Hello from Lake Garda!

This post will be focussing on the West coast of Lake Garda and there will be a “part 2” all about the East coast.

It was Ferragosto here in Italy on the 15th of August, which meant we had a 4 day weekend and the chance to get away from the heat in Monza.

Ferragosto is a public holiday celebrated on the 15th of August in all of Italy. It originates from Feriae Augusti, the festival of emperor Augustus, who made the 1st of August a day of rest after weeks of hard work in the agricultural sector.

We found a nice B&B (Al Marinaio) in a town called Bogliaco in Gargnano on the west coast of Lake Garda. I loved staying in Bogliaco. It’s close enough to the main tourist spots Limone Sul Garda, Gardone Riviera and Riva del Garda without being affected by the hoards of tourists that descend upon the lake during the summer holidays. It’s very relaxed and still feels quite authentic.

We travelled to Lake Garda by motorbike from Monza and it took around an hour and 40 minutes stopping along the way for breakfast. More or less the same if you travel by car.

The closest airports to Lake Garda are: 

• Verona Catullo (VRN)
• Milan Bergamo (BGY)
• Milan Linate (LIN)
• Venice (VCE)
• Milan Malpensa (MXP)

Lake Garda is well connected to all the main cities in Northern Italy: it is just over an hour from Milan and Venice, and about half an hour from Verona, Brescia and Trento.

Where to go

1. Sirmione
2. Desenzano del Garda
3. Salò
4. Gardone Riviera
5. Gargnano
6. Limone sul Garda
7. Riva del Garda

Sirmione

Sirmione is beautiful and looks like a movie set. The highlight of the city, which actually, is also considered the symbol of Sirmione is the Scaligero Castle. A beautiful fortification built after the middle of the fourteenth century on the waters of the lake by the Veronese Della Scala family, from whom it takes its name “Rocca Scaligera”.

The legend of the ghost

According to an ancient local legend, the castle was home to the young aristocratic couple, Ebengardo and his beloved wife Arice.

On a stormy night, the knight Elaberto del Feltrino asked for asylum and was immediately captivated by Arice’s beauty. Determined to have her at all costs, Elaberto went in search of her and attacked her. Arice fought with all her might but Elaberto killed her. At that moment, Ebengardo arrived and, at the sight of his dead wife, drew his weapon and avenged her.

Since then it is said that the ghost of Ebengardo wanders through the rooms of the castle in search of Arice.

Desenzano del Garda

Another beautiful town south of the lake is Desenzano; which is always quite busy, especially in summer but worth visiting. Locals flock to its shores for a day of sunbathing and water sports. If you enjoy stand-up paddle (SUP) this is a great place to do it. The town centre reminds me a little of Venice with its canal and beautiful buildings.

Salò

On our way to Gargnano, we stopped for a quick break in Salò where we stumbled upon an enormous market that had everything you can think of. I was so distracted by everything I didn’t take a single photo of it! Going to a market when you don’t have any luggage space or space on the bike is a dangerous thing, but of course, we made it work. We had to!

Salò is a beautiful town to explore, we didn’t spend much time here as we were only passing through but it’s definitely worth seeing.

Gardone Riviera

On the western shore of Lake Garda, you’ll find Gardone Riviera. The main highlights of the town are the Giardino Botanico Fondazione André Heller which is a botanical garden maintained by artist André Heller and the Vittoriale degli Italiani which is the former residence of the poet Gabriele D’Annunzio.

The Heller Garden, also known as the Giardino Botanico A. Hruska, is such an incredible place to explore and relax. The garden has over 500 species of plants and trees as well as some really interesting sculptures by artists such as Keith Haring and Roy Lichtenstein.

Gargnano

This is where we stayed during our trip to Lake Garda and it was perfect. Mornings were spent sunbathing by the lake which was just a 2-minute walk from our B&B, whilst afternoons and evenings were spent exploring the nearby towns and Villas. As I mentioned earlier, the town we stayed in is called Bogliaco which is in the comune of Gargnano. It’s very small and peaceful but perfect in terms of location.

Limone sul Garda

Limone sul Garda is the northernmost town on the Brescia side of Lake Garda. The town is nestled in the mountains and a curious fact about its name is that Limone (lit. lemon) does not derive from the cultivation of lemons, but from the Latin limen, or border; this was, in fact, the city on the border with the territory of Trento. It’s by pure coincidence that, centuries later, lemons have become one of the main businesses of the area. 

Riva del Garda

Riva del Garda is on the northern shore of Lake Garda and is very popular with windsurfers due to the strong winds around this area. We arrived just as the sun was setting and it was beautiful. The pastel-coloured hotels from the 60s were very Wes Anderson-esque and the plaza was full of musicians and artists. It felt really special. If you want a birds-eye view of the town you can take the panoramic lift up to the Venetian Bastion. The trip up to the Bastion takes about 3 minutes and a single ticket costs 6€ and return 7€ per person.

Getting around

The best way to see Lake Garda is by hiring a scooter. It will be a lot easier and cheaper to find parking and you’ll be able to navigate all those colourful narrow Italian roads which I love so much. During the summer it can become very busy on the road so a scooter is a great way to escape the summer traffic.

There is of course the option of using public transport however it’s not always as reliable.

Travel tips

Make sure to wear comfortable shoes, you’ll be walking a lot and places like Limone sul Garda are not made for heels.

Make sure to stay hydrated. Summer can get very hot.

Take a little spray bottle to fill up with water so you can mist your face and body to help you cool down. Also helps to take a fan.

Thank you

If you visit Lake Garda tell me what your favourite place to visit was. I can’t wait to explore the rest.

Hope this post has been useful for you. If it has, please give it a like. Thank you very much for reading.

See you soon!