Lake Garda Towns: The 13 Shore Towns Compared, Shore by Shore

Sirmione

Sirmione was a Roman resort for wealthy Veronese families from the 1st century BC, and the poet Catullus praised it. The Scaligers took the peninsula in the early 13th century and Venice held it from 1405 to 1797. Today it is the town most first-time visitors put on the list.

There is no station here, the nearest are Desenzano and Peschiera. The ZTL closes the old town to cars from 23 March to 13 October, and driving in without authorisation brings fines of $92.73 (€83) to $372.03 (€333). The Scaligero Castle costs $11.17 (€10) and closes on Mondays, and the hours listed are subject to change so check before you go.

Read Sirmione and Sirmione castle.

Desenzano del Garda

Desenzano's Villa Romana is one of the most important Roman villas in northern Italy, about 11,000 m2, built in the 1st century BC and lived in into the 5th century. Venice rebuilt the Old Port in 1454 to make the town a trading hub. The railway station on the Milan-Venice line has trains about every hour or more often, which is why many travellers start here.

The ferry company's Garda office is in town. The boat to Sirmione takes 20 minutes and costs $3.91 (€3.50), the boat to Riva in fare zone 7 costs $19.55 (€17.50). The combined Sirmione ticket also covers the Roman villa.

Read Desenzano del Garda.

Peschiera del Garda

Peschiera is encircled by Venetian defence works that have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 9 July 2017, and the fortress sits on an island where the Mincio leaves the lake. The second railway station on the Milan-Venice line is here, so arrival is as easy as Desenzano. ATV bus 164 runs from Peschiera to Gardaland, Lazise, Bardolino and Garda, which makes it a useful base for the east shore.

The boat to Sirmione is fare zone 2 at $6.70 (€6). It is also the bike start: the full-day e-bike rental, which uses a car-free track, at $39 begins here, as does the e-bike tour to Borghetto sul Mincio at $89. Read Peschiera del Garda.

Lazise

In 983 the emperor Otto granted Lazise the right to fortify itself and trade, and the town calls itself the first free comune in Italy. The Scaligers built its castle and walls, and the 16th-century Venetian customs house controlled lake trade. Movieland, the film theme park, lies in Lazise territory, which makes the town a family base.

The boat from Sirmione is fare zone 4 at $12.85 (€11.50). The hills behind town are vineyard country, and the wine and food tasting in the vineyards costs $47 for six wines with salami, cheese and olive oil. Read Lazise.

Bardolino

Bardolino's Church of San Zeno dates from the mid-9th century, one of few Carolingian buildings in Italy, and Venice later kept a naval base here. The wine hills above town gave the red Bardolino DOC its name. The tourist tax runs from $1.68 (€1.50) to $2.79 (€2.50) per person per night, children up to 14 are exempt and it is due for at most 20 nights.

Garda and Bardolino are fare zone 1 apart, $3.91 (€3.50) by boat, so the two towns combine easily. Above town the vineyards welcome visitors: the Bardolino vineyard tour at $40 lasts 1.5 hours and caps the group at 10. Read Bardolino and Bardolino wine.

Garda

Garda is the town that named the lake, and it keeps its historic centre intact. The 14th-century Venetian Gothic Palazzo dei Capitani and the 16th-century Villa degli Albertini both stand in it. Punta San Vigilio, where the last spur of Monte Baldo runs into the water, belongs to the Garda comune and closes the gulf to the north-west.

The boat from Sirmione is fare zone 4 at $12.85 (€11.50), and Garda to Malcesine is zone 5 at $15.64 (€14). If you want a slow day in town, the cooking class in Garda at $111 is a small-group pasta and tiramisu class with wine and hotel pickup. Read Garda town and Punta San Vigilio.

Malcesine

Malcesine is where the plain ends and the mountain begins. The Scaligers held the castle from 1277 to 1387 and Venice ruled from 1405 to 1797. The castle tower is 31 m high and rises about 70 m above the lake, with a Goethe room inside.

The Monte Baldo cable car leaves from the town and climbs to 1,760 m in about twenty minutes, a return at the office costs $33.52 (€30) and the line closes from 2 November to 25 December. The boat to Limone takes 20 minutes at $8.38 (€7.50) and to Riva 65 minutes at $12.85 (€11.50). For the water view instead, the Malcesine historic sailboat cruise costs $45 for two hours.

Read Malcesine and Monte Baldo.

Salò

Salò has the longest lakefront promenade on Lake Garda, and between 1943 and 1945 it was the seat of government of the Italian Social Republic. Its MuSa museum is closed for renovation from 5 October, with reopening planned for spring, so plan the visit around that. The boat from Desenzano is fare zone 4 at $12.85 (€11.50).

Offshore, Isola del Garda can only be visited with the owners' guided tour, and visits leave from Salò at $43.57 (€39) per adult including the boat, from April to the end of October with no visits on Saturday and Monday. Read Salò and Isola del Garda.

Gardone Riviera

Gardone Riviera holds the Vittoriale degli Italiani, where the poet Gabriele D'Annunzio lived from 1922 until his death in 1938, with the cruiser Puglia set into the hillside. The Heller botanical garden costs $13.41 (€12) and closes from 1 November to 1 March. On the summer timetable the ordinary boat from Peschiera reaches Gardone at 11:22 and the fast boat from Desenzano arrives at 10:33, so a west-shore day trip from the south works by water.

A licensed guided walk through the Vittoriale park costs $48 as the Vittoriale visit, with park and museum admission included. Read Gardone Riviera and the Vittoriale.

Limone sul Garda

Goethe sailed past Limone on 13 September 1786 and described its terraced lemon gardens. The road north to Riva was finished only in 1932, before which Limone was reachable by lake or over the mountains. The Limonaia del Castèl, the lemon garden museum, opens every day in April, May and October 10-18 and June to September 10-22, and the price is not posted online so pay at the door or call +39 0365 954008.

Malcesine is 20 minutes by boat across the water, and the boat to Riva is fare zone 2 at $6.70 (€6). Read Limone sul Garda.

Riva del Garda

Riva belonged to Austria-Hungary from 1815 to 1918 and was then called Reiff am Gartsee. A railway from Mori opened in 1891 and closed in 1936, which is why no train reaches the town today. The nearest station is Rovereto, from where Trentino Trasporti buses run to Torbole, Riva and Arco, and bus tickets cannot be bought on board, so buy before you get on.

The Varone waterfall costs $7.82 (€7) and the Ponale path is free, 6.4 km of old road above the water. To see the north shore fast, the private speedboat with skipper from Riva costs $224 per boat for up to four people. Read Riva del Garda and the Varone falls.

Torbole

In 1439-40 Venice hauled 25 boats and 6 galleys over Monte Baldo from the Adige to launch them here, at the cost of 240 oxen and 15,000 ducats. Goethe arrived on 12 September 1786 and wrote about the view. Today it is the windsurf town of the lake, and the Torbole windsurfing course at $95 gives a beginner two hours with all gear.

Riva and Torbole are one fare zone apart, $3.91 (€3.50) by boat, and Malcesine to Torbole is zone 3 at $8.38 (€7.50). Read Torbole and windsurfing at Lake Garda.

Arco

Arco sits inland from Riva under sheer limestone cliffs, with a hilltop medieval castle above the town. Climbers come for the walls near the town, and Arco hosts the annual Rock Master climbing event. Arco is not on the lake, so no boat serves it.

Trentino Trasporti buses from Rovereto cover Torbole, Riva and Arco on the same lines, and tickets are bought before boarding, not on the bus. For a wet and steep half day, the Arco canyoning trip at $111 runs 3.5 hours in the Rio Nero canyon with gear and a transfer included. Read Arco.

Choosing a base matters more than choosing a hotel, because the lake is 51.60 km long and the boats run seasonally. A base in the south puts both railway stations, Sirmione and the day-trip boats within reach. A base in the north trades train access for mountains and wind.

A base on the east shore sits on bus 164 and the boat line. The table below compares each town by who it suits and how you arrive without a car.

Without a Car

Base in Desenzano or Peschiera, the only two railway stations on the lake, both on the Milan-Venice line. Sirmione is reached from either by boat or by bus and taxi. The whole east shore from Lazise to Garda sits on ATV bus 164, which starts at Peschiera, so an east-shore base also works by bus.

The north tip has no station at all, so reaching Riva and Torbole without a car means a train to Rovereto and a Trentino Trasporti bus, and bus tickets cannot be bought on board. The full transport picture is in getting around Lake Garda.

With Children

Peschiera or Lazise are the family bases, because Gardaland and Movieland sit between them and ATV bus 164 stops at Gardaland on its run. Parco Giardino Sigurtà lies about 8 km from Peschiera, a short hop inland. For the mountain day, children up to 1.20 m ride the Monte Baldo cable car from Malcesine free with a ticket from the office.

On the boats, children aged 4-11 pay reduced fares and the Happy Family offer gives free day tickets to two children with two adult day tickets. More in Lake Garda with kids.

For the Mountains and the Wind

Malcesine is the base for the mountain, because the Monte Baldo cable car starts in town and climbs to 1,760 m, and the castle fills the rest of a day. Riva and Torbole are the base for the wind, with windsurf schools on the water and the Ponale path starting from Riva, a 6.4 km old road above the lake. The two areas link by boat, Malcesine to Torbole in fare zone 3 and Malcesine to Riva in 65 minutes, so you can sleep on one shore and walk or sail on the other.

Start at Riva del Garda.

Ferry fares are set by zone, from $1.68 (€1.50) in the smallest zones to $19.55 (€17.50) for Desenzano to Riva, and a return ticket costs double. Buying on board adds $1.12 (€1) per passenger, except when the ticket office is shut. The whole-lake day pass at $44.13 (€39.50) is the only pass that includes the fast boats, which cut a crossing like Sirmione to Malcesine to under two hours.

The ordinary boat the length of the lake, Peschiera to Riva, takes close to 5 hours, so read the timetable before assuming a same-day round trip. Drivers should know there is no car ferry between Malcesine and Limone, the only car ferry is Maderno-Torri with a 30-minute crossing. The full network, passes and seasons are in the Lake Garda ferry guide.

The table below collects the fares between the towns on this page. Fares are the full adult one-way price from the operator's fare matrix.

From 2 November to 12 March no passenger boats run on the lake, so town hopping by water stops entirely. The one service left is the Maderno-Torri car ferry. On the winter timetable it leaves Maderno first at 8:10 and last at 18:00, and Torri to Maderno first at 8:45 and last at 18:40, and it does not run on 25 December.

The sights keep their own calendars. Malcesine castle opens weekends only in November, then every day from 5 December to 6 January. Sirmione stays open, with the castle closed on Mondays as all year.

The Varone waterfall opens daily except 25 December. Plan winter days around buses and the car ferry, and check each sight before going, in the Lake Garda winter guide. The best time to visit page sets the months side by side.