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Fairway near Lake Maggiore photo: Pexels (stock photo, indicative only)

Destinations / Piedmont / Alto Piemonte & Lake Maggiore

Golf, Wine & Spa: Alto Piemonte & Lake Maggiore Itinerary

golf, wine and slow water in Alto Piemonte & Lake Maggiore

Golf Club Bogogno, 36 holes by Robert von Hagge, sits 3 km from Castelconturbia, a course regularly ranked top ten in continental Europe, and 15 km from Milan Malpensa, the shortest airport run on this site. Ghemme and the Colline Novaresi fill the wine day; the spa leg is the thinnest part of this page, and it says so.

13 courses in range
3 wineries in range
1 thermal spot in range
5 itineraries within 2 h
Vineyard rows in the Colline Novaresi
01

36 holes, then a top-ten neighbour

Morning: Golf Club Bogogno, the base for this itinerary, 36 holes by Robert von Hagge with Lake Maggiore on the horizon. Golf Club Castelconturbia, 3 km away, is frequently ranked among the top ten courses in continental Europe: play it as an alternative first round rather than skip it.

Afternoon: Cantina Fontechiara, 4 km from the clubhouse, a family cellar whose 2015 Nebbiolo won a bronze medal at Decanter London 2019 and which keeps a teaching vineyard of 50 grape varieties.

Recommended tasting

Cantina Fontechiara

A tasting at the family cellar behind an award-winning Nebbiolo, 4 km from the clubhouse. From 20 euro per person.

Dark grapes on the vine in Alto Piemonte
02

Ghemme DOCG

No golf today: Azienda Agricola Mirù and Ioppa, both 10 km from the clubhouse, work Ghemme DOCG, the Nebbiolo appellation that made Alto Piemonte's name before Barolo and Barbaresco took the spotlight further south. Ioppa has been in the same family since 1852, seven generations in, producing around 140,000 bottles a year.

These two make a genuine half-day; if the group wants a longer wine day, treat the Colline Novaresi more broadly rather than rushing a third cellar in.

Fairway near Lake Maggiore
03

Arona side, or the wellness afternoon

Morning: Arona Golf Club, 8 km away on the shore of Lake Maggiore, a shorter, more scenic round to close the trip.

Afternoon: Villa Borghi Wellness Beauty & Spa, 19 km out, is the one wellness address this itinerary's measured radius returns. It is a beauty and wellness centre rather than a thermal spring, so treat it as a relaxed close to the trip, not a terme day on the scale of the itineraries further south and east on this site.

The recommended route
FromToKmDrive
Day 1
Golf Club BogognoGolf Club Castelconturbia3 km~10 min
Golf Club BogognoCantina Fontechiara4 km~10 min
Day 2
Golf Club BogognoAzienda Agricola Mirù10 km~15 min
Golf Club BogognoIoppa10 km~15 min
Day 3
Golf Club BogognoArona Golf Club8 km~15 min
Golf Club BogognoVilla Borghi Wellness Beauty & Spa19 km~25 min

Distances calculated from OpenStreetMap coordinates, August 2026. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Drive times are estimates on rural roads.

Getting there by car

MXP
From Milan Malpensa

About 15 km, under 20 minutes: the shortest airport run of any itinerary on this site.

TRN
From Turin

About 85 km, around an hour and ten minutes on the A4 and A26.

LIN
From Milan Linate

About 63 km, around 50 minutes.

Times are approximate, to Golf Club Bogogno, outside peak traffic. A car is essential for this itinerary.

The weather

Bars: average rain days · Line: average daily max, °C
0102030°C7.71013.11720.325.427.827.422.417.711.88.3JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJFMAMJJASOND
01

May is the wettest month, 17.5 rain days and 13.7 of those washouts over 3 mm, one of the wetter late-spring readings on this site.

02

July is the hottest month at 27.8 degrees, with washout days easing to 8.8, the best summer trade-off.

03

September is the measured best month, 22.4 degrees with washout days down to 8.2, the clearest window before autumn rain builds back up.

When to go

Apr–Jun

April is mild at 17.0 degrees; May turns wet, 17.5 rain days, before June warms to 25.4.

Jul–Aug

Warm, 27.4 to 27.8 degrees, with rain a little lower than spring. Good conditions for two rounds a day if the group wants them.

Sep–OctOur pick

September holds the measured peak, 22.4 degrees and 8.2 washout days, as the Ghemme harvest gets under way.

Nov–Mar

Cold by January, 7.7 degrees, typical of the Piedmont plain in winter. Quiet fairways, lower rates.

Computed from ERA5 reanalysis (Open-Meteo), daily data 2015–2024, Golf Club Bogogno coordinates.

Fairway near Lake Maggiore

The territory

photo: Pexels

The land

Terroir

Ghemme and Gattinara are Alto Piemonte's own Nebbiolo appellations, grown on the same grape as Barolo and Barbaresco but on volcanic and sandy soils north of Turin, a style historically overshadowed by the Langhe despite a long, independent history of its own.

History

Ioppa, one of the two cellars on this page's wine day, has stayed in the same family since 1852: seven generations working the Ghemme and Colline Novaresi appellations from the same address.

Climate

A Piedmont plain and pre-Alpine climate, cooler and wetter through spring than Italy's coastal itineraries, moderated somewhat by the presence of Lake Maggiore. The golf year runs April to October, with September the measured calm point: see the chart above.

Dark grapes on the vine in Alto Piemonte

Golf courses

Wineries

Spas and thermal baths

Outlet shopping nearby

Continue the trip
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Franciacorta & Bergamo
Franciacorta & Bergamo
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Langhe & Monferrato
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What to pack

Tuned to the climate above. May is the wettest month here: pack a shell even if the trip is booked for a warmer month.

A packable rain shell

May averages 17.5 rain days here. Keep a light shell in the golf bag through most of the spring.

Wine luggage protection

Ghemme bottles are worth flying home with. A padded wine case turns a case of Nebbiolo into safe checked luggage.

Travel cover for the clubs

Flying into Malpensa with your own set: a padded travel cover costs less than replacing a bent driver at the carousel.

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Good to know

Do I need a car?

Yes. The courses and cellars sit on rural roads north of Novara with no useful public transport between them. Book the car before the tee times.

Which airport should I fly into?

Milan Malpensa, 15 km from the golf base and under 20 minutes' drive: the shortest airport run of any itinerary on this site.

Is Castelconturbia really worth playing instead of Bogogno?

Play both if you can: Castelconturbia, 3 km from the base, is frequently ranked among the top ten courses in continental Europe, while Bogogno's 36 holes give the trip enough golf on their own to fill two full days.

Is there a real spa on this itinerary?

Not a thermal one. Villa Borghi Wellness Beauty & Spa, 19 km from the base, is the one wellness address this itinerary's radius returns, and it is a beauty and wellness centre rather than a natural thermal spring.

Is September really the best month?

By the measured numbers, yes: 22.4 degrees with washout days down to 8.2, against a wetter spring and the start of the Ghemme harvest to give the wine day extra interest.

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