Solo trip to Italy in October - Italian Riviera or Lake Garda?

I would choose Liguria.

Camogli is such a pretty town where you can stroll the promenade winding around the shoreline/beach.
From there you could take a train to CT, where I have never been and have no desire to go, but it's a quick and easy train ride.

Or choose one of the villages north of the CT, Chiavari, Levanto, Sestri Levante, etc.
October would be lovely in a town where you are not totally dependent on good weather...any of those would be good.

Santa Margherita Ligure is a large town and from there you can take a lovely, flat walk to Portofino.
Lots of shopping, dining options, etc.

I would choose Lake Garda, mainly because at the beginning of October is the Rose (wine) Festival in Bardolino. The Italian Riviera is also nice. I wouldn't go to CT alone, it's not easy to get around.

Having just been to Lake Garda, I'll say that Liguria (where I spent a couple of weeks in 2023) is much easier to get around. Of course, October will be (hopefully) less crowded on Garda, so buses might not be as packed. Three nights in Verona is not too many. The train stations on Garda are only on the south end of the lake; otherwise, it's buses or boats and the boats are quite slow. I was staying in Malcesine, on the north end of the lake (which is mountainous rather than flat like the south end), and ended up using a private driver to pick me up at the train station in Rovereto and drive me to Malcesine and, at the end of my stay, to drive me from Malcesine to the train station in Peschiera del Garda.

This is helpful. Thank you everyone. I always appreciate the feedback on this forum.

hey hey Shelly
we drove to lake garda from venice for annual wine festival in bardolino, so much fun
lakegardatravel.net
click the headers (town guides, things to do, transportation) lots of info
visitbardolino.it
click events, scroll down to "festa dell'uva e dell vino bardolino (oct 2- 6 2025). stayed at hotel nettuno right on lake and a pathway to entrance, bought wine glass holder necklace and it was eat drink and be merry. so much fun with fireworks on sunday night over lake. bring small denominations of euros to buy so much food, tasting all the different bardolino wines, music/dancing, stomping grapes, local artisans and their craftwork
on way back to venice we stopped at pescheira del garda for lunch is the small plaza in the center. it was great but we had a car.
isoladelgarda.com
gorgeous villa and gardens, check transportation by boat, how long the ride, and buying tour ticket.
gardavisit.it
everything you need to know about public transport
many people opt to go to sirmione which gets crowded and is very touristy.
ti's your vacation, just a few options to research.
you can check out getyourguide.com/ lake garda (a reseller) to see what's offered and look at company that does the tours, contact site.
airbnb.com/experiences/lake garda
check out what they offer in different villages/towns. lots of things to see and do depending on what you're interested in. have fun
aloha

So much information. Thank you. I have been really considering the wine festival. You may have convinced me now that I have so much information.