Things to Do in Lake Garda: Every Sight by Shore, With the Days It Shuts

Scaligero Castle in Sirmione

This water-surrounded castle at the entrance to Sirmione's old town was probably founded by Mastino I della Scala in the early 13th century, after the Scaligers took the town. The ticket includes the keep. Full entry is $11.17 (€10), reduced $2.23 (€2) for EU citizens aged 18 to 25, and free under 18.

Hours are Tuesday to Sunday 8:30-19:15, closed Mondays, 1 January and 25 December, and the ticket office closes 45 minutes before closing time. Check before you go, since the page does not say whether these are summer or winter hours. If you prefer to skip the queue, the castle entry ticket with tower costs $15.

More detail is on the Sirmione castle page.

Grottoes of Catullus

At the tip of the peninsula stand the ruins of a Roman villa built between the end of the 1st century BC and the start of the 1st century AD. Entry is $11.17 (€10), with cards only at the site, no cash. Hours are Tuesday to Saturday 8:30-17:00, Sunday 8:30-14:00, closed Mondays, with last entry 40 minutes before closing.

A combined ticket at $22.34 (€20) covers the Grottoes, Sirmione's castle and the Roman villa in Desenzano and stays valid for 7 days. The Ministry page does not say whether the listed hours are summer or winter, so check before you go. See Grotte di Catullo.

Terme di Sirmione

The peninsula sits over thermal water, and a sulfur spring bubbles up in the lake just offshore. That spring is one of the sights pointed out on the 25-minute Sirmione peninsula cruise, so you can see it from the water without paying spa prices. For bathing, the spa sells admissions on its own site and no gate price is reproduced here.

Details and booking pointers are on the Terme di Sirmione page.

Gardaland and Movieland

Gardaland opened on 19 July 1975 in Castelnuovo del Garda and has been owned by Merlin Entertainments since 2006. Its rides include Oblivion, Blue Tornado and Raptor plus Peppa Pig Land for small children. The park runs event seasons that change the opening calendar, so check the park calendar before you go. The Gardaland one-day ticket lists $50 per person.

ATV bus 164 from Verona and Peschiera stops at Gardaland. Movieland, the movie theme park in Lazise, is part of the CanevaWorld resort. No Movieland gate price is printed here, and the only card on this site is a VIP package, not plain entry.

See Gardaland and Movieland.

Parco Giardino Sigurtà

Carlo Sigurtà bought this abandoned estate on 2 April 1941 and revived its ancient right to Mincio irrigation water, and the park opened to the public on 19 March 1978. It now covers 600,000 m2 on two moraine hills about 8 km from Peschiera. It opens every day from 7 March to 15 November.

In October and November hours are 9:00-18:00, and after the clocks go back the last entry is 16:00. The Sigurtà admission ticket lists $21.67 per person. The admission card lists 60 to 120 minutes for a visit. See Parco Sigurtà.

Malcesine Castle

The Scaligers held this castle from 1277 to 1387, and it was declared a national monument in 1902. The tower is 31 m high and rises about 70 m above the lake, and the castle houses the Monte Baldo and Garda natural history museum plus a room dedicated to Goethe. Opening hours run every day to 31 October from 9:30-18:00, Saturdays and Sundays only 10:30-17:00 in November, then every day 5 December to 6 January at the same times.

The cable car leaves from the same town, so the two share a morning, and the castle page carries the ticket prices. See Malcesine castle.

Monte Baldo by Cable Car

The cable car climbs from Malcesine to the top station at 1,760 m in about twenty minutes. A return ticket is $33.52 (€30) at the office or $31.28 (€28) online, juniors pay $20.11 (€18), and children up to 1.20 m travel free with a free ticket from the office. Departures run every 30 minutes, weather permitting.

The lift closes for maintenance 2 November to 25 December, and the winter season runs 26 December to 21 February. No fixed last-ride time is printed, so check the day's timetable at the station. Take a layer: the top station at 1,760 m stands about 1,700 m above the lake surface at 65 m, our sum.

See Monte Baldo and Monte Baldo tickets.

Punta San Vigilio

This is where the last spur of Monte Baldo runs into the lake and closes the Gulf of Garda, and after Sirmione it is the point that juts furthest into the water. Villa Guarienti-Brenzone was designed by the Renaissance architect Michele Sanmicheli and finished in 1540, and the Guarienti di Brenzone counts still own it. The point also holds a small church, an inn, a little harbour and the Baia delle Sirene park with a bathing beach on its north side.

Walking out to the point costs nothing, and the villa itself is private. The 4-hour cruise option on the guided cruise with a stop in Sirmione makes a photo stop here. See Punta San Vigilio and Garda town.

Bardolino Wine Country

Bardolino's Church of San Zeno dates from the mid-9th century, one of the few Carolingian buildings in Italy, and Venice later kept a naval base in the town. The hills behind grow the Bardolino red and its rosé Chiaretto. The Bardolino vineyard tour costs $40 for 1.5 hours in a group of up to 10, with five wines, cold cuts, cheese and the estate's own olive oil. The town's tourist tax runs $1.68 (€1.50) to $2.79 (€2.50) per person per night depending on the type of accommodation, children up to 14 exempt.

The lakefront walk and the church are free. See Bardolino wine and Bardolino.

Il Vittoriale degli Italiani

This hillside estate at Gardone Riviera was the home of the poet Gabriele D'Annunzio from 1922 until his death in 1938, and the hull of the cruiser Puglia is set into the hillside as a monument. It is open all year, which makes it one of the dependable winter sights on this shore. Tickets are sold through its own online shop, and the phone for information is +39 0365 296511. The Vittoriale visit costs $48 for a 2-hour guided walk of the park with entry to two museums.

The Priory, the poet's house, is not included. See Il Vittoriale.

Heller Garden

This botanical garden in Gardone Riviera sets sculptures among its plants, a Renoir among them. Adults pay $13.41 (€12), children 6 to 11 pay $5.59 (€5) and under 6 go free. It opens daily 9:00-19:00 and closes from 1 November to 1 March, so it is a warm-season sight only.

It shares the town with the Vittoriale, so the two make one Gardone day in the warm months. See Gardone Riviera.

Isola del Garda

The largest island on the lake belongs to the Cavazza family and is dominated by a neo-Gothic villa. It was a Roman burial ground and later the site of a Franciscan monastery. Visits are guided only, running from April to the end of October, with no visits on Saturday and Monday, and booking is compulsory.

The visit lasts about 2 h 15 to 2 h 30 plus the boat, and the price per adult includes the boat: $43.57 (€39) from Salò or Gardone, $51.39 (€46) from Sirmione, Garda or Bardolino, and $54.74 (€49) from Desenzano or Lazise. The private boat cruise past Isola del Garda at $496.04 per boat is a different product: 1.5 hours past Sirmione, the Rocca di Manerba and the island with Prosecco, without landing. See Isola del Garda.

Strada della Forra

This road climbs from the lakeshore up a narrow gorge to Tremosine, a municipality spread over 18 hamlets of which Campione is the only one on the shore. The historic sailboat from Malcesine passes below the road on its afternoon sail, so you can see the gorge from the water too. Driving it is free.

Campione below is a kitesurfing spot if you want to end the drive on the water. See Strada della Forra.

Limone's Lemon House

Goethe sailed past Limone on 13 September 1786 and described its terraced lemon gardens, and the road to Riva only arrived in 1932, before which the town was reachable only by lake or over the mountains. The Limonaia del Castèl keeps that lemon-growing tradition alive. It opens daily 10-18 in April, May and October, and 10-22 from June to September.

In the other months you arrange visits by phone on +39 0365 954008, and no price is published, so ask when you call. Getting there is easy in season: Malcesine to Limone by boat takes 20 minutes and costs $8.38 (€7.50) in zone 3. See Limone sul Garda.

Cascata del Varone

A pair of waterfalls drop into a vertical cave 3 km north-west of Riva. Entry is $7.82 (€7) per person, with family tickets at $21.23 (€19) for two adults and one child, $26.81 (€24) for two plus two, and $31.28 (€28) for two plus three. Tickets are sold on site only.

Hours change by month: 10:00-17:00 in January, February, November and December, up to 9:00-19:00 from May to August, and the site opens every day except 25 December. Allow at least 20 minutes. It pairs well with the Ponale path or a Riva afternoon.

See Cascata del Varone.

The Ponale Path

The road above Riva was begun in 1851, with Austro-Hungarian fortifications added from 1860, opened to traffic at the end of the 1980s and turned into a hiking path in 2004. It runs 6.4 km with about 3 hours of walking, with 736 m of climbing and a highest point of 532 m. The official page calls it an alpine trail with rockfall risk, so treat the easy label with care and wear real shoes.

Bus 214 returns hikers from the Pregasina junction on the road above. It costs nothing, and the views down the lake are the reward. See Lake Garda hiking.

Torbole and the Wind

In 1439-40 Venice hauled 25 boats and 6 galleys over Monte Baldo from the Adige to launch them at Torbole, at the cost of 240 oxen and 15,000 ducats, and Goethe arrived here on 12 September 1786. Today the town is the lake's windsurf base, and its surf centres teach from a stretch of water kept for boards. The Torbole windsurfing course costs $95 for 2 hours with board, rig, wetsuit and life jacket included, for ages 7 and up who can swim. Trentino Trasporti buses link Torbole with Riva and Arco.

See Torbole and Lake Garda windsurfing.

Arco and the Climbing Walls

Arco sits inland from the north shore under sheer limestone cliffs, with a medieval castle on a hilltop above the town. Rock climbing on the walls near the town draws climbers, and Arco hosts the annual Rock Master climbing event. If you would rather get wet than high, the Arco canyoning trip costs $111 for 3.5 hours in the Rio Nero canyon of the Ledro Valley, with a transfer from the Arco base, natural water slides, abseils and optional jumps, and weight limits apply.

The town itself is free to wander. See Arco.

Walking Sirmione's old town costs nothing, and the ZTL keeps cars out from 23 March to 13 October, so the peninsula is quiet underfoot. The lakefront at Salò is the longest promenade on the lake and makes a free hour or two. Punta San Vigilio costs nothing to walk out to.

The Ponale path above Riva is free, as is driving the Strada della Forra gorge road. Bardolino's Church of San Zeno, one of the few Carolingian buildings in Italy, asks no ticket. Where to swim on each shore is on the Lake Garda beaches page.

If you want one paid thing that costs almost nothing, the cheapest is the zone U ferry hop at $1.68 (€1.50), a short crossing that still puts you on the water. The paid half of the list, with every card beside its gate price, is on the Lake Garda tours page.

Indoor Options That Are Open

The Museo della Carta in the Valle delle Cartiere at Toscolano Maderno tells the paper-making history of the west shore in an old mill valley. Entry is $8.94 (€8) full and $6.70 (€6) reduced, open daily 10:00-18:00 from 28 March to 11 October, then Saturdays and Sundays only from 17 October to 8 November. MAG Museo Alto Garda in Riva costs $5.59 (€5) full or $11.17 (€10) for a family ticket, but its own opening-hours page is out of date, so confirm opening days before going.

MuSa museum in Salò is closed for renovation from 5 October, with reopening planned for spring. Sirmione's castle and the Grottoes stay open in winter on the Ministry's listed hours, closed Mondays, so a wet winter day in Sirmione still has the two headline sights.

Winter Without the Boats

From 2 November to 12 March the only service on the lake is the Maderno-Torri car ferry, crossing in 30 minutes. A car up to 4.50 m pays $16.65 (€14.90) and an adult foot passenger $8.38 (€7.50). The seasonal shutdowns stack up: Isola del Garda is shut after October, Heller Garden from 1 November, Sigurtà after 15 November, and the cable car from 2 November to 25 December.

What still works: Sirmione's castle and Grottoes, the Varone falls open every day except 25 December, and Malcesine castle on weekends in November and daily from 5 December to 6 January. Plan movements by road, since the shore towns stop talking to each other by water. See the lake in winter and getting around Lake Garda.

One shore fits one day. Two days cover the south plus one other shore comfortably. Three to four days let you work the whole lake by boat in season, since the ordinary boat from Peschiera to Riva takes close to 5 hours end to end and the fast boat from Desenzano to Riva does it in under 3 hours.

That difference matters when you build a loop day, so match the boat type to the distance. Two days is the practical minimum for the five headline sights without rushing, and the two-day plan shows the pairing. The table below matches the sights to the days they realistically fill.

If You Only Have One Day

Two rules decide a single day: whether the boats are running, and whether it is a Monday, because Sirmione's castle and the Grottoes both close on Mondays. Route 1, south by train: arrive at Desenzano station, take the 20-minute boat to Sirmione at $3.91 (€3.50) in zone 1, then the castle and the Grottoes on foot. Route 2, the mountain day: Malcesine, the cable car to 1,760 m, the castle below, then the 20-minute boat to Limone.

Route 3, in winter with a car: Sirmione on foot in the morning, then the Varone falls, which open every day except 25 December. The full routing is in the one-day plan.