Experience Lake Garda
Lake Garda is a popular summer holiday destination and is Italy’s largest lake. The lake is located in northern Italy at the foot of the Alps, between Brescia and Verona. In and around Lake Garda you will find a wide variety of activities to choose from, for both adults and children. If you want to fill some days of your getaway with excursions and different experiences, then you’ve found the right place. Around Lake Garda there are a number of charming little towns. You can either travel around the lake by car, or just relax and use one of the many ferries. The town of Sirmione is a popular destination so we recommend taking a boat to this picturesque peninsula, especially during the main holiday season. Other popular towns are Limone, Riva, Bardolino, Garda, Malcesine, Desenzano and Peschiera with its medieval castle and moats. Near the town of Garda, you will find Gardaland, Movieland and Caneva Park (water park). At Lake Garda, there are a number of companies that rent out equipment for water activities, such as water skiing, windsurfing, sailing, wake-boarding etc.
When vacationing on Lake Garda, you can easily visit famous cities such as Verona and Venice. We recommend taking the train as the best and easiest form of transportation. Verona is referred to as “the little Rome” with its Arena di Verona reminiscent of the Colosseum in Rome. A large number of opera concerts are arranged here throughout the summer. Shakespeare’s famous play, Romeo and Juliet has Verona as the story’s main backdrop, and a certain balcony is a favourite tourist destination. By train, you can visit Venice for a day trip. The train ride takes about 2½ hours.
Activities on Holiday
Cycling is popular along the shores of Lake Garda, and for those who prefer mountain or tour biking, there are great trails on the hillsides that surround the lake. There are a number of places to rent a racing bike, MTB or city bicycles. Maps or GPS are readily available upon inquiry. We can also recommend taking a less strenuous walk on one of the well-prepared coastal paths along large parts of the lake. From Malscesine you can take a gondola up to the mountain Monte Baldo reaching about 1800 MASL. From here you can go hiking or cycling with stunning panoramas over the lake and mountains, with the option of visiting the cafe situated at the top of Monte Baldo. The area east of Lake Garda is known for its hot springs. There are several spa centres where you can swim in cave-like formations (Parco Termale del Garda).
Find various activities and sights around Lake Garda listed below:
- Boat trips to popular cities such as Limone, Sirmione and Riva to name a few
- Visits to Gardaland, Acqualand, Movieland, Sealife
- Jungle Adventure Park A zipline and aerial adventure park.
- Visit the wine districts of Bardolino, Valpolicella and Amarone.
- Golf
- There are cordoned stretches of beach for swimmers. The beaches aren’t sandy, but rocky with smaller rounded stones and pebbles.
- Water Activities on Lake Garda include sailing, windsurfing, wake-boarding, water skiing etc.
- Bicycle trips or walks on the hillsides around Garda.
- Mountain hiking with fantastic views. Take the gondola to the top of Monte Baldo 1800 MASL.
- Rent an Airwheel, Classywalk or skateboard.
- Relaxing and bathing in outdoor hot springs
- Visit popular Sirmione
- Footgolf park, Try playing golf with a football for heaps of fun
Day trips by train from Lake Garda:
- Concert at the Arena di Verona
- Train rides til Venezia
Accomodation Near Lake Garda
Primatoscana has hand-picked a selection of areas with charming apartments. Our accommodations have swimming pools, apartments with patios and close proximity to famous cities. See our selection: Lake Garda
Tips for Flights
There are direct flights to Verona, Bergamo, Milan – Malpensa and Milan – Lunate. You can also fly to Venice. Check the airlines Norwegian, SAS, Ryanair from Torp, KLM. From all the airports you can rent a car, or take a train or bus to your final destination. Some drive by car through Europe to Lake Garda. You can, for example, start with the Kiel ship from Oslo, or take a ferry from Larvik to Hirtshals.
