Lake Garda Italy

Lake Garda is the largest and most popular lake in Italy.It was formed in the last Ice Age and covers 370 sq. kilometres, reaching right up into the Alps. This beautiful mountain location makes it one of the most spectacular settings in the world. If you stay at any of our recommended hotels or B&Bs, you will find yourself right at the heart of this landscape. The scenery ranges from towering mountains to lush rolling countryside, beaches, vineyards and olive groves.

The crystal clear waters of Lake Garda are perfect for swimming and many popular sports such as windsurfing and sailing. The local climate is softened by the presence of this large body of water, which makes it comfortable for exploring the towns and villages on and close to the lake towns such as Garda, Lazise, Sirmione, Torri del Benaco Bardolino, Limone and Peschiera which are wonderful places to visit with a great choice of hotels or just for wandering around the cobbled streets filled with shops, hotels and restaurants and are home to bustling lakeside markets. Malcesine, Riva, Gardone, Brenzone, Caprino Veronese and Spiazzi are also excellent for mountain-hiking biking and Canyoning and other outdoor sports providing panoramic views of the area.

The contrast of dramatic mountains and sandy coves make Lake Garda arguably the most beautiful of the Italian lakes.The landscape close to the shore has the feel of the Mediterranean, with a mild climate supporting palms and the famous lemon groves alongside the olives and vines. In the north the mountains rise steeply from the water forming the sunny southern extremities of the Alps.

In the south, some 50 km away, views stretch across the Po valley. A nice place to visit towards the northern end of the lake is Malcesine, a tranquil village away from the busy part of the lake but close enough to the lake to enjoy all its amenities. The boats that link the historic lakeside towns are an enjoyable way to travel.Do visit the old port of Torbole, the charming old streets of Limone and the castle and Roman Villa in Sirmione.From Malcesine you can take a cable car onto Monte Baldo for some mountain walking and superb views. Walks on the lake shore from Lazie or Bardolino also help to work up an appetite.

There is plenty of time to wander in the villages, have a long lunch or take a swim. The walking is all taken at a leisurely pace and does not involve any significant ascent but walking down from Monte Bado can test the knees if you do not opt to return by cable car.

Lake Garda is a true outdoor fitness center where all sorts of "active sports" can be enjoyed. Many tourists visit the lake each year just for the extraordinary opportunities the lake offers on its waters and throughout the inland area.You can find just about anything to do!windsurfing or sailing yachts of all sizes on this beautiful lake, crowded beaches with all sorts of amenities, like jet skies, and water skiing, mountains to be climbed using any means, from bikes to hikes along special trails, and the snowy slopes worthy of the most famous winter ski resorts. Right in the middle is one of the most protected natural reserves with lush vegetation, an oasis that is unequaled worldwide.Probably thats why over 15 million people, mainly from foreign countries visit the lake every year.

The famous gastronomic products of the area are: Wine, Oliveoil, Asparagus, Fish, Chestnut, Cheese, Honey, Tortellini, Truffle and Pumpkins. The story of oil-milling from its beginning as a rural activity to the dawning of the technological age, is the theme of the Oil Museum realized by the oil-mill in Cisano del Garda. The museum shows how oil has been produced in rural society for centuries. It also tells us the story of a community without scientific knowledge and means applying itself to the extraction of a fundamentally important foodstuff from a precious fruit : the olive. The journey through history is marked by many changes in technology which remains constant throughout the ages utill the beginning of the twentieth century, when the growing industry offered opportunities of mechanisation. The Wine Museum was created by the Zeni Brothers from Bardolino who founded this historic cellar in 1870 for the exhibition of tools: ploughs, heads, presses, manual decanting pumps, copper tables with the tools required for the production of wine-drums and all the equipment for working in the cellar and the grapevines. There are photographs explaining and giving information on the D.O.C. wine produced in the area. The museum leads to the cellar where wine can be bought. The Wines produced on the Riviera Veronese of Lake Garda are successfully exported all over the world. The typical ones, granted by brand names of controlled origin, are: the Bardolino, in its versions Classico, Chiaretto and Novello, the Bianco di Custoza, the Valdadige and the Lugana. Those who intend to stay in the region have the possibility to discover the places where wine is produced, visit the great number of cellars situated along the "wine routes" and buy wine directly from the vineyard owners. Wine lovers must absolutely consider a visit to the wine museum in Bardolino to admire the exhibition of the historical tools used in the wine production as well as a photo-gallery of all the DOC wines produced in the area of Verona. The Museum Scaligero, located at Torri del Benaco, is very important for ethnological aspects and it shows some objects connected to the trades carried out in the area: one room shows the activities of the "calafati", artisans dedicated to repairing fishing boats of inland waters; in the room of the inhabitants there is the story of the fishermen guilds of the ancient inhabitants of Torri and Garda started in 1452 and still working today. One section illustrates the rock graffiti of Lake Garda which has prehistoric origins. Inside the castle a small botanical kitchen garden collects the main plants of the environment of the place (sub-Mediterranean vegetation) and, leaning on the southern part of the castle we find one of the few greenhouses for citrus fruit still working around Garda, it dates back to 1760. Other important museums are: the Museo Scaligero at Malcesine; the Civic Museum at Caprino Veronese; Museo Palazzina storica at Peschiera.