We were invited to a wonderful wedding in Trento by my Italian friends (now happily married!), and we decided to extend the trip to a four day vacation at Lake Garda.
We had booked a hotel in the ‘surf city’ Torbole due to its’ proximity to the Italian wedding in the northern end of the lake. During the days at Lake Garda we explored the surroundings, visiting only a few highlights of what can be seen in this incredible area in the mountains.
I truly see why so many people are drawn to Lake Garda! Having never visited this part of Italy before, we were happy to spend some days of our precious vacation there.
In this post I have shared my favorite experiences from visiting the famous towns Limone sul Garda (hereafter ‘Limone’) and Malcesine. I have also included my best tips for going to the beach at Lake Garda (essential accessories!) and how to secure parking in popular places such as Limone.
Table of contents
- Torbole – for foodies and surfers alike!
- Limone sul Garda: the village of lemons
- Malcesine and Monte Baldo (Monte Baldo Cable car experience)
- A walk around the historical Malcesine
- Discovering Monte Baldo and Malcesine Cable Car: Personal Insights & Helpful Tips (July 2024)
- Parking and queuing for Monte Baldo and Malcesine Cable Car
- Monte Baldo and Malcesine Cable Car: More info on ticket prices and opening hours
- Hiking routes at Monte Baldo and alternative transport options for reaching the summit
- The best gelato places in Torbole, Limone sul Garda and Malcesine
- How to get around Lake Garda (ways of transportation)
- Beaches in Lake Garda
Torbole – for foodies and surfers alike!
Torbole turned out to be a good base for us – but it is even better if you like sports such as windsurfing or cycling. We were not practicing any of these sports, but we enjoyed the beautiful landscape anyway. I think staying in Malcesine (also in the northern-ish part of Lake Garda) could be optimal for exploring major sights and getting around. I think all the little towns have their own charm (and price ranges!).
We considered a few factors when selecting Torbole; it was close to the wedding party and right by the beach. We also found that morning traffic from Torbole towards Malcesine and Limone was not too bad (even in July!). That is – if you arrive before 10 am, preferably at or around 9 am to get the best parking.
While we didn’t choose Torbole for its’ sport facilities, we found it to be a nice place to relax and spend some time at the beach. See my advice for the beaches later in this post.
Lake Garda is well-known for its’ windsurfing, and while I can’t give any advice about this topic – I’m a first-degree witness to the surfer vibe which was very present all around Torbole! From my perspective, Torbole seems like a perfect place for a sporty windsurfing holiday. Even if you don’t do windsurfing, Torbole is overall a great city to stay in during your vacation at Lake Garda.
We were unfortunately disappointed by how difficult it could be to find a table for two at the most highly-rated restaurants without prior booking, but we did manage to have some excellent meals anyway.
Early birds can also enjoy the scenic route of ‘Sentiero Busatte Tempesta’ which is a trail near Torbole. What I mean with ‘early birds’ is of course that during summer, soaring temperatures during midday can make hiking unpleasant and unsafe.
Limone sul Garda: the village of lemons
Limone is a very picturesque village with many interesting little secret pathways and lemon decorations on the houses. There are a handful of activities to attend while visiting the charming village Limone sul Garda.
We wandered along the beautiful promenade, and later we enjoyed a cold lemonade at one of the little cafes. Then we went to the Castel de Limone for a tour around the old lemon fruit garden, where we read about the fascinating history of lemon farming at Lake Garda.
Things to do in Limone sul Garda
When you visit Limone, you discover how colorful the city is. Limone is adorned with flower arrangements, succulent plants and cute little lemon details on buildings as a tribute to the ancestry of lemon cultivation.
Being a very picturesque city, Limone makes an excellent place for taking lots of photos. So bring you fully charged camera and plenty of space on your memory cards!
Many visitors to Limone will also pay a short visit to the Church of San Benedetto Chiesa Parrocchiale di San Benedetto.
Pro tip: Arrive early to avoid the largest crowds. We reached the cute little marina in Limone thinking ‘Limone was not that crowded’ just before a boat full of tourists arrived, and the streets turned incredibly busy. Arriving early in Italy simply mean before 10 am, but beware that many tourists may already be out and about.
What you don’t want to miss is visiting the Limonaia del Castel, which is translated into “lemon grove of the castle”. Follow the signs on the streets (there are multiple ways there!) and for a small and insignificant entry fee you can see how lemons and oranges were grown back in the day.
Not only is a visit to the ‘Lemon castle’ a lecture in lemon farming, it is also beautifully structured and I was pleased by the sheer but simple architecture of the building.
We found many little shops with the common Lake Garda souvenirs such as lemon bucket hats, kitchen service with lemons, lemon soaps and lotions etc. If you only have a short visit to Limone, the souvenirs you can find here are common and can also be bought in the other cities in the northern end of Lake Garda. Save your precious time in Limone for exploring all the little pathways and alleys.
Perhaps savor the Italian delicacies from one of the many little gelato places in town. I recommend the ice cream at Gelateria QCIARI on Via Porto, first row to the waterfront of the lake.
Due to the soaring summer temperatures we had to escape the midday heat and seek shelter on the local beach, where we managed to find a small spot in the shade among the many other beach-goers.
How to reach Limone sul Garda
There are several ways to reach Limone; via scooter, car, bike, ferry and even walking.
While the scenic cycling route ‘Passarella di Limone sul Garda’ takes you along the beautiful waterfront for several kilometers, it ends up connecting with the main road again at some point, which means cyclists are again forced to bike on the main road. Coming from a cycling nation (Denmark), I would not feel comfortable cycling there, as many drivers seemed to lack patience and perform crazy overtaking. But if this does not shock you, you may enjoy biking this route. In 2024, this route was not finished yet.
We reached Limone with our car at around 10 am. We parked in the large car parking facility with three floors, which provided shade and restrooms. It was very convenient to park in the shaded parking facility Parcheggio Multipiano at Lungolago, since it turned out to be a very hot and humid summer day in late July. One of the pros of taking the car instead of the ferry between Torbole and Limone was that we did not arrive together with a lot of other passengers at the same time.
But I believe if you take the ferry, you may have a more comfortable journey, not having to worry about traffic and parking struggles!
Never want to miss a new post? Subscribe using the button below – I only post a few times a year 🙂
Malcesine and Monte Baldo (Monte Baldo Cable car experience)
A walk around the historical Malcesine
Malcesine is a bustling yet charming town with car-free cobblestone pathways. There are many little corridors and hidden pathways to explore, and plenty of different gelato places to choose from!
We found many beautiful viewpoints of the lake, see one example in my photo below. There were many stores with local produce and typical Lake Garda souvenirs such as lemon-decorated kitchenware and ceramics. Also plenty of leather stores (shoes and bags) can be found in the cobblestone roads. Overall we really enjoyed Malcesine, and we could easily spend more than just one day here (especially if you spend half a day up at Monte Baldo!).
Next time we visit, we will see the Scaliger Castle (Castello Scaligero). We only saw it from the outside, and it seems to be the main attraction in Malcesine.
A highly recommended place to enjoy a gelato with a view is; Dolce Vita (find it on Google Maps). Once you have your gelato in hand, you can continue straight down to the lake from here! It is part of the Old town and harbor.
Discovering Monte Baldo and Malcesine Cable Car: Personal Insights & Helpful Tips (July 2024)
A trip to the mountain Monte Baldo is probably the most wanted activity to experience while in Malcesine. It is very easily reached from the main road traversing Malcesine.
Parking and queuing for Monte Baldo and Malcesine Cable Car
Due to the popularity of the Malcesine Cable car, there are two parking houses built to service people visiting Monte Baldo by car. The parking for the cable car is not for free, but it is worth it to park your car indoor, especially during hot summer days!
After having parked our rental car, we headed straight to the waiting queue for the Monte Baldo Cable car. We did not plan ahead for this trip to Lake Garda, and we had not pre-booked tickets to the cable car, so we had to stand in two lines before we could enter the cable car. Luckily, the whole waiting area was shaded, making it a more pleasant time in the queue. There are also restrooms inside the building, both in the ticket area and in the underground parking facility.
First, we had to wait in a long queue to buy a ticket for the cable car. During this time, the cable car had already *broken down* from the morning, meaning the queue was really long, and people who had pre-booked ticket to enter the cable car at 8:15 am were unfortunately still waiting for their turn!
We considered our alternatives to this unknown waiting time. Since we did not have time to come back to Malcesine and try another time, so we decided to wait in line and hope for the cable car to be fixed in the meantime. And they fixed it eventually!!
We were so stoked that the cable car was working again and we were able to finally ascend the mountain. In total, we had to wait for 1,5-2 hours in the two queues. Bear this in mind, when you plan your trip to Monte Baldo, and consider booking your ticket online, where you select your specific time slot the the queue.
The Cable Car experience was fun; the car is slowly turning 360 degrees around, giving everyone a view of the lake. This means, that if you don’t get the seemingly perfect spot to enjoy the view of Lake Garda while the cable car is running, your view will change while the cable car ascends (and descends!).
Monte Baldo and Malcesine Cable Car: More info on ticket prices and opening hours
The up-to-date ticket prices and operating hours can be found on their website (Funivie del Baldo Official Website). Generally you can save 2 Euros pr. ticket if you buy online, AND you skip one of the two queues once you are at the cable car station 🙂
Hiking routes at Monte Baldo and alternative transport options for reaching the summit
We went for an easy stroll in the north direction towards a great viewpoint of the lake. There are many different hikes to choose from, depending on your physique and other plans at Lake Garda. If you stay in Malcesine, you can easily spend several days hiking and exploring the beautiful nature and scenery at Monte Baldo.
You can also skip the cable car experience altogether and hike all the way from Malcesine (or halfway from the cable car substation San Michele), or even take an electric bike along the gravel road! Many hotels around Lake Garda offer bike rentals, making it an easier alternative transport to choose from.
The best gelato places in Torbole, Limone sul Garda and Malcesine
Every day of our stay at Lake Garda, I had to indulge in the world-famous Italian ice-cream. My favorite Italian ‘gelateria’ (ice-cream shops) were;
- Gelateria del Bottega del Gelato (Torbole) *****
- Gelateria Liberty (Torbole) ****
- Dolce Vita (Malcesine) *****
- Gelateria QCIARÌ (Limone) ****
How to get around Lake Garda (ways of transportation)
There are several different ways to get around Lake Garda. These include renting a car (which is typically done at the airport), renting a bike locally (that is possible from many hotels!), electrical bikes, scooters, locally operated busses and limited trains in the area of Lake Garda.
Bikes and e-bikes
Bikes and e-bikes offer you great flexibility while visiting Lake Garda, but it comes with some downsides such as unsafe driving conditions on some of the busier roads.
Recently, a beautiful route biking path separated from car traffic has been built to connect cyclists and pedestrians from the city of Garda to the famous village Limone, but it does not go all the way between the two places yet, and you still have to share the road with cars for some of the way (status as of 2024!).
Ferries and boats
All the ‘bigger’ and/or popular towns are connected by ferries and have several departures each day. Check the ferry schedule for Lago di Garda here (always get the latest schedule from the official website!)
While staying in Torbole, we also went to the harbor to check our options for taking the ferry to Limone sul Garda. But you can save time by checking the ferry schedule online.
Busses and trains
Busses operate around Lake Garda. It is a complicated matter, but this article (at gardavisit.it) gives a run-through of how it works.
The southern end of Lake Garda is serviced by train – but there are only two train stations; Densenzano del Garda and Peschiera del Garda. As always, I recommend buying your ticket through the official companies.
If you are visiting Italy during an interrail through Europe, you can even add the popular city Sirmione (note: only southern part of Lake Garda) to your interrail itinerary (search here for more info).
Our experience with car renting and parking facilities at Lake Garda
We found that renting a car in Italy can be a good experience, but you really have to be a confident driver. I did not have the nerve to drive there, but my partner did so well.
We found parking to be alright, considering the number of tourists in this area. Arriving early in the day (before 10) we found plenty of spaces in the parking houses by the cable car in Malcesine and in Limone.
Beaches at Lake Garda
While the beaches are beautiful and clean, there are some major drawbacks to them. All the beaches we visited in Limone and Torbole were covered in white stones or rocks. The stones were far from comfortable to sit, lie and walk on. If you have all the right gear with you, you can increase your comfort while at the beach A LOT.
We unfortunately did not bring our swimming shoes, and so we had to do the awkward walking from water to land. If you are at Lake Garda for a longer period you could possibly buy or borrow foam mats for your beach days. I suggest to bring swimming shoes and two good beach towels 😉
In Torbole, mallards (ducks) were commonly swimming in the water. They were really not shy, swimming and walking among us on the beach. We had a special moment with a female duck and her nine newly hatched ducklings swimming back and forth, and waddling along the waterline. Both mute swans and mallards are a common sight at Lake Garda!
Pro tip: Wear swimming shoes or closed sandals for going in the lake. Bring a foam mat, thick beach towels or two layers of towels to increase your comfort at the beach. It is not recommended to use inflatable mattresses on the beaches at Lake Garda, since some of the rocks can be a little sharp.
You made it to the bottom of this post – I hope you enjoyed reading it, feel free to comment, share or like it here or elsewhere. I hope I can inspire more people to follow their dreams and make valuable time for themselves, for personal growth and experiences for a lifetime.
This blog post does not contain any affiliate links or sponsored content.
© All photos are my own unless stated and may not be used without permission.
Traveling Female Ornithologist 