Firstly, yes, Lake Garda is definitely worth visiting! It is bloody beautiful and has a wonderful vibe that I believe every human on the planet could appreciate. Furthermore, there are some very cool things to do in Lake Garda which will appeal to all sorts of traveller. Foodies can take a pasta cooking class in Lazise or visit a Bardolino winery and the Valpolicella hills for wine tastings. If you like to explore the towns of Lake Garda at your own pace, then you can do so on foot or by renting a bike, while water babies and adrenaline junkies will be stoked with what’s possible here. And for those of you who may have mistakenly thought that the Italian lakes were out of your budget, think again, because Italy’s largest lake is affordable, despite its jaw-dropping natural beauty. I reckon Lake Garda makes for the perfect slow travel destination too, as it exudes calm and demands a slower pace of being. Its ridiculously blue waters will lull you into a new, phone free you (apart from when you’re reaching for it to take yet another photo!). If you’re not convinced, then read on…
Is Lake Garda worth visiting?
What and where is Lake Garda?
Lake Garda, known as Lago di Garda in Italian, is a glacial lake in Northern Italy. It is nestled between the regions of Lombardy to the west, Veneto to the east, and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol to the north. As Italy’s largest lake, it is 51.6 kilometers (32 miles) long and has a maximum width of 17 kilometers (11 miles). Its depth reaches around 346 meters (1,135 feet), also making it one of the deepest lakes in Europe.
The landscape around Lake Garda is characterised by picturesque towns and villages, vineyards, olive groves, and lemon trees. The lake is surrounded by mountains and hills, including the towering peaks of the Italian Alps to the north. This unique geographical setting contributes to the region’s diverse microclimates, which support a wide range of flora and fauna. It is within easy reach of some of Italy’s most important cities, including Milan, Verona and Venice, and the region is popular with tourists from all over the world, and especially Germany and Austria.
getting to lake garda
The best way to get to Lake Garda from the nearby cities of Milan and Verona is without doubt, by train. You could scour the local timetables and probably take a bus if you wanted to, but the train is relatively cheap, and usually much more comfortable. There are two train stations on the south coast of the lake: Desenzona del Garda-Sirmione train station at the south western corner, and Peschiera del Garda Train station at the south eastern corner. Which of these you alight at will depend of course on where you are staying. Onward busses or taxis can then be taken. I recommend checking out Omio for full details and to book your train tickets. In brief: here are the details for each of the most common routes…
There are several daily train journeys from Milan to Lake Garda from either Milan Centrale station or Milan Porta Garibaldi station. Journeys from Milan Centrale stop at both Desenzano del Garda-Sirmione station, and Pechiera del Garda, while Milan Porta Garibaldi station serves only Desenzano del Garda-Sirmione. These direct trains take around 55 minutes, give or take a couple of minutes, depending on where you get on and off.
It’s a really short hop from Verona to Lake Garda. Take a direct train from Verona Puorta Nuovo station in less than 15 minutes to Peschiera del Garda, and around 20-25 minutes to Desenzano del Garda-Sirmione. Check out Omio for full details.
From Venice Santa Lucia and Venice Mestre there several direct train to Lake Gardsa each day. To Peschiera del Garda, these take 1 hour and 15 mins from Venice Mestre and around an hour and a half from Venice Santa Lucia, just a few minutes more to Desenzano del Garda.
Verona is comfortably the closest airport to Lake Garda, followed by Milan’s Linate and Bergamo airports.
This isn’t quite as straight forward, but gives you the chance to enjoy a slower train ride that takes you through the Italian countryside. First, jump on a local bus/shuttle from the airport to Bergamo train station. From there, get a train to either Brescia, Rovato, or Treviglio and then change for Desenzano or Peschiera. The Treviglio connection is usually the quickest, and will get you there in around an hour and a half from Bergamo train station.
When is the best time to visit lake garda?
Obviously, the best time to visit Lake Garda depends on your preferences and what activities you’re also planning while there, but here are some considerations for the different seasons:
1. Spring (March to May) is a lovely time to visit. The weather starts to warm up, and the landscape comes alive with blossoming flowers. The temperatures are generally mild, making it suitable for outdoor activities like hiking, cycling, and exploring the quaint lakeside towns without the crowds that summer brings.
2. Summer (June to August) is peak tourist season, with warm temperatures and plenty of sunshine. It’s an excellent time for water sports like swimming, sailing, and windsurfing, but the area can get crowded during this time, especially in July and August, so be prepared for higher prices, longer queues at popular attractions and your favourite gelato place.
3. Autumn (September to November) is another good time to visit Lake Garda, as the weather remains pleasant, and the crowds start to thin out. The foliage around the lake turns into stunning shades of red, orange, and yellow, creating a picturesque backdrop for outdoor activities and sightseeing. September is especially nice as the summer heat starts to wane, but the water is still warm enough for swimming.
4. Winter (December to February) is much quieter compared to other seasons, making it an ideal time for those seeking a peaceful getaway. While the weather can get freezing, especially in the mountainous areas up north, it’s still possible to do some wine tastings and visit the sites without the crowds. Some towns around the lake also host Christmas markets.
Exploring the towns of lake garda
It doesn’t really matter where you go around the edges of Lake Garda – there are so many picture-postcard villages dotted around it that it’ll make your head spin. Take your pick from Sirmione, Desenzano del Garda, Peschiera del Garda, Bardolino, Riva del Garda, or Lazise, you’ll love ’em all! People watching and just soaking up the atmosphere is enough for me. These villages are all easily accessible, either by bike, or when using the regular ferry services which connect all of Lake Garda’s main towns throughout the day.
The most well-known of all the Lake Garda towns was Sirmione. Yes, it has a lot of people visiting it, but for good reason. This tiny enclave located towards the end of a long and narrow peninsula, jutting far out into the lake on its southern shore, is accessed only via crossing the moat of the grand old 14th century Scaligero Castle, first built to help protect and defend nearby Verona. The old town is sandwiched between this and the Grotto of Catullus, a former roman villa, now a ruin, dating from around 150AD. Under these ruins on the lake bed, thermal waters were discovered by a diver back in 1889. As such, Sirmione has also become somewhat of a mecca for spa lovers, with its thermal waters divided between a few different spas and hotels. The peninsula was also home of legendary opera singer Maria Callas in the 1950’s.
For those of you with an overwhelming need to be educated as you walk, sorry to disappoint with a lack of recommendations in this regard. For me, walking around such a small and narrow place like Sirmione as part of a group walking tour just doesn’t really fit the brief. It’s not really what Sirmione needs (it’s busy enough), but if you insist then we’d recommend you do a self-guided tour instead. There are a few resources available online for this, one of which is this one.
how to get around lake garda
Exploring the towns of Lake Garda by bike
The best way to get around Lake Garda is by bike, as it’s perfect for cyclists with many lake shore paths around its perimeter. First, check to see if your accommodation offers free bikes or even rental for a nominal fee. The problem with bikes offered by accommodation providers though, is that they are often pretty old, and not very well maintained. If that’s not really a big deal for you then no worries, but if it is, then we have compiled a list of the highest rated bike rental shops around Lake Garda below.
I stayed a 15 minute ride away from Peschiera del Garda, so it was easy to ride into town and then take our bikes onto the ferry, and then explore further afield. We rode the ferry until Bardolino, walked around there for a bit, and then cycled up to Garda, before then getting back on the ferry to Peschiera in the evening. The combination of ferries and a bike can get you to most places around the lake, although as you veer inland away from the shoreline (and of course further north up towards Riva del Garda), it can get pretty hilly pretty quickly, so it’s probably worth having a decent set of wheels under you. Had we been a little more ambitious with our route then I would certainly have preferred a sturdier, zippier specimen between my legs!
Bike hire in Lake Garda
Garda: Bella Bici have a selection of family bikes and e-bikes, and they also offer a bike delivery service which you can arrange with them via Whatsapp.
Peschiera del Garda: Garda South Cycling – these guys are part of the Garda slow travel movement, linking with other businesses in the area who promote sustainable travel, so check them out if you are staying nearby.
Lazise: Velolake have a bike shuttle service, and plenty of biking itineraries for you to consider. Prices from 20 EUR for a city bike.
Desenzano del Garda: at Zebra E-bikes they do exactly what it says on the tin: E-bikes! They also offer some biking tours.
lake garda activities
1) Lake Garda cooking class in Lazise
Located in the charming village of Lazise on the south-eastern side of the lake, I tried out a very fun pasta making workshop. This cooking class, operated by two lovely guys, Ivan and Mirco, runs from March til October each year. The cooking class began with a brief introduction from Ivan, the main chef, before we found ourselves literally starting from scratch, mixing the pre-measured flour and egg, kneading our dough and then mixing in a bit of optional charcoal powder to add some darkness to proceedings. We had the option of making little pockets of ravioli or, for those of us who found that a little too delicate for our sausage fingers to handle, much more forgiving tagliatelle strands. We then moved on to the ridiculously simple task of making gnocchi, which if you have the right potato must surely be one of the easiest yet fanciest meals to impress someone with!
The Lake Garda cooking class was brilliant for several reasons. Firstly, the vino (included in the price) was flowing throughout. And as you may imagine, it was very good wine from a local Bardolino winery in the hills just east of the lake. Italy really does farm-to-table amazingly well, so no wonder it is the home of the slow food movement! Secondly, it reminded me of school, when you look around the class and see some pretty solid attempts at well crimped raviolis from the boffins, only to then look back at your own sorry plate of inconsistent mess. No zooming in on my crap ‘gnocchi’ below. Anyway, the drunken laughing fits that our feeble efforts brought on were worth the admission fee alone.
Once everything was prepared it then was time to eat, which was a good thing cos we were several glasses of vino down by this point. Ivan and Mirco took turns cooking up our little bundles of joy and then served them to us in a wonderful Sage butter sauce for the Ravioli and Taglietelle, and a rich tomato sauce with the Gnocchi. I was completely stuffed by the end of it, and with the class coming to an end, I found myself convincing myself how important freshly made pasta would now be in my life, such that I almost purchased a pasta roller to bring home. Were it not for my tiny kitchen worktop, it would be proudly adorning my kitchen in fact, such was the quality of the local wine. I did however leave with an apron. Overall, the Lake Garda cooking class in Lazise provided loads of laughs, applied knowledge of pasta making, and a renewed understanding and appreciation of the simplicity of Italian cuisine, and I heartily recommend it!
2) Lake Garda wine tours and the Bardolino wineries
Also in Lazise, is a family owned and operated Bardolino winery called Bergamini Vini, which has been in their hands for the last 120 years. They offer two hour Bardolino winery tours and wine tastings, with at least 6 different local specialities, including all the big hitters from the region (Bardolino, Custoza and Chiaretto). This is not just a tasting room experience though – you’ll get to actually wander out into the vineyards, down into the cellars and then back into the tasting room, where they also ply you with a selection of charcuterie (that’s cold cuts to you and me), local cheeses, bread and home grown olive oil to complement the extensive wine tasting. It is fantastic value considering all that you get, and I’m always keen to support family businesses.
If, on the other hand, seeing the vines and the cellar aren’t as interesting to you compared with the convenience of staying in the village center, then check out Lazise’s historical center wine tasting tour instead. Located at the ZF4 cellar, a minimum of 6 wines, including white, Rose and reds are presented, and again, these are accompanied by cold cuts, cheeses and bread, and locally produced olive oil.
Alternatively, if you’re feeling energetic, and fancy a half hour bike ride (or an even shorter taxi ride!) from Lazise or Bardolino (50 mins from Peschiera del Garda), then the small village of Pastrengo not only plays host to a restored Austrian fortress from the 1800’s with panoramic views over the lake, but said fortress plays host to an intimate wine tasting featuring exclusively organic wines, paired with artesanal Foccacia breads as well as the usual meats, cheeses & olive oils. Considering the location, this makes for a lovely romantic evening, just a short hop away from the lake shore into the surrounding hills. All of these Lake Garda wine tours are located on the south eastern side of the lake, around the towns of Lazise, Bardolino, and Peschiera del Garda which together constitute the Bardolino and Custoza wine region.
We tried to do these wine tours in Lake Garda, but unfortunately none were available at the time of our visit. Subsequently, I don’t have first experience of these tours. However, I operate wine tours myself, so I know exactly what to look out for with itineraries, descriptions & in customer reviews. Usually if a company has demonstrated consistently high standards and great ratings for at least one of two of its offerings, then you can assume that excellence is one of their guiding philosophies, and can usually be applied across the board. All three of the tours we link to above have some impressive feedback, and all are offered by the same company, so we trust that these Lake wine tours should be money well spent.
While disappointed not to have caught one of these small-group Lake Garda wine tours, we did however take our bikes and go for our own self-guided mini tour into the hills just east of Bardolino. Here we visited the Bardolino winery, Guerrieri Rizzardi. It was a pleasant enough tasting room and the wine was ok, but we were missing the comradery and shared experience that a group tour gives you, as well as the knowledge behind the wine that makes wine tasting so much fun and the wine actually taste better!
Valpolicella Wine Tours
The Valpolicella hills just east of the lake, are around half an hour by car from either Bardolino, Lazise, or Peschiera del Garda. Valpolicella is the home of Amarone wine – the legendary tipple made from semi-dried grapes that have been left to concentrate their flavour for months before being pressed. Valpolicella wine tours are thus unique because the Valpolicella method is so rare in the wine making world.
Our pick for Valpolicella wine tours is the wonderfully named ‘Tenuta Santa Maria Valverde‘ (phew!). We had to mention them here, not only because they offer a highly rated wine tasting experience (5* with over 200 reviews), but they also offer a truffle hunting experience through local forests, with a dog included as part of the package. I don’t think I really need to say more, but just in case, then you also get a guided truffle & pasta tasting, along with local wines (produced on their own estate), cheeses and meats. It’s hard to imagine a tour that better satisfies our love of slow travel by supporting family businesses, linking people back to nature, and promoting farm-to-table local produce than this one. If you don’t fancy going digging around in the dirt with your canine buddy though, then seriously consider their wine tasting experience instead. Check them out directly here…
For those of you staying in Verona with a laser focus on the wines, then check out this Valpolicella wine tour from Verona, which visits three separate wineries and includes lunch inside a traditional wine cellar, including, of course, plenty of Amarone and Recioto tastings along the way.
Lake Garda Boat Trips
Once you’ve you’ve seen the amazing blue water, a Lake Garda boat trip will seem like the most obvious of all things to do here. Indeed, there are several to choose from; in Sirmione alone you’ll find several boat tour operators perched on the lake edge selling tickets directly. Taking about 40 minutes, you get some pretty nice views of the old Roman ruins from this unique vantage point, and who doesn’t love being on a boat. I refer you to these guys if you don’t believe me. Most of these locally organised Lake Garda boat trips around the Sirmione peninsula also provide a little background on the history and culture of Sirmione (although not a great deal). However, when you’ve been on your feet for most of the day and you just want a rest and some nice views, it doesn’t really matter what they say.
If you prefer to have everything planned before, then our recommendations for pre-bookable Lake Garda boat trips are either this 45 minute sunset tour with a cheeky glass of Prosecco included for just $25, or a private exploration of Isola del Garda, a beautiful and tiny island located just off the western lake shore. For the latter you take a 2 hour boat trip from Sirmione and can stop for a refreshing swim along the way.
If you want to be a little more active out on the water then consider taking a sunset kayak tour from Garda or a 2 hour stand-up paddling tour around the calm waters of Peschiera del Garda instead.
outdoor activities in lake garda
There are so many things to do in Lake Garda that will make your hair stand on end and help you to connect back to nature, and that makes it the ideal holiday destination for adrenaline junkies and outdoor activity enthusiasts.
For something totally unique then try a tandem paragliding flight over Lake Garda to enjoy breathtaking views over the region. Alternatively, you could try canyoning as a great way to explore the mountain gorges and pools around the lake. There are two areas to choose from, canyoning around Tignale on the western side of the lake or canyoning in the Rio Palvico gorge close to Riva del Garda, to the north.
Family activities in and around Lake Garda include rafting trips on the Adige River, and a family friendly canyoning experience near Tignale.
For climbers and those not afraid of heights, then check out the half-day via ferrata climb, which starts close to Riva del Garda at the northern tip of the lake.
So, is Lake Garda Worth Visiting? the tortoise verdict...
Lake Garda has so many pretty villages, a host of worthwhile outdoor activities and a food culture that is hard to match. So whether you’re a wino, a foodie, an adrenaline junkie, a cyclist, or a people watcher, you now have some fresh ideas of things to do in Lake Garda which complement this north Italian gem. This rings especially true when you also consider the best time to visit Lake Garda based on your interests and tolerance for both people and weather. The best thing about visiting this region though, is that just being there and doing nothing really is enough, so however you travel, I hope you fell in love with the lake, just as I did.
Leave a reply