Route Overview
Monza → Torino → Aosta Valley → Lake Orta → Lake Maggiore
Cities first while they are cheap and empty, the mountains in the middle with five mornings to catch a clear Skyway day, and the lakes last on September pricing. No leg over two hours. Rest is built in, not left to chance.
Committed Costs · All Booked
£3,021.91
Accommodation £2,300 — Royal Falcone, Monza £391 · Starhotels Majestic, Torino £234 · Les Vignes, Saint-Pierre £650 · Hotel Bocciolo, Orta £552 · Aquazzurra, Cannobio £473. Averages £144 a night for the three of you.
Car hire £706.91 — Budget at Linate, insurance and booster seat included. Flights £15 — all three on Avios with the Amex companion voucher, 43,000 points, BA covering taxes on Reward Flight Saver. Parking on top at Torino (~€38) and Cannobio (~€36).
Grand Prix weekend, 4–6 Sept. The Italian GP runs at Monza on your final weekend. Book nothing on the Monza or east-Milan side after 3 Sept, and allow 2h15 rather than 1h15 for the Saturday drive to Linate. The route already approaches from the west, which is the right side.
Base 01 — Thu 20 → Sun 23 Aug · 3 nights
Monza
Cheaper than Milan, the biggest walled park in Europe on the doorstep, and the city a short train away. Three nights: one for arriving, one for Milan, and one that belongs entirely to Monza.
STAY
Hotel Royal Falcone · £391 · Booked
Booked — 3 nights with breakfast and parking. Historic building at the start of the pedestrian area, 100 m from the station — out the door and onto the Milan train.
THU 20
Land, collect the car, arrive
BA0578 lands 18:40. Flight number is on the rental booking, so Budget hold the car. At the desk: decline every insurance upsell (Zurich Full Protection already covers the excess), then video the car before leaving the bay — pre-existing damage is the one thing no policy covers. Drive 25 minutes, check in around 20:30, dinner near the hotel, sleep. Nothing planned, deliberately.
FRI 21
Milan by train
Train from Monza station — 100 m from the hotel door — 15 minutes to the city. Duomo rooftop terraces first (book the lift slot online), wander Brera's lanes, one good lunch, gelato. Back by late afternoon, quiet evening.
SAT 22
Monza's own day
The full unhurried version: hire bikes at the park gates and ride the biggest walled park in Europe, an hour in Villa Reale and its gardens, picnic on the lawns. The circuit will be in Grand Prix build-up mode, so the park is the show. Afternoon back in town — the Duomo of Monza and its Iron Crown, gelato in the pedestrian lanes, or simply the room.
SUN 23
West to Torino
Easy morning, check out, the A4 west. Arrive Torino by mid afternoon.
Base 02 — Sun 23 → Tue 25 Aug · 2 nights
Torino
Half empty in late August because the locals are away — cheap hotels, queue-free museums, and Italy's most elegant arcades to stroll under.
STAY
Starhotels Majestic · £234 · Booked
Booked — 2 nights with breakfast. Directly opposite Porta Nuova station, Very Important Kids programme. No hotel parking: use Parcheggio Porta Nuova, Via Sacchi — same street, 2-minute walk, 24h, €18/day cap (~€36–40 for the stay). The car sits there untouched until Tuesday. Egyptian Museum a 15-minute walk.
SUN 23
Arrival evening
Arrive mid afternoon, park, walk. Piazza Castello and Via Roma under the arcades, aperitivo, early dinner.
MON 24
Egyptian Museum & the river
The Museo Egizio is second only to Cairo and genuinely gripping for a child — mummies, whole tomb chambers, the darkened statue gallery. Monday hours are shorter, so book the earliest slot. Then Parco del Valentino along the river, gelato, and a free afternoon.
TUE 25
Bicerin, then north with a fortress stop
Check out, one bicerin at a historic caffè, then the A5 towards the valley. Stop at Forte di Bard — the vast fortress rising off the valley floor, glass lifts up the rock face, lunch in the village below. Then 40 minutes on to the farm.
Base 03 — Tue 25 → Sun 30 Aug · 5 nights · The heart of the trip
Aosta Valley — mid-valley farm stay
One farm, two massifs. Mont Blanc one way, Gran Paradiso the other, both as day trips from a garden with dinner on the terrace. The day order below flexes with the weather — the Skyway takes the clearest morning of the five.
STAY
Les Vignes, Saint-Pierre · £650 · Booked
Booked — 5 nights, £130 a night with parking. Mid-valley in Saint-Pierre: Villeneuve 5 minutes, Skyway 35, Cogne 35, Aosta 10. Self-catering, so do a proper shop on arrival Tuesday — supermarket in Saint-Pierre, bigger ones on the Aosta road — and breakfasts and picnics run themselves for the week. A farm dinner out is still an option; several valley agriturismi serve non-residents on booking.
TUE 25
Arrive, shop, unpack properly
Arrive mid afternoon after the Bard stop. Do the big shop first — supermarket in Saint-Pierre or on the Aosta road — so five days of breakfasts and picnics run themselves. Then unpack properly and stop. Nothing else today.
SKY DAY
Skyway Monte Bianco
The rotating cable car from Courmayeur to Punta Helbronner, the Mont Blanc massif filling the horizon. Take the clearest forecast morning of the five days, book online the evening before, go early before the cloud builds, and bring warm layers — it sits around zero at the top even in August. Roughly €60 per adult with child reductions. Lunch in Courmayeur after.
COGNE DAY
Gran Paradiso — Valnontey & Lillaz
Drive to Cogne, walk the flat Valnontey valley path with the glacier ahead — a small child manages it happily. Picnic by the river. Lillaz waterfalls on the way back. Marmots near-certain, ibex likely.
REST DAY
Nothing planned
Pool or garden, a book, a nap. If legs get restless, Aosta town is 10 minutes for the Roman theatre and an ice cream in the evening. This day is the point of the farm — protect it.
CASTLE DAY
Fenis & the valley castles
Castello di Fenis in the morning — the fairytale one, towers and battlements intact, 45 minutes inside. Back via the Aymavilles castle exterior or the Châtel-Argent ruin on the hill directly above Villeneuve. Farm afternoon.
SUN 30
Down to the lakes
Leave after breakfast for Lake Orta. If you want a leg-stretch, the Sanctuary of Oropa above Biella is a worthwhile 45-minute detour; otherwise straight through.
Base 04 — Sun 30 Aug → Wed 2 Sept · 3 nights
Lake Orta
The quiet lake. Orta San Giulio is one of the prettiest villages in Italy, the crowds of Como never made it here, and September pricing bites first on this shore.
STAY
Hotel Bocciolo, Orta San Giulio · £552 · Booked
Booked — 3 nights, breakfast and free private parking. Via Domodossola 26, on the upper road above the village: 10 to 15 minutes downhill to Piazza Motta, a climb on the way back, worth pacing at the end of the island day. Garden with hot tub and lake views. Park once on arrival and walk all week — the historic centre is closed to cars, so free private parking is the practical win here.
SUN 30
First wander
Arrive early afternoon. Wander the cobbled lanes down to Piazza Motta, gelato on the waterfront, lakeside dinner.
MON 31
Isola San Giulio & a swim
Boat across to Isola San Giulio and walk the silent island loop past the abbey. Back for lunch, then a lido afternoon — swim, ice cream, nothing scheduled.
TUE 1
Sacro Monte woodland walk
Morning walk up the Sacro Monte di Orta chapel path above the village — twenty frescoed chapels through the woods, the lake below the whole way. Free afternoon.
WED 2
Short hop to Maggiore
No rush. Coffee in the village, then over the hill to the big lake in time for lunch.
Base 05 — Wed 2 → Sat 5 Sept · 3 nights
Lake Maggiore — Cannobio
Finish on the big lake. Cannobio for the local feel and its lakeside lido, the islands reached on one boat day. The route home approaches Linate from the west, clear of the Grand Prix.
STAY
Aquazzurra Resort & Aparthotel, Cannobio · £473 · Booked
Booked — 3 nights, Viale Vittorio Veneto. An apartment unit takes all three of you on one booking, which is what solved the two-room surcharge the Cannobio hotels wanted. Pool and gardens for the arrival afternoon. Room only, so it is bakery breakfasts and the kitchenette, same pattern as Saint-Pierre. Parking on site at €12 a day, roughly £31 for the stay.
WED 2
Arrive and swim
Arrive by lunch. Lido afternoon on Cannobio's lakefront — swim, gelato, dinner in the old town.
THU 3
The Borromean Islands
Down to Stresa, boat to Isola Bella — the baroque palace and its terraced gardens with white peacocks — then Isola dei Pescatori for a fried-fish lunch on the water. The best child day on the lake. Big day; plan nothing after.
FRI 4
Santa Caterina del Sasso, then slow
Boat to the monastery built into the cliff face above the water — short, spectacular, and the boat ride is half the fun. Lido for the afternoon, pack in the evening.
SAT 5
Slow morning, then home
Lakeside breakfast and a last swim. Leave by 15:30 — Grand Prix qualifying day means a traffic buffer — fuel near the airport, drop the car at 19:00. BA0577 departs 20:35, into Heathrow T5 at 21:35.
Pre-Trip Checklist
Book & Prepare
Everything to sort before departure, in priority order. Tap to check off as you go.
Reservations — all stays booked
Royal Falcone, Monza — BOOKED · £391, 3 nights, breakfast + parking
Starhotels Majestic, Torino — BOOKED · £234, 2 nights, breakfast · park Via Sacchi
Les Vignes, Saint-Pierre — BOOKED · £650, 5 nights, parking, self-catering
Hotel Bocciolo, Orta — BOOKED · £552, 3 nights, breakfast + free parking
Aquazzurra, Cannobio — BOOKED · £473, 3 nights, kitchenette + pool, parking €12/day
Museo Egizio slot, Mon 24 Aug — earliest slot, Monday hours are shorter · museoegizio.it
Duomo rooftop lift slot, Fri 21 Aug — duomomilano.it
Skyway Monte Bianco — booked the evening before on the forecast, never in advance · montebianco.com
Documents & Car
Passports — all three, plus the Italian passports for smooth EES lanes
Driving licences + credit card in the driver's name — Budget will want the physical card at the Linate desk
Booster seat — already on the booking (£40.73); confirm it is in the car before leaving the desk
Advance Passenger Information — passport details for all three on ba.com, required before flying
Zurich certificate on your phone — policy 711598955/2, £129.14, the desk may ask to see it
GHIC cards — free healthcare cover in Italy, order/renew at nhs.uk if lapsed
ZTL awareness — never drive into a marked ZTL in Milan or Torino; park at the hotel or a garage and walk
Packing
Warm layers + hats — around zero at the top of the Skyway even in August
Walking shoes for all three — Valnontey, Sacro Monte, cobbles everywhere
Swim kit + goggles — two lakes and, with luck, a farm pool
Picnic kit — cool bag and a blanket; the Valnontey and park days run on picnics
iPad + headphones — for the two 2-hour legs