NINE OF EUROPE’S OVERLOOKED LAKES FOR AN AFFORDABLE SUMMER ESCAPE

With their peacock-blue waters and cypress tree-spiked shores, Lake Garda and Como are sirens for tourists. Yet with Garda alone attracting 25 million visitors every year, holidays to these great lakes don’t come with a great deal of elbow room.  

Fortunately, there are lookalikes across Europe where you can escape both the crowds and the premium prices that come with a more famous lakeside stay.  

Lake Biscarrosse  

Les Landes, France

A 90-minute drive south-west from Bordeaux, Lake Biscarrosse is wrapped up in pine forests that are laced with cycle trails and fringed by beaches.

Some, such as Plage Maguide, are highly organised stretches of sand, with plenty of parasols, waterside restaurants (try Histoires De for tapas and cocktails on a lakeside terrace), and a bumper list of water sports that includes electric surfboard rentals. Others are more subdued, with barely more than a kayak rental stand.

Around the lake, villages such as Biscarrosse Ville and Sanguinet are speckled with restaurants, bakeries, and shops, and host farmers’ markets. biscagrandslacs.co.uk

La Reserve camping village, which has its own beach on the southern edge of the lake, offers two-bedroom holiday homes that sleep families of up to six from £873 for a week in August, camping-la-reserve.fr

Lake Sainte-Croix  

Var, France

Found within the Verdon Regional Park, 90 miles north of the French Riviera, the lake of Sainte-Croix has a forget-me-not blue hue. Three main beach towns – Sainte-Croix-du-Verdon, Les Salles-sur-Verdon, and Bauduen – hug the water, offering a handful of lake-view restaurants, creperies and pedalo, canoe and paddleboard hire spots.

At the north-eastern tip of Sainte-Croix, the water funnels into the Verdon Gorge, a 700m-deep river ravine known as the Grand Canyon of Europe. Visitors can hire a car to drive along its rim or book rafting tours.

Plan a trip between mid-June and mid-July and you will catch the lavender fields of nearby Moustiers-Sainte-Marie in bloom. provence-alpes-cotedazur.com

Eurocamp’s Les Gorges de Provence, a 15-minute drive from Sainte-Croix-du-Verdon, offers a seven-night stay in a six-person two-bedroom holiday home from £610 in August, eurocamp.co.uk

Lake Ohrid  

North Macedonia

Spilling from North Macedonia to Albania, Lake Ohrid is thought to be one of the oldest lakes in the world. Today, the North Macedonian side is protected as a Unesco World Heritage Site.

At more than 350sq km, it takes some exploring. While walking trails Spirograph their way through the forested banks of the lake, the best way to take it all in is on a boat trip, with a stop at the 10th-century Monastery of Saint Naum.

The main town on the lake is also called Ohrid. All red roofs and sandstone buildings, its highlights include a Hellenistic amphitheatre, an 11th-century hilltop fortress and 14th-century churches.

Be sure to make time to browse the jewellery shops that specialise in pink Macedonian rubies and Ohrid pearls – pieces are cheaper than you might expect – and give Macedonian wine a try at Vila and Winery Mal Sveti Kliment. macedonia-timeless.com/eng

Tui offers a week’s B&B at the Hotel Laki in Ohrid from £390pp, including flights from Manchester on 1 June, tui.co.uk

Lake Balaton  

Hungary

Covering 600sq km of western Hungary, Lake Balaton is nicknamed the Hungarian Sea. Despite its size, it is accessible. Bike and walking trails ring their way all around the water, passing more than 50km of beaches and waterside towns such as Balatonfüred, with its 19th-century architecture and 1km-long lakeview promenade.

Scores of vineyards halo the lakeshore and many wineries offer tours and tastings – the Laposa Estate in Badacsonytomaj has a tasting terrace and restaurant that peers over the lake (glasses start at just £2.50). visithungary.com/category/balaton

Veszprém, near the lake, is a 90-minute direct train ride from Budapest, to where flights start at £135 with Ryanair from Stansted in August. A night at the waterside Hotel Anna Villa in Balatonföldvár from £112, annavillahotel.hu/en/home

Lake Pyhäjärvi  

Finland

Nuzzling up to the Lakeland city of Tampere, Lake Pyhäjärvi pools out for more than 120sq km. Its banks are hemmed with walking trails, kayak launch sites, and nature reserves. Pyynikki Nature Reserve to the east of the lake has a swimming beach and 26m observation tower (try a munkki – Finnish doughnut – in the café after a climb).

Tampere is known as the sauna capital of the world, so the lakeshore has no shortage of heat and ice experiences. While some belong to hotels, the 40-person Pereensaaren sauna, in Pere, is open to the public and there is a lounge, terrace, bar, and swimming pier on site. visittampere.fi

Tampere is around 90 minutes by train from Helsinki. A night at Nolla Cabins, which are located on Viikinsaari Island in the centre of the lake, starts at £150 in summer, nollacabins.com

Lake Levico  

Trentino, Italy

Overlooked by the Lagorai Mountains and skirted by pine and Trentino apple trees, Lake Levico is a couple of hours’ drive north-east from Garda.

At just under 3km long by 950m wide, it is petite in comparison to its neighbour, but there is plenty to fill a trip here. Next door is the slightly larger Lake Caldonazzo, popular for watersports.

Walking a loop around Levico takes around 90 minutes as you hop between the taverns, bars, and shops in the waterside spa town of Levico Terme.

You can also take the hour-long hike up to the ruins of 13th-century Selvas Castle, or make the 40-minute journey north to Monte di Mezzocorona with its cable car, skywalk, suspension bridge, and valley-side vineyards (Villa Corniole offers a tour and tasting for €20/£17).

What’s more, the lake was awarded a Bandiera Blu label last year for good water quality. trentino.com

A seven-night stay in a six-person holiday home at Due Laghi Levico on the lakeshore from £905 in August, clubdelsole.com

Lake Mácha  

Czechia

Named after 19th-century Czech poet Karel Hynek Mácha, Lake Mácha is a 90-minute drive from Prague in northern Bohemia.

Two main towns butt up to this relatively modest body of water. Staré Splavy and Dosky have restaurant-sprinkled centres and sandy beaches, and are both animated with aqua parks, waterside bars, cafés and pizzerias.

Riding the pleasure cruisers that criss-cross the lake is popular (half-hour rides cost around £9 per person), as is the hike to the ruins of Bezdez Castle, which crowns a hilltop 20 minutes south-east of the water. visitczechia.com

A night at lakeside Port Doksy hotel, with private beach access, indoor and outdoor pools, and wellness centre, from £139, hotelport.cz/en

Silkeborg Lakes  

Jutland, Denmark

More than 50 lakes orbit the city of Silkeborg in the middle of the Jutland peninsula, earning the region the title of the Danish Lake District.

On Lake Brassø, a 10-minute drive from the city centre, visitors can take boat rides on a 19th-century coal-fired steamer.

At Almindsø, there are several natural swimming pools enclosed by circles of overwater decking. Slåensø, meanwhile, is said to have the cleanest water in the country – some say it is good enough to drink – and a walking trail traces its way around the shoreline. visitaarhus.com/areas-and-cities/lake-district

Flights from Stansted to Aarhus (45km from Silkeborg) from £77 with Ryanair in August. A night’s stay at the Radisson Blu Hotel Papirfabrikken, set inside an old paper mill in the centre of the city, from £165 in summer, radissonhotels.com

Lake Zell  

Salzburgerland, Austria

Holidays to Lake Zell, a 90-minute train ride south of Salzburg, start with lido swims, pleasure boat cruises, and round-lake walks, and continue in the mountains that wreathe the water.

Cable cars sweep passengers to the top of 1,965m-tall Schmittenhöhe mountain, with its glass-floored viewing platform, and up the 3,000m Kitzsteinhorn glacier, where an Ice Arena offers the chance to go snow sledging even when temperatures by the lake are in the mid-20°Cs.

Jutting into the water on the west edge of the lake, Zell am See is the main town. Its brightly painted Alpine buildings are home to everything from cocktail bars and coffee roasteries to Michelin-star restaurants such as Mayer’s. zellamsee-kaprun.com

Rooms at the four-star boutique Cella Central in Zell am See from €113 (£97) in August, cella-central.com.

2025-04-26T05:41:08Z