The little-known European lake resort to rival Como and Garda – with cheap hotels & boozy lunches for £8
FROM George Clooney to The Beckhams, celebs love the Italian lakes – but over the years all the A-list attention has pumped up prices.
This has put holidays to the likes of Como and Garda out of reach of many travellers.
Fortunately, an alternative lesser-known lakeside destination is slowly creeping on to the radars of UK holidaymakers.
This is thanks to a range of newly released TUI flights from Manchester and Gatwick — and prices for a stay start at just £62 a night.
Located in the southwest corner of North Macedonia, Lake Ohrid (pronounced och-rid) is a dead ringer for Como and Garda on the looks front.
Its teal waters are framed by humpback hills freckled with hideaway villas and boutique hotels.
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Its main town, also called Ohrid, is all crooked cobbled streets, parasol-shaded pavement cafes, waterside restaurants, al-fresco cocktail bars, and independent boutiques.
However, as I discovered during my week here, while Ohrid’s appearance easily equals its Italian counterparts, there are many ways this Balkan belle actually betters the Italian ones.
At 358 square kilometres, Lake Ohrid is more than twice the size of Como, and its sea-like size makes it the ideal place to take a boat trip.
I lost an entire day sailing along its shoreline.
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The balmy weather gives the waters here a chameleon-like quality and, depending on the cloud cover, they can change from steely grey to blinding blue in a matter of minutes.
My trip on the lake involved a lunch stop at the Ostrovo restaurant where the tables are set on floating wooden decks at the edge of the Crn Drim River, which feeds Lake Ohrid.
I ordered an Ohrid burger, a frisbee-sized patty of pepper and cheese-flecked beef, served without a bun, and almost choked on my food when I saw that the area of wooden decking next to mine had started to move.
My shock turned to awe as I realised that this wasn’t an accident.
A waiter was punting the diners out into the river like a Venetian gondolier for a more private dining experience.
I’d opted for my own rowing boat trip along the river post lunch, though.
The water here is so clear and when the light catches it right, it turns a staggering Maldivian blue.
As well as being bigger than Como, Lake Ohrid is older than both Italian lakes.
In fact, dating back more than a million years, it’s thought to be one of the oldest lakes in the world.
One of the best places to get a feel for its age is at The Bay of Bones, a short taxi boat ride from Ohrid harbour.
This stilted over-the-water village of mud huts is a replica of a Bronze Age settlement that was found on the lake bed by divers in the Nineties and visits here offer an insight into the way local people lived in prehistoric times.
Ohrid Town and part of the lake are also listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage site.
If you’re into your history you will find plenty of it in the Old Town and uphill area, including an 11th-century hilltop fortress and a Roman amphitheatre.
Closer to the coast you’ll also find the Church of Saint John the Theologian, which is worth the trek.
Waterside terrace
The Old Town is a prime place for jewellery shopping, too.
It is the only place in the world where you can get Ohrid pearls, a unique type of pearl that once graced the necks of Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Diana.
Unlike traditional pearls, these are handmade from ground shells and fish scales.
Only two official families make these one-of-a-kind gems, so if you’re going to make a purchase, seek out the Talev and Filev shops.
Another, and perhaps the quirkiest, fact that Lake Ohrid has that the Italian lakes don’t, is a link to NASA.
Impressed by Lake Ohrid’s size, age and depth, the space agency decided to name one of the lakes on Saturn’s moon, Titan, after it.
And when it comes to food, Lake Ohrid knows how to serve it.
At my first lunch there, my starter arrived at my table on a plate the size of a HGV hubcap, topped with cured meats, cheeses, stuffed vegetables, and triangles of zelnik (a cheese and spinach pie).
It looked enough to feed me for a week.
I washed it all down with a small carafe of wine and best of all, when the bill arrived it came to just £8.
For something more extravagant, head to Kaneo which serves dinner by the lake on a low-lit waterside terrace with white linen tablecloths, and a 70-item sommelier-curated wine list.
I ordered the local delicacy Ohrid trout with pappardelle pasta, a cheesecake topped with perfectly-in-season cherries, and a bottle of local Zlaten Dab beer and the bill came to less than £13.
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Heading home, I mused that Ohrid is definitely the sort of place Clooney and co would approve of.
But the good news for us average Joes is that you don’t have to have a VIP bank balance to visit.
GO: LAKE OHRID
GETTING/STAYING THERE: Seven nights’ B&B at Villa Nika in Lake Ohrid, North Macedonia, is from £433pp, including flights from Gatwick on September 13, 15kg of hold luggage and transfers.
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