Malcesine–Monte Baldo Cable Car

From the harbour of Malcesine, on the eastern shore of Lake Garda, a cable car climbs almost straight up the flank of Monte Baldo, the long limestone ridge that walls in the lake on the Veneto side. The ridge runs for some 40 km between the provinces of Verona and Trento and reaches 2,218 metres at Cima Valdritta, while its foot stands in the lake at about 65 metres. Few places in the Alps put such a drop between water and summit, and the Malcesine–Monte Baldo cableway is the quickest way to feel it.

The line opened in 1962 and was entirely rebuilt in 2002 by the South Tyrolean firm Hölzl. It works in two sections. The first, about 1.5 km long, lifts passengers from the lakeside station at about 130 metres to the intermediate stop at San Michele. The second, about 2.8 km long, climbs nearly 1,200 metres more to the ridge at Tratto Spino, around 1,760 metres, in roughly ten minutes. The whole ascent takes around twenty minutes.

What sets this cableway apart is the upper section: its two cabins slowly rotate through a full circle as they rise. The effect is a changing panorama without moving a step. One moment the view is of the rock wall above, the next of Malcesine's roofs and harbour shrinking below, then of the long northern arm of the lake towards Riva, deep blue between the mountains.

At the top, paths run along the grassy crest of Monte Baldo in both directions, with the lake far below; the ridge is used by walkers, mountain bikers and paragliders, and in winter by skiers. Even without walking far, the terrace at Tratto Spino gives one of the widest views over Lake Garda there is.

Getting there

The lower station is in Malcesine on the Veneto shore of Lake Garda, about 13 km south of Riva del Garda along the lake, with parking nearby. Verona Villafranca Valerio Catullo Airport (VRN) is about 42 km away.