MacsTravel Blog

We have always been interested in exploring the Italian Lake District, and decided on Lake Garda for this trip. Lake Garda sits just to the west of Verona and runs into the solid and imposing mass of the Dolomite mountains to the north.

We chose the slower route north from Modena, and were thankful for Google Maps in helping us navigate the twists and turns of the side roads.

[Note: we both used Airalo to download e-sims on our phones. Cheap and easy to install. Use my code if you want to save some €: RICH6105]

We were less thankful for the “safety features” on our MG hatchback: persistent beeping if we exceeded the posted speed limit by a kilometre, a staccato “binging” if we crossed a lane, a peculiar Morse code when we approached an invisible speed camera. Combined with the three contrasting speed limits offered at any one time by Google, the MG dashboard and the occasional road sign, this made for a sonically discordant journey north, most of which was spent with the looming presence of a frustrated Italian driver in the rear view mirror, anxious to overtake us at the first available blind corner.

Despite the above, it was really a very pleasant drive.

Our first stop on the shores of Lake Garda was Bardolino, a charming little town with a long and lovely boardwalk that happened to be jammed with vendors as it was a market day. We enjoyed a pleasant couple of hours wandering around the town, stopping for lunch at the outdoor patio of Pizza Bardolino (decent pizza, nice patio).

Our destination was Riva del Garda, the town at the far north end of the lake, which offers incredible views in every direction and has a lovely historic centre. This is an active hub: there are hiking and bike trails everywhere and the lake is constantly spotted with sailboats, kite sailers and windsurfers (there was a regatta taking place so at times it seemed like over a hundred boats were on the lake at once).

Robin had booked us at the Residence Marina, an apartment style hotel nestled into the hillside overlooking the town. The apartment was clean and bright, if a little spartan: the decision to provide us with a single roll of toilet paper for our four day stay seemed wildly optimistic.

The drive up was on a single lane road with four blind switchbacks. We quickly learned that the strategy was to negotiate the corners slowly and carefully, and then to race like hell to the next corner to claim your stretch of road and force any oncoming driver to wait at the turn. It’s not much of a system, but it worked.

The views from the balcony were certainly worth it! The day we arrived the announcement was made that there was a new pope. It was quite something to sit on the balcony and hear the bells ringing from the centre of town and echoing off the hillsides.

Riva del Garda is an active, sporty place. Other than the obvious draw of the lake itself, there are countless hiking trails and a really impressive cycling infrastructure to explore. We set aside time our first day to do the San Nicolò Port – Monte Brione trail. As our hotel was tucked into the side of Monte Brione, this seemed like a great spot to start.

This trail mainly consists of stairs which run up and along the side of the cliffs overlooking the lake. It’s a little tough on the lungs and the knees, but there are numerous spots to stop and enjoy the views. There are also a series of WWI vintage bunkers, including Fort Garda itself, which are well worth exploring.

After soaking our feet in the icy waters of the hotel pool we freshened up and headed down into the town to explore the town centre and find a spot for dinner. We alternately sped and crept our way down the hill to a free parking area just across from the paid lot on the harbour. Win!

There are lovely walking trails and separate bike paths all along the waterfront, and we really enjoyed watching the parade of small sailboats coming in and out of the harbour. The Italian Cup ILCA regatta was taking place and sailing teams from across Italy had descended on town for the occasion. While it felt busy, it never felt overcrowded, and the atmosphere of a sporting competition was certainly in the air.

As you walk along the lakeshore to the harbour where the ferry docks are you come to the historic centre of Riva del Garda. It’s a charming area, dominated by the Torre Apponale. The lanes off the open piazza by the harbour lead to a warren of curved medieval streets full of shops and places to eat. It’s a good place to get lost in.

We ate at a place just north of the Torre Apponale called Pasta Fresco Bistro. It is run by a husband and wife team: the wife makes delicious, fresh pasta and the husband pushes people to order what he suggests. He doesn’t suffer fools, as we saw when a group of 9 Dutch tourists didn’t listen to his recommendations and kept asking him whether he had any prawns. That request was not received well and they were sent packing. I love this type of place, so we returned the following night. He recognized us, and asked if we remembered his recommendations or whether he would have to give them again. From the look in his eye, this was a request he might not tolerate.

It was delicious both times.

Other than hiking and sailing, cycling is one of the main reasons to come to Riva del Garda. We decided to rent e-bikes from “Happy Bikes” and cycle the old Ponale road to Lake Largo.

This is a cliff hugging route only accessible to hikers and cyclists that is not for the faint of heart. Even on our excellent mountain bike style e-bikes it was a workout. Part of the reason for that was our fear of draining the battery: after six hours we had only used up one bar each! I know our friend Steve Nelson would be proud of us! The route was challenging, but frequent places to stop and take in the views as well as a few “bars” (Italian cafes) scattered along the way made it more than manageable for us.

[We may have gone on a unexpected detour that took us down an incredibly technical trail into a ravine where we had to turn around and backtrack and which probably gave Robin some trauma, but no one is pointing any fingers.]

We did make the decision to cycle to Lake Largo, and not around it.

On our last day in Riva del Garda Robin booked us a boat trip with “Speedy Gonzale” boats. Lake Garda is a little bigger than Lake Okanogan in British Columbia but it is ringed with towns. Pretty extensive ferry surface links the towns (it would take about four hours to drive around the lake) and there are a number of companies who provide smaller boats to help people visit specific spots. This is how we came to visit the town of Limone on the west side and Malcesine on the east side.

It wouldn’t be a surprise, I’m sure, to hear that Limone is famous for its lemons. It is also famous for its lemon houses, stone structures built into the cliffs to protect the lemon trees from the cold. Although we are in the Dolomites here, Garda has a weirdly temperate climate (there are palm trees in the towns).

Malcesine doesn’t have any lemons, but it does feature a striking cliff side castle (Castello Scaligero) as well as a charming medieval centre.

We had a great time, spending about two hours in each spot and enjoying being ferried from place to place by the good folks at Speedy Gonzale.

Our last evening was spent doing what we did every evening: wandering aimlessly through town as part of that collective Italian experience, the “passeggiare”, or evening stroll. The streets fill with families and friends, cafe tables are occupied and, at this time of year in Lake Garda, the scent of orange blossoms fills the air. It’s pretty magical.

Tomorrow we head off to Verona for a few days. Going to get in a Shakespeare headspace for that.

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Postscript: Happy Mothers Day Robin! This picture sums it up.