A Week in Lake Garda

Introduction and Highlights of Lake Garda

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The clear waters of Lake Garda Photo - Lake Garda, Italy

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The Italian lakes are famous for their stunning landscapes of pastel painted waterside towns and villages, world class gardens, luxurious mosiacs and historic islands. This northern corner of Italy is a famous haunt of celebrities, couples and families. The area has an atmosphere of romance and elegance, although the towns and roads do get busy in the summer months.Of the 3 or 4 Italian lakes that form these inviting blue splodges on the map of the Lombardy Plain, Garda is the largest. Como and Maggiore are both beautiful, but Garda is by far I think, the best suited to families.The lakeside towns around Garda aare beautiful and have charmed foreign visitors for centuries. ...Read More

The Italian lakes are famous for their stunning landscapes of pastel painted waterside towns and villages, world class gardens, luxurious mosiacs and historic islands. This northern corner of Italy is a famous haunt of celebrities, couples and families. The area has an atmosphere of romance and elegance, although the towns and roads do get busy in the summer months.

Of the 3 or 4 Italian lakes that form these inviting blue splodges on the map of the Lombardy Plain, Garda is the largest. Como and Maggiore are both beautiful, but Garda is by far I think, the best suited to families.

The lakeside towns around Garda aare beautiful and have charmed foreign visitors for centuries. The colours are vivid and the geography is varied. The southern lakeshore is low, rolling land and in parts built up. The northern end is fjord-like and dramatic with its towering mountains and cliffs. Most of the lakeside towns are popular as holiday resorts.

There are splendid, slightly decaying villas in soft pinks, lush greenery and beautiful lake front towns. Parts of the lake enjoy a micro-climate which has resulted in the beautiful gardens in the villas around its fringes. Many of the towns are surrounded by lemon groves.

The main highlights of our stay were:

* Moniga del Garda - a tiny resort on the southern edge of the lake and our base for the week. It was a perfect place to come back to after a day of sightseeing and exploring. Quiet and relaxed, it has a few restaurants and bars on the lakeshore and is a lovely place for a stroll in the evening. It also enjoys sunny weather most days - even when the more northerly resorts had cloud and rain.

* Sirmione - a gem of a place, with its lovely castle and views over the lakes from the ramparts. It also has some amazing Roman ruins on a promontory. The ruins are fascinating, but the views from this area over the water are unforgettable.

* The cable car ride from Malcesine up to the top of Monte Baldo - again wonderful views of the Lake and the towns of Malcesine and Limone are delightful.

* Travelling on the high speed ferry up the Lake to Riva - the most northerly resort, watching the scenery change from gentle hills to huge craggy mountains as you speed up the lake. Also then taking the slow boat back again and having more time to soak up the glorious scenes unfolding before you.

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Lake Garda - Tips and Hints

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* In the summer the waters of the lake are warm and clean. You can rent pedaloes and go out into the lake - lots of fun. There are beaches, but these are stony and small. They also tend, in the daytime, to be packed with Italian people baking in the hot sun. It is not a traditional family bucket and spade type holiday and you will need shoes or suitable footwear to protect your feet from the stones. * On our visit to this area, consider the options carefully. Garda is huge - 60-70 miles in length with numerous resorts. I read the following quote somewhere "pick the wrong place and you will regret it. Pick the right place and you will never forget it." This is true - consider caref...Read More

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Getting Around Lake Garda

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We flew from the UK into Venice Treviso on a low-cost airline. We were having a few days in Venice at the end of our break at Lake Garda, so this was the best option for us.There are plenty of flights and airports closer, but it takes about 2 hours to drive from Treviso to the southern edge of the lake. The roads are toll roads, easy to navigate on and simple and pleasant to drive on.At the lake itself, we used a mixture of our hire car and the ferries to get around.Ferries are probably the best way of getting around the lake. The bonus is that you can soak up the sun while gazing at the dramatic scenery drifting by. As you travel north on the lake, you can see ...Read More

We flew from the UK into Venice Treviso on a low-cost airline. We were having a few days in Venice at the end of our break at Lake Garda, so this was the best option for us.

There are plenty of flights and airports closer, but it takes about 2 hours to drive from Treviso to the southern edge of the lake. The roads are toll roads, easy to navigate on and simple and pleasant to drive on.

At the lake itself, we used a mixture of our hire car and the ferries to get around.

Ferries are probably the best way of getting around the lake. The bonus is that you can soak up the sun while gazing at the dramatic scenery drifting by. As you travel north on the lake, you can see just how dramatic the lakeside mountains are and see so much more than you would from the road.

The car ferries offer good value for money. They are not as quick as some of the other boats, but they are the cheapest and allow you to take your car over the lake if you wish. There are 3 decks - the bottom one for vehicles, the middle deck has seating and toilets and the top deck is open.

The high speed ferries are a great fun experience. You get whisked over the lake at high speeds. They only tend to stop at the largest lakeside towns.

You can buy tickets at any major port. The kiosks close to the landing stations sell tickets and have timetables. Always make sure you can get a return boat back in time. Many boat services end by 5 or 6 in the evening, so plan ahead and do not get stranded.

Travelling along the lakeshore by car is also a fun thing to do - there are many tunnels to travel through as you go north through the mountains. The most recent James Bond film was made in this area, and they used some of these tunnel scenes in the movie. The only downside to using the car is it can take quite a long time to travel a relatively short distance. The towns do tend to be a bit congested and the traffic is slow moving, so plan for this before you set out. Read Less

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Relais la Rosa dei Venti

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Hotel | "Relais la Rosa dei Venti Apartments"

The bedroom Photo - Relais la Rosa dei Venti, Brescia, Italy

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We stayed in an apartment on this complex for 7 nights and booked about 6 months earlier directly through their website. We paid 1010 Euros for a 1 bedroom apartment.There are 27 apartments altogether on this gated complex, divided into 5 buildings all of which are set in beautifully landscaped gardens on a hill. The apartments were only built in 2007, so are virtually brand new. They range from 1 - 5 bedrooms. The owners claim that every apartment has a lake view - with either a patio or balcony. This is probably technically correct, but some do have better views than others.Our apartment was "Anders 7" - in the middle block on the first floor. It was very nice - furnish...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on September 5, 2008

Relais la Rosa dei Venti
Via Porto 10, Moniga del Garda
Brescia 25080

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Parco Natura Viva

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Attraction | "Parco Natura Viva - Safari Park and Zoo"

Giraffes in the safari park Photo - Parco Natura Viva, Verona, Italy

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This is a safari park / zoo located at Pastrengo, a couple of miles east of Lazise on the southern edge of Lake Garda. We drove to it from our base in Moniga del Garda along a toll road and the journey took us 45 minutes. The countryside as you approach the park is really beautiful - lush, green and full of vineyards.There are 2 parts to the park - a safari park and what they call a fauna park - acutally a bit like a zoo.It costs 17 Euros for adults to go into both parks and 14 Euros for children. The parks are open daily in summer between 9am and 6pm. Obviously you need to have a car to visit and to be able to drive around the safari park.The 2 parks cover 40 h...Read More

Member Rating 2 out of 5 on September 5, 2008

Parco Natura Viva
Loc. Figara, 40 Bussolengo
Verona

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Sirmione

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Exterior view of the castle at Sirmione Photo - Sirmione, Lake Garda, Italy

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Sirmione is on the southern edge of Lake Garda and is an ideal day trip. It is one of the most popular holiday resorts on the shores of the lake and is on the tip of a peninsula protruding from the northern edge of the Old Town.We drove here from our base in Moniga. It took about 25 minutes, but when we got there it was an absolute nightmare to find a parking space. There are lots of car parks, but all of them seemed to be full and were not admitting any further vehicles. We drove around between them for about half an hour, until eventually someone left and we got a space. We arrived at 1:30pm, left at 5:45pm and the cost for parking for that time was 11 Euros.The castle i...Read More

Sirmione is on the southern edge of Lake Garda and is an ideal day trip. It is one of the most popular holiday resorts on the shores of the lake and is on the tip of a peninsula protruding from the northern edge of the Old Town.

We drove here from our base in Moniga. It took about 25 minutes, but when we got there it was an absolute nightmare to find a parking space. There are lots of car parks, but all of them seemed to be full and were not admitting any further vehicles. We drove around between them for about half an hour, until eventually someone left and we got a space. We arrived at 1:30pm, left at 5:45pm and the cost for parking for that time was 11 Euros.

The castle in Sirmione - the Rocca Scaligera is very pretty. It is a 13th century castle defended by a moat, which is patrolled by swans and ducks. The exterior is almost fairy-tale like in appearance.

The castle is open to the public, with entrance costing 4 Euros. Inside there is really only an empty shell, but you can explore the ramparts, admire the views over Lake Garda and the peninsula and climb the tower. Our 4 year old son loved it inside. There are nearly 200 steps to get to the top of the tower and it gets quite narrow in parts, but the views from the top are wonderful.

The historical centre of the town is pedestrianised. The streets are narrow and winding and very picturesque. They do, however, get very busy with tourists. There are lots of little shops - all fairly touristy, but it is enjoyable to browse and look for souvenirs.

At the end of the old town there is an open-air tourist train which makes the short run out to the Roman ruins - it goes from the northern edge of the Old Town. It costs a Euro each way and is a pleasant ride. You go through lovely olive groves and past the house where Maria Callas once lived.

The ruined Roman villa at the end of the headland is extremely impressive. Villa Romana is associated with the poet Catullus, but is probably from a later time period. The ruins are closed on Mondays and the entrance fee is 4 Euros.

The setting is stunning - surrounded by the lake with olive groves and lizards scuttling around. We wandered around the ruined walls, soaking up these marvellous views.

The small museum at the ruins has a number of interesting archaelogical finds, including charming carvings of rabbits.

We spent about 4 hours in Sirmione - a lovely place and a must see at Lake Garda. Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on September 6, 2008

Sirmione
Lake Garda, Italy
Lake Garda, Italy

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Monte Baldo

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Attraction | "Malcesine and Monte Baldo"

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Malcesine is on the eastern shores of Lake Garda. It is a pretty little medieval town with winding lanes and pleasant shops. The town and its castle are crammed between the blue lake waters and the massive mountain ridge behind - Monte Baldo. Malcesine is towards the narrow and mountainous northern edge of the lake.We drove northwards from our base in Moniga to Limone. The distance is short - only 30 miles - but it took 1.5 hours to get there. The road is narrow, twisting and winding at times - but the views are ever so beautiful. You also have to pass through a number of towns where the traffic becomes extremely busy - we got stuck in a bad traffic jam in Salo.The drive i...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on September 7, 2008

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Riva del Garda

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Attraction | "A Boat Trip to Riva del Garda"

View from the ferry on the way to Riva Photo - Lake Garda, Italy

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Riva del Garda is located at the north west end of Lake Garda. We decided to take the ferry from Desenzano at the very southern tip of the lake, all the way to Riva at the north to experience the scenery and how it changes.We left our base at Moniga del Garda and drove 15 minutes to get to Desenzano. You can catch direct ferries from here to Riva and we found a large car-park with plenty of spaces right next to the ferry stop.We paid 66 Euros for all of us - 2 adults and a child for a return trip. The man in the ticket booth spoke perfect English and recommended we take the high speed ferry up to Riva and to come back on the slow boat. We did as he suggested.The...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on September 10, 2008

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