then reach Gavirate, where you can find a lively lakeside rich of attractions for both adults and children. An ideal place for a break.

Back to the bicycle lane on its most beautiful stretch, directly at the edge of the water and with the Campo dei Fiori mountain on your left.
We would like to point out some important sites you will encounter in this route.
The lakeside of Biandronno, where you can admire, from its trampoline, the lake of Varese in its entirety; Isolino Virginia, an island just a few meters from the shore which can nevertheless be only reached by boat, hosts some remains of the Paleolithic era and a characteristic restaurant; the iceboxes of Cazzago , dating from the late eighteen century in Cazzago Brabbia, are located close to the parish church, and were used to keep the ice from the lake, and the snow, which were then used to preserve fish on its way to the markets.

Finally, the church of the Madonna del Lago in Azzate, where a feast of thanks giving is celebrated each year.
If you continue on towards Buguggiate you may return to Varese via the Corridoni road, an up hill street used during the Cycling World Championship in 2008.