One could surely plan a whole week or more around the northern lakes in Italy. This picturesque countryside nestled in the mountains is simply beautiful. No wonder many actors and celebrities have second homes here.
As part of our Northern Italy road trip, we visited Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore.
While we would have loved to see Lake Como also, it didn’t work as well with our plans. And we had the impression that it may have more private homes or hotels and less areas to visit by casual tourists. That said we were so impressed with the area that we wished we would have allocated more time for Italy’s lake area.
We planned our day trip visits (we didn’t spend any nights here but rather drove to and from the lakes on multiple days) between our city visits. The drive is fairly short, but there was often traffic, and it would have been nice to wake up to those lake views with the mountains in the background.
Lake Garda eastern side itinerary
From Verona it was only an hour’s drive up to Lake Garda and we opted to play it by ear and follow the coastline of the lake starting in the medieval town of Lazise.
Lazise
To be honest we were not sure what to expect but when we approached the lakeside road and saw the impressive castle walls we immediately pulled over into the parking lot.
This turned out to be a beautiful walled city inside ancient ramparts of an ancient Roman settlement, Lassisium. It was later fortified in the 10th century to protect against Hungarian invasions. What we see today as the castle was built in 1375 and the fortress was used as a military control of the Lake Garda area.
We very much enjoyed strolling the streets between the ancient walls and marveling at the history in Lazise.
Bardolino
After a few gelatos we continued up the east coast of Lake Garda to Bardolino which was another nice coastal town off Lake Garda. We enjoyed strolling along the boardwalk and the cobblestone streets of this place. Beautiful scenery all around.
Torri del Benaco
We continued driving up to Torri del Benaco, where we saw the Castello Scaligero. The castle dates back to the 1100s and houses a museum. It has split hours so you might need to plan accordingly of you want to visit. Unfortunately we missed it as it was closing when we got there, so instead we simply strolled around the town and enjoyed the sites.
Malcesine
Our next stop was Malcesine, which is a charming town complete with a pebble beach where we cooled off with a quick dip in the lake. Well ok, we just got in knee deep but there were others swimming. Unfortunately there were not many facilities with no public washrooms or change areas. Tip: Bring beach shoes.
The Castle of Malcesine was also a fun place to visit. While they had some odd modern sculptures on display we particularly enjoyed walking around the ramparts for picturesque lake views. We almost missed it but there was an exhibit about Lake Garda where we learned some fun facts about the lake.
Lake Garda is actually the biggest lake in Italy and the 9th largest in Europe. The narrowest part is 3km across and there is an underwater current. We even saw some dive shops around the lake and I bet there are still many sunken treasures to discover.
A short distance away is the Malcesine Monte Baldo Cableway which was quite an amazing experience. We arrived late in the day so we were actually alone in a private car going up.
I was impressed getting off the cable car with the views, but then they told us to continue on to the next station to go all the way up. Wow! We were in the clouds and the temperature was at least 10 degrees lower. What a treat!
The views of the lake from up there were incredible. There were many hiking trails and we even saw some alpacas.
Torbole
As we approached the end of our first day trip to Lake Garda, we finished up in Torbole, a nice lakeside town at the northern end of the lake. We stopped here to have a nice dinner at one of the many restaurants where we could watch the sunset before heading back via the fast highway to our hotel in Verona.
Lake Garda southern shore area
The following morning, having been so impressed with our visit to Lake Garda‘s eastern shore we decided to return and do the southern lakeside area on our way to Brescia.
Peschiera del Garda
Our first stop was the picturesque walled city of Peschiera del Garda which was again surrounded by old fortifications.
We wandered around the picturesque streets and lakeside but got worried seeing a lot of broken glass in the parking lots and broken windows on many of the cars as we had all our luggage with us in the trunk.
We later saw a car full of dents and came to realize this was not a reflection of crime but rather the results of a recent hailstorm where golf ball sized hail had fallen just a few days prior. Wow. We were suddenly glad the rental car agent had talked us into taking the extra insurance.
Sirmione
Then we continued up the coast to Sirmione, but this part of the lake turned out to be more of a disappointment for us as it was so crowded. And we were stuck in traffic jams instead of visiting attractions. We wanted to see one of the most famous castles on the Sirmione peninsula but getting there was utter madness. Police were directing traffic away because it was already too crowded. People had to park far away on private lawns and walk an hour or more in the brutal sun or wait for a crowded bus.
We didn’t want to be part of the madness and also thought about what it must have been like at the actual castle if it was this crazy just to get parking. So, we opted to pass.
We did see views of the castle from across the lake further along the road instead. It was indeed a beautiful castle and surely worth a visit if you’d be willing to put up with the crowds and allocate a full day to it. Maybe best seen off season.
Note also that we noticed a sign by the lakeside beach here about an outbreak of swimmer’s rash. This is the warmer and shallower part of the lake but getting parasites burrowing into the skin is definitely not worth a risk so no swimming here for us.
Desenzano del Garda
We continued on to another picturesque lakeside town Desenzano del Garda where we visited a small castle to get more panoramic vistas of the lake.
Overall, we both agreed that the eastern side of Lake Garda had been much more charming than the southern shore and if we would plan an overnight visit we would definitely recommend Malcesine or Lazise.
Stresa, Lake Maggiore
As a finale to Northern Italy’s lake area we also visited Lake Maggiore.
We got a tip about Stresa from our Turin hotel concierge about day trips you could do with a hop-on hop-off boat to some islands in Lake Maggiore. This sounded like fun, and we headed out on our final day of our Northern Italy adventure.
Stresa is actually quite close to Milan Malpensa Airport, only about a 40-minute drive so a perfect place to end before sleeping at the airport before our next day morning flight.
Arriving in Stresa we were immediately charmed. Exiting the highway you descend the mountainside with spectacular views of the lake below. Already we were in love with the city and would recommend it as a place to stay. We saw some beautiful hotels also so this could definitely be a good overnight option.
Arriving around noon parking was already difficult but we got lucky circling only a few times to find someone backing out. We headed straight for the hop-on hop-off boats. We had read reviews that there was some confusion about where to get these boats. But everything was well marked with either a yellow, blue or a red flag depending on the company.
Our company operated multiple boats that ran every half hour, and we had no issues. You can also book a private tour for $250 but the hop-on hop-off was only $12 per person and it was a fun experience.
The Islands of Lake Maggiore
The first island on our hop-on hop-off was Isola Bella. We immediately fell in love with this place seeing the palace’s gardens from the boat. With all the little shops and restaurants around it you don’t immediately realize that the whole island is one huge castle.
You need to buy tickets to visit the Palazzo Borromeo and the gardens, but it’s well worth it. This was honestly one of the, if not, the most beautiful place we saw on our whole trip. From the enormous lavish rooms to the marine inspired grottos to the Italian-style baroque garden, we were sure this must have been the inspiration for the gardens at Miami’s Vizcaya that we love so much.
Next, we took the boat to the next stop which was Isola dei Pescatori. This charming little fishing village is also a lovely place to stroll around or to enjoy a bite to eat or perhaps another gelato.
The boats also go to Isola Madre (where there is another palace and a botanical garden) but we ran out of time.
Returning to Stresa we enjoyed an outdoor dinner on one of the many terraces and did a little shopping. This too would have been a great place to spend a night or two.
Getting back to the car we felt a cold but refreshing wind from the Alps. There were even white caps on the lake.
It was the perfect end to our Northern Italy adventure.