11 Best Things to Do in Lake Garda
Visiting Lake Garda in Italy and wondering what are the best places to see and things to do in Lake Garda? In this guide, we cover all the musts: the main landmarks, must-see sights, and top tourist attractions in Lake Garda that are most worth your time.
Lake Garda is the largest Italian lake with an area of 370 square km: your gaze is turned in any direction, and you cannot grasp its boundaries. Indeed, Lake Garda bathes three Italian regions: Lombardy, Veneto, and Trentino-Alto-Adige, offering an extraordinary variety of landscapes.
There are places rich in history and culture, beautifully equipped beaches, great food, wine tradition, walks on foot or by bike, clubs for the evening, wellness centers, and sports facilities.
One of the things to do if you are on vacation on Lake Garda is a boat ride. The navigation service allows you to take a mini-cruise to discover the beauty of the lake.
These are the must-see sights and best things to do in Lake Garda:
Sirmione
Sirmione is probably among the very first towns to see Lake Garda. From the Grottoes of Catullus to the Scaliger Castle, passing through the alleys of the historic center to the churches of Santa Maria della Neve and San Pietro in Mavino, this town of about 8000 inhabitants alone deserves a trip in these parts. Besides, it is also a renowned spa.
Among its most important monuments is certainly the Scaliger castle: it dates back to around 1250 and is one of the best-preserved castles in Italy, entirely open to visitors.
The castle is a suggestive fortress directly overlooking the lake, accessed via a drawbridge. It is possible to admire the whole surrounding area from the top of the walls. The entrance to the castle is also the only way to enter the historic center of Sirmione.
Grottoes of Catullus
The Grottoes of Catullus are the well-preserved remains of a Roman villa built in the 1st century AD. in Sirmione, and today considered the most important example of a Roman Villa in northern Italy.
The complex, today as more than a thousand years ago, dominates a peninsula in Lake Garda and extends for about 2 hectares: the original structure had three floors and long panoramic terraces overlooking the lake. Today the villa is open to the public and houses a large olive grove and a museum.
The museum houses a series of archaeological finds found here and in the other Roman villas of Garda, as well as detailed documentation of the history of the lake and its peoples from prehistory to the Middle Ages.
The Vittoriale degli Italiani in Gardone Riviera
The Vittoriale degli Italiani, located in Gardone Riviera, in Lombardy, is the burial place of the poet Gabriele D’Annunzio: a real citadel built between 1921 and 1938.
The Vittoriale includes a large house museum full of objects, decorations, a large park with statues, ponds, and gardens, an auditorium for 200 people that hosts exhibitions, conferences, and events, and an amphitheater.
Among the many memorabilia to be admired, the Mausoleum on top of the hill houses its remains, and the Puglia Ship stands out above all. This ship is now immersed in the park, with the bow facing the Adriatic Sea. It was donated to D’Annunzio by the Royal Navy in 1923.
The Vittoriale is a place full of charm and history and an ideal observation point on Lake Garda and the surrounding landscape.
Isola del Garda
Isola del Garda, also known as Isola Borghese, is the largest of the islands on Lake Garda and is located about 200 m from the coast.
It can be reached by boat and is privately owned. Still, despite this, guided tours are organized in the suggestive park and the Ferrari villa, an admirable example of a villa built in the early 1900s, the only example of Venetian neo-Gothic style on the lake.
In addition to the villa and its gardens, Isola del Garda is worth a visit for its history full of charm. This place was already inhabited in Roman times. Then it became an important ecclesiastical center thanks to the intervention of Saint Francis of Assisi, who had a small hermitage built there.
Over the centuries, the island has seen many famous people: in addition to St. Francis of Assisi, Dante Alighieri and St. Anthony of Padua stayed here.
Limone Sul Garda
Limone sul Garda is one of the oldest and best-preserved towns overlooking Lake Garda. Here are the lemons that dominate this little pearl of Garda. Limone has always been known for cultivating citrus fruits, which have always been cultivated here thanks to the lake breeze and microclimate. In addition to the famous lemons, you will find cedars, mandarins, chinotti.
Limone Sul Garda’s historic center is a pleasant walk through alleys, squares, and ancient fishermen’s houses directly on the lake. Today the houses are renovated and open to tourists for the holidays. Do not miss the church of San Pietro in Oliveto: built in the 9th century, it is one of the oldest Romanesque churches in the area.
Piazza XX Settembre, the ancient Market Square with the Viscontea Tower (16th century), the Basilica of San Nicolò, the 19th-century Town Hall (Palazzo Bovara), and the Azzone Visconti Bridge with its arches are also worth a visit: built in the period Renaissance, the bridge was used to connect Lecco to the Duchy of Milan and still represents access to the town for those arriving from Milan or Garda.
Desenzano
Another essential stop for a holiday on Lake Garda is Desenzano, considered the “capital of the lake.”
The historical center, the lakefront, and the Castle overlooking the city are all points of interest that deserve to be visited. The same goes for the Archaeological Museum, which houses many prehistoric finds.
Desenzano del Garda is also a popular seaside resort. During summer, its beaches (Desenzano, Rivoltella, and Spiaggia d’Oro) attract many tourists who want to swim in the lake.
Malcesine
The historic center of Malcesine has preserved a medieval atmosphere that blends well with the city’s shops, bars, restaurants, and other commercial activities.
The medieval streets of the historic center are full of suggestive corners and beautiful views of the lake. Here ancient and modern coexist very well; from this point of view, the most successful example is the Scaliger Castle which dominates the town. The castle was built in the 6th century. The building is about thirty meters high and with walls two meters thick.
Inside this fortress is the Natural History Museum of Garda and Monte Baldo: nine rooms that tell the nature of the lake and the mountain, which, with its 2,200 meters high, extends between the provinces of Verona and Trento.
Monte Baldo is connected to Malcesine by a convenient cableway which, from the end of March to the beginning of November, allows thousands of tourists to enjoy a beautiful panorama and to devote themselves to outdoor activities. From trekking to mountain biking to the most comfortable nature walks.
Riva del Garda
One of the northernmost places on the lake is Riva del Garda, in Trentino. The city has a very special charm: here, in fact, the panorama is affected by the nearby Dolomites. Riva is an equipped tourist resort, well-kept and rich in history, inhabited since Roman times and with numerous testimonies of its medieval past.
In the historic center, we find the square Piazza 3 Novembre: here is the Apponale Tower, its most important monument (dating back to 1220), the Palazzo del Comune built in the 15th century, the Palazzo Pretorio built in 1375 and the fortress built-in 1124. It deserves an also visit to the Church of the Inviolata, a fine example of Baroque style built in 1603, and the beautiful lakefront.
Nearby we also have wonderful places such as the Varone waterfall, the town of Canale di Tenno (with the adjacent and beautiful lake), and Lake Ledro.
Bardolino
The houses in the historical center of Bardolino, built and inhabited by fishermen, were built one after the other, starting from the first one that rises on the beach. Today they make the center even more characteristic. The streets were built perpendicular to the coast to facilitate the transport of boats in front of the house.
Do not miss a visit to the castle, built towards the end of the ninth century, and to the two beautiful churches of Bardolino: the Church of San Zeno, which presents evident analogies with the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna and the Church of San Severo, built in Romanesque style 12th century. Inside you can admire a cycle of 12th-14th century frescoes.
Peschiera del Garda
Another town of considerable beauty and interest is Peschiera del Garda, which holds two UNESCO World Heritage sites: the Fortress of Peschiera, which still surrounds the historic center, and the stilt site of Lake Frassino, about 2 kilometers from the town, ideal place for bird watchers too. The town also boasts about three kilometers of coastline for seaside and sports activities.
Also worth visiting is the Palazzo del Comandante (or Palazzina Storica), the palace where the Italian king Vittorio Emanuele III announced on November 8, 1917, resistance on the Piave which then led to the victory of the First World War.
The Palazzina Storica and the Sanctuary of the Madonna di Frassino are two other sites of interest that are worth visiting.
Gardaland and Other Amusement Parks
In addition to unforgettable panoramas, luxuriant nature, and towns rich in art and history, Lake Garda offers a few kilometers away. It also has a series of modern-themed amusement parks, perfect for the whole family.
Gardaland is the most famous and largest, with over 35 themed attractions for adults and children: the park is located in Castelnuovo del Garda, in the province of Verona. Obviously, inside the park, there are also several hotels, but nothing prevents you from staying outside and organizing your holiday differently. There is a convenient shuttle service from the train station to and from the park.
Adventure lovers cannot miss the Caneva Aquapark theme park, a true paradise of swimming pools for adults and children with slides, attractions, and water games. And also Movieland, dedicated to the world of cinema with shows, animation, and reconstructions of film sets. Both parks are located in Lazise sul Garda, in the province of Verona.
On the other hand, the Natura Viva Park is located in Pastrengo, always in the province of Verona, and is a zoological garden with more than 1,500 animals of 200 different species from all continents. But don’t think of visiting a simple zoo: the park is a center for the protection, research, and conservation of animals and includes the Safari Park with African mammals and birds, a terrarium, and an area completely dedicated to dinosaurs.
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