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Lake Garda

Posted by on

I am planing a cycling trip in September, the 11th through the 18th. Home base will be Peschiera del Garda, that's where the hotel is . My wife is accompanying me although she does not bike ride. Can I get some suggestions for day trips or half day trips she could take while there? My riding will take from 8 AM to 1 PM daily. Anything we do together would have to be in the afternoon or evening. Her interests are food, cooking, and gardens. We're trying to keep everything within an hour of Peschiera.

Verona is the obvious and the RS guidebook does a good job of covering it. But RS is a bit silent on Lake Garda.

On Sunday the 18th, we leave for three nights in Venice and three in Florence before flying home. In Venice we are just planning on a couple of major sights and then just wandering around taking it all in. Not sure what we want to do in Florence beyond a couple of the major museums, although there are plenty of options. I still have 5 months to figure it all out. Neither of us has been to Italy before but we have been to Europe a number of times.

Any suggestions are appreciated, particularly about Lake Garda.

Posted by
5222 posts

Since your home base will be Peschiera, your wife might enjoy taking the ferry & visiting some of the lakeside villages/towns such as Bardolino, Garda & Lazise.

You may check ferry schedules (timetables) here: http://www.navlaghi.it/eng/g_illago.html

She may also consider visiting Sirmione one day.

Verona is a nice city to visit & it's only 15 minutes away via train.

One idea would be for her to travel to Verona & then you can meet here there after your bike ride & enjoy sightseeing and a nice dinner together.

There are many nice shops in Verona that your wife may also enjoy ;-)

There is also a great gelateria, 'Pretto', in Verona... My favorite! http://www.gelatopretto.it/

Posted by
32212 posts

I suspect there's a good reason why RS is a "bit silent" on Lake Garda. It's not the most convenient destination to explore and it's cumbersome to get to some of the towns. Sirmione is one good example, as it has no rail access so that limits transportation to bus or taxi from Peschiera or Desenzano or ferries.

Taking a day trip to the towns at the north end such as Malcesine, Limone or Riva is not really practical as an "afternoon" activity if travelling by ferry due to the travel times involved. Of course your wife could make an all day trip to the north end and be back about supper time. Having a car would make this a bit easier, but still not the best solution as traffic can be "thick" at times on the narrow, twisting roads.

Your idea to visit Verona is a good place to start. Have a look at the guidebook or map and look for places you can reach by train from Peschiera within a reasonable time frame. You may also enjoy doing a bit of exploring in Peschiera as it's a very scenic town. I also stayed there, and had a good impression of it. Of the lakes, I much prefer Lago di Como or Lago Maggiore (haven't been to Orta yet, but hopefully one day).

Posted by
405 posts

As already suggested, Sirmione would make a good day trip or half-day trip, but try to get there before 9 a.m. in order to see some of it before it gets crowded with other tourists. The ferry schedule will also play a big role in determining your choices, but there is a good variety of other towns close. Desenzano is the town closest to Peschiera and would make a good half-day trip as it offers a variety of activities and sites to visit: castle, remains of a Roman villa, and quite a few shops. Since your wife is interested in gardens, she would probably enjoy visiting Giardino Giusti in Verona, a formal Italian garden (lots of greenery, clipped hedges, a few statues & fountains...) As for gardens in Venice, here is a link which might be of interest to your wife:

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2012/jun/28/venice-green-spaces-gardens-top-10

Posted by
1323 posts

personally I love the ferries so I wouldn't bother with a car - even when we drove from Denmark to Italy in our own car, we used the ferries to get around the lake.

Note that some of the ferries carry bikes, so you may be able to start together with a nice relaxing ferry trip and end together with a trip back, or you could meet in some convenient city (Sirmione comes to mind) and take a ferry back.

Have a nice trip. I love Lago di Garda, but I realize that RS prefers Lago di Como. Each to his own.

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