Candia Canavese: Lake, Wetlands and Borgo

When choosing a hotel in Candia Canavese, your travel interests can help you decide: at Lake Candia, nature and paths through the wetlands take center stage; in the Borgo, you’ll find historic sites and public art. The various walking routes connect different points of interest, so you don’t have to focus on just one theme.

Lake Candia and Nature Trails

Parco Naturale Lago di Candia is home to numerous waterbirds and a rich hygrophilous flora, including some species that have become rare. Lake Candia and the adjacent marshland are designated as a Site of Community Importance under the European Union’s Habitats Directive. Those interested in this landscape can follow the “Variante del Parco Naturale del Lago di Candia” into the protected area; it provides access to all the park trails within the marshland.

The SPB route 01 offers another option. It starts on the western shore of Lake Candia in the Lido area. The equipped municipal area there has water and public toilets. The Area Attrezzata Lago di Candia is also on the lakeshore: a green park with picnic tables, children’s play equipment and a large lawn for sunbathing. This gives you a choice of places to enjoy a stay by the lake—from a route into the wetlands to an area with seating and play equipment.

Vivere i Parchi offers nature excursions on foot in the nature park. The organization’s electric boat is accessible to wheelchair users via a certified ramp. There is also the Canottieri Candia rowing school at Lake Candia. If you want to plan for a specific date, check current availability in advance.

Walking Routes, Views and Art

The short Lago - Centro walking route is designed for the journey from the lake to the Borgo. It leads from Lake Candia to the center of the Borgo and passes photographs from the “Fotografie Candia Ieri..” project. The also short Centro Storico - Santo Stefano route starts on Via Castiglione and leads to Chiesa di Santo Stefano del Monte. It reaches the Belvedere, from where you can see Candia from above. The routes differ mainly in their starting points and destinations: lake and town center for one, church and viewpoint for the other.

Chiesa Romanica di Santo Stefano al Monte has a crypt with reused stone columns and capitals from the Lombard period. As you climb, you can also see the private Vigna Colombaio in its entirety. The Erbaluce grape variety is grown there using the traditional “pergola canavesana” training system. You can see the entire Castello on the same climb; it is not accessible without the owners’ permission. It is a 19th-century reconstruction of the old castle that dominated the Borgo. Remains of medieval walls can still be seen in the houses on Via Cesare Battisti.

The Percorso Poetico di Candia includes a terracotta totem and eight terracotta tiles engraved with verses by local poets. The area is accessible to people with disabilities. Piazza d’Arti Depaoli is a small private square decorated with photographs and sculptures by Gianni Depaoli, an artist from Candia. The Palazzo Comunale contains a mural of the Nativity, believed to date from the first decades of the 16th century.

Historic Traces and Getting There

Next to the Palazzo Comunale is an ancient icehouse: a round well several meters deep. Fishermen filled it with ice in winter to preserve fish caught in the lake during the warm season. Tench and pike from Lake Candia had been prized at markets in nearby towns since the 18th century—a historical connection between the lake, fishing and food supplies, not a statement about present-day offerings.

Candia Canavese railway station is on the Turin–Chivasso–Aosta railway line. If you’re planning to travel by train, check the timetable for your travel dates.

Discover more destinations: Verrua Savoia, Pralormo, Nichelino, Druento, Villareggia, Busano, San Gillio, Maglione.

For the broader travel guide: Turin.