Lake Garda towns.

Have been to two of the three. I think Malcesine is more picturesque and quaint, but it is also more tourist-heavy because it is ... well ... more picturesque and quaint! Riva at the top of the lake is more mountainous and quieter. We liked it a lot, but the town itself lacks the wow of Malcesine, with the castle. Limone we only saw from the ferry, but it seemed attractive.

Of the three, I would give the nod to Riva because you are staying three nights. Any of the three are small enough to cover all your strolling, shopping, picture-taking in a day, so you are going to have time for daytrips. Riva at the top of the lake gives you best access for that, say over to Rovereto or Arco, i.e. up into the mountains.

Malcesine and Limone are the quainter ones, in my opinion, but Limone is smaller and hard to find accommodations since it’s very popular with tourists. Riva is nice too, but it’s a bigger town. It has a very quaint town center but if you are looking for a small village, Riva is not.

Personally I prefer Riva out of the three if I were to stay three nights - primarily because Riva will feel (a bit) less touristy.
Malcesine (castello) and Limone are beautiful to see but I prefer as a visit by ferry.

I have been to all three and liked all three. I visited as a daytrip and did not sleep in any of them. All are very attractive but I think my choice if I were to stay would be at Limone Sul Garda. It was quaint and colorful. If you have a car or a driver you can visit nearby Tremosine or Pieve in the mountains overlooking Lake Garda for some spectacular views in very old towns. The whole area is amazingly pretty.

Hello. Jumping in here for Lake Garda info. Part of 5 week September holiday will be in northern Italy flying out of Milan. Will be taking the train from Kastelrotto in the Dolomites to Lake Garda and then onto Varenna on Lake Como. We will be spending 5 days in each location. We are celebrating our 80th birthdays so interested in relaxed travel with walking, tours, historical sites and art. This is our 15th trip to Europe and we do all the planning ourselves. We hope not to rent a car and take public transportation this trip. My main question is what town/village is best to stay on Lake Garda for our interest and easy transportation. Thanks in advance for any help.

Joanne, you might want to start your own post entry in order to get more responses. I just checked the Trenitalia website. First of all, Castelrotto does not have a train station. You would have to leave from Waidbruck Lajen. Are you aware of that? How are you getting to Castelrotto? Then there are no direct trains from that area to Lake Como. You have to go south all the way to Verona and change trains there to return north. That is not very efficient if you are considering staying somewhere on the northern part of the lake like the towns mentioned in the posts above and then for carrying on with your journey to your next stop on Lake Como. You said you do not want to rent a car. Have you considered hiring a car service or taking a bus or busses to take you to the town you choose? Also be aware that not many of the Garda towns have train stations. ,Desenzano, on the southern side of the lake keeps you on your general westward path. I have not been there so cannot speak to it but Sirmione is nearby and is very pretty but very small for five days. Malcesine has a train station and is attractive but from Castelrotto you have to go south to Verona to go back north to Malcesine if you travel by train. Seems like lots of backtracking. Since you are heading to Lake Como, already a lake destination, I am going to suggest that you consider a stop in Trento or Brescia. Both match your interests and would be on your general route. Neither would be as packed with tourists as Verona, for example. Both have interesting historic centers and are on train lines. I have been to both and liked both. If you are only looking for a lake destination, I have a cousin who lives in a small town north of Brescia and he recommended the town of Iseo on Lake Iseo and it does have a train station.

Malcesine does not have a train station. Coming from Castelrotto one would take the train to Rovereto then the bus down to Malcesine (I think one would need to change buses at Torbole).

Two years ago in late September we stayed in Riva for 2 nights and went to Limone and Malcesine on the ferry as a day trip. Limone was packed. The little main street was shoulder to shoulder. It was a lovely town but we proceeded on to Malcesine. Also lovely, but with more open space so it didn't seem so crowded. Riva is bigger and more open. Not a lot to do there but it is lovely.

I highly recommend the hotel we stayed in: Hotel Holiday IV Gardan. A very cute hotel with very friendly staff. And an unbelievably large selection of foods at breakfast!

We ate dinner twice at an excellent restaurant: The Golden Lion. Try the strangolapreti--bread gnocchi in a butter/sage sauce. Light and delicious.

We liked our hotel with its own beach in Malcesine, Il Castello. Pretty views.
We also enjoyed Salò, more sophisticated and toney than Malcesine. It is in the SW part of the lake.

Thank you everyone. Looking for a lake holiday and realize the 1st half of October is not beach weather but 60s is fine with us. Looks like I need to research transportation a bit. Not adverse to car hire or busses. Did busses on our trip to Budapest, Slovenia, Montenegro and Dubrovnik along with rental car. Not adverse to renting a car but hubby would like to enjoy the ride too. Unfortunately on Flixbus we had all our luggage stolen in France two years ago and still a bad memory. Will start a new inquiry when lodging complete. All your information has been very helpful.

One more question. Are the fetties running 1st two weeks of October? The one I saw on Garda didn't offer any open dates.