Staying in Garda right on the lake. Any must do's at/near lake Garda?

Forget the car and take the ferry

• to Malcesine and ride the cable car to the top. If the weather is clear you will have a breathtaking view of the lake.
• to Sirmione which is a very nice little town with an interesting ruin

Fly a parachute after a motorboat

Where are you staying exactly?

My favorite village is Limone in the north lake, however you will certainly enjoy visiting also Malcesine, Riva and Torbole, Gargnano and Torri in the north lake and Sirmione, the gem on the south lake (overrun by tourists, but for good reasons). The top of Monte Baldo is reachable from Malcesine (via cable car).

You can drive to all or also take a boat. Boats may be faster in some cases, if you have to visit a town across the lake, rather than driving around. Also in summer there is a lot of traffic around Desenzano and Peschiera. But a car is also good, so that you are not bound by the bus/boat schedules (buses and boats stop operating in the evening too)

At the lake they also have a famous Water Theme park called Gardaland (if you have kids, they might want to spend an afternoon there) and also a famous Auto Safari park called NaturaViva (if you go make sure you are not renting a convertible, because they won't let you in or you will be dinner). Very close on the east (just north of Verona) is also the Valpolicella wine region. The majestic Dolomites are close by too (30 min to 2 hours, depending on where).

Thanks, all.

Great advice.
Thank you