Lake Garda

Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy and the most varied of the great Alpine lakes. Its shape explains its character: in the north it is a narrow fjord of deep water squeezed between steep mountains, while in the south it opens into a broad basin fringed by gentle morainic hills, vineyards and olive groves. The lake is about 52 km long, up to 16 km wide and 346 metres deep at its deepest point, and its shores are divided between Lombardy (the province of Brescia), the Veneto (Verona) and Trentino.

The lake owes its mild climate to its sheer volume of water, which keeps winters unusually soft for a latitude of 46° north. Olives, cypresses and palms grow along the shore, and at Limone the old terraced lemon houses recall a time when citrus was grown here commercially. The Romans knew the lake as Benacus and built villas along it; the remains of a vast Roman villa at the tip of the Sirmione peninsula are known as the Grottoes of Catullus. In the 13th century the Scaliger family of Verona fortified the shores, and their castles still stand at Sirmione, Malcesine and Riva. The Republic of Venice later held much of the lake, and in the last years of the Second World War Mussolini's rump republic was run from its western shore, which is why it is known as the Republic of Salò.

Each town has a different personality. Sirmione sits on a thin peninsula with its Scaliger castle and Roman villa; Desenzano, the largest town on the lake, is a lively market and ferry hub; Malcesine on the eastern shore clusters around its castle; Gardone Riviera holds the Vittoriale degli Italiani, the extravagant house and museum of the poet Gabriele D'Annunzio. At the northern end, Riva del Garda and Torbole are famous for reliable winds that draw windsurfers, kiteboarders and sailors, and the Centomiglia regatta is held on the lake every year. Near the southeastern shore is Gardaland, Italy's biggest theme park.

The best way to see the lake is from the water: the ferries show how sharply the landscape changes from the flat south to the mountain walls of the north, and the lakeside path near Limone gives a similar view on foot or by bike.

Getting there

The main southern gateway is Desenzano del Garda, about 21 km from the centre of the lake. Desenzano-Sirmione and Peschiera del Garda stations are on the Milan–Venice railway. Ferries run by Navigazione Laghi link Desenzano with Riva del Garda, calling at Peschiera, Salò, Malcesine and other towns. The nearest airport is Verona Villafranca (VRN), about 32 km away.