Lake Garda

The Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy, located between Brescia to the west and Verona to the east. Its southern part is ideal for holidays, while the north is more reminiscent of a fjord.
It straddles three administrative regions, Lombardy for its western part, Veneto to the east, and part of it in Trentino-Alto Adige to the north.
It is a destination with many aspects, and whose expanse of water allows for various water sports. To be discovered are historic towns such as Sirmione on its peninsula with its medieval castle in the south, not far from the water fortress of Peschiera del Garda, Riva del Garda in the north and its windsurfing spot, charming villages with their small harbours and castles, a gastronomic tradition, or beaches often of pebbles and trails that reach the peaks around the lake.

Below are the main sites to discover around the lake and in the surroundings, which is a summary of the page What to see around Lake Garda

Western and Lombard shore

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  Sirmione Castle

  
  Sirmione is the “pearl of Lake Garda”, on its peninsula in the south of the lake, in a unique site, the superb Scaligero Castle from the 13th-14th centuries closing off access to the historic centre, all the way to the tip dominated by the promontory with the immense Roman villa known as the Grottoes of Catullus.

• Desenzano del Garda is a small lively and pleasant town, with its old harbour, its old castle in a dominant position, the remains of a Roman villa, and the archaeological museum dedicated in particular to the Bronze Age pile-dwelling culture.

• Manerba, San Felice del Benaco and Garda Island. These pleasant municipalities have a gentle terrain with expanses of vineyards and olive trees, and large beaches. From the top of the medieval remains of the Rocca di Manerba, a very beautiful panorama over the lake can be discovered. Garda Island, privately owned, has a beautiful refined neo-Gothic villa with lovely gardens.

• Salò is a pleasant seaside resort of the Riviera dei Limoni (Lemon Riviera in English) located on its small gulf, with along its pretty shoreline, a large promenade and Art Nouveau palaces, an interesting historic centre whose beautiful cathedral is in the late Gothic style.

• Gardone Riviera is one of the most attractive localities of the Riviera dei Limoni, with its greenery and gardens, its beautiful hotels and period villas, the Heller botanical garden, and close to the large complex of the Vittoriale degli Italiani , a veritable small town designed by the Italian poet Gabriele d’Annunzio in the 1920s.

• Toscolano-Maderno brings together two villages known for fishing and local cuisine for the first, for papermaking for the second. Maderno is a pretty village on the lakeside and in the valley there is an old paper mill converted into a museum.

• Gargnano is another charming coastal village of the Riviera with a pleasant lakefront, luxurious villas with gardens and lemon groves, between the shoreline and the heights of the Alto Garda Bresciano regional park.

• Tremosine is located on a rocky promontory overlooking Lake Garda at an altitude of 423 metres. One of the most astonishing roads in the world is found up in the heights, known as the Strada della Forra, whose edges and tunnels cross the mountain and the ravine.

• Limone sul Garda is known for its lemon groves dating back to the 18th century with its old plantations. It is also a chic resort with its beautiful hotels, and above all a remarkable panoramic cycle and pedestrian path that runs alongside the road against the cliff and sometimes suspended over the void.

• About 35 km by road from Lake Garda, Lake Idro is at altitude nestled in the greenery of the mountain, with around it a few sites such as above all the fortress of the Rocca d’Anfo, bringing together buildings from several eras.

Northern shore in Trentino

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  Riva di Garda

  
  Riva di Garda , at the northern tip of Lake Garda, is a lively town frequented by windsurfers for its windy situation, and as a base for exploring the surroundings. Walls protect its small historic centre and its medieval fortress on the water.
• The Arco Castle 6 km from the lake and its fortifications in a splendid site dominate an impressive rocky spur above the Sarca valley.
• The Ponale Road is an old road converted into a cycle and pedestrian path that follows the valley from Riva to the green Ledro Valley where Lake Ledro is a charming little swimming lake well equipped in the heart of lush nature.
• The small village of Canale di Tenno is a medieval gem, listed among the most beautiful villages in Italy for the quality of its preservation, a wonderful place a few kilometres from Lake Garda.
• At the foot of the mountain on the lakeshore, Torbole is like its neighbour Riva located in a windy passage, which has become a spot for windsurfers, close to the natural site of the Giant’s Kettles, or the panoramic Busatte-Tempesta trail.

Eastern and Venetian side

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  Peschiera

  Peschiera del Garda , on the southern shore of Lake Garda, is a citadel town surrounded by water, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its historic centre is protected by the remarkable 16th-century Venetian citadel built in the middle of the Mincio estuary, crossed by several canals that have earned the town the title of “Piccola Venezia sul Garda”.

• Lazise is a charming fortified town with its old walls and its mighty Scaliger Castle built between the 9th and 14th centuries, with a nice lakefront and an equally charming small historic centre.

• Bardolino, which produces the wine of the same name, is a village with quite a lot of charm, historic buildings and a very long lakeside promenade.

• Garda is a seaside resort on the eastern shore between two public beaches, with its harbour, its shoreline promenade, and its historic centre.

• The Bay of Sirens (Baia delle Sirene in Italian), is a lovely site with one of the most beautiful beaches on the lake, near Punta San Vigilio which is also one of the most beautiful and romantic spots on the lake, a small peninsula with its prestigious Villa.

• Torri del Benaco, from where a regular ferry departs to Toscolano-Maderno on the other shore of the lake, has kept a splendid 14th-15th century Scaliger Castle that houses the ethnographic museum, with a lovely shore laid out with numerous terraces.

• Malcesine a tourist village, with above all its Scaliger Castle that stands proudly with its great tower on its rock at the edge of the lake, its tourist centre of medieval origin. To the south the coast has numerous small pebble beaches, and a cable car reaches Monte Baldo at 1760 metres altitude.

Surrounding sites in Veneto and Lombardy

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  Borghetto sul Mincio

  
  In the surroundings of the lake to the south, one can discover south of Pescheria at Valeggio sul Mincio the elegant Giardino Sigurtà Park, the picturesque Borghetto on the Mincio with its water mills listed among the “most beautiful villages in Italy” at the foot of the majestic Visconti Bridge, and the Scaliger Castle of Valeggio.
• A few kilometres from Lake Garda, the sanctuary of the Madonna della Corona which is located in a remarkable site set into the cliff, is one of the most impressive in the region.
• Gardaland is a large amusement park with 35 attractions, known throughout Italy, at Castelnuovo del Garda, near the parks at Lazise of Caneva World with Movieland dedicated to the world of cinema and with the Acqua Park with its water attractions, and near the Natura Viva Park at Pastrengo, a large zoo with more than 1500 animals.

• San Martino della Battaglia and Solferino
  A few kilometres from Descenzano and Sirmione, there are memorial sites to the dead for the independence and unity of Italy, during the great battle of Solferino of 24 June 1859.
  The great tower of San Martino della Battaglia was erected in a vast park between 1880 and 1893.
  Solferino, a small interesting village, also keeps important testimonies of the battle, including the Red Cross Memorial.

Map of the lake with the sites

Information

• Article Wikipedia
• Tourist portals: www.lagodigardaveneto.com, www.italia.it, www.visitgarda.com

Articles on Lake Garda