February 5, 2025, 8:18 am | Read time: 7 minutes

To this day, Lake Garda is a symbol of the German longing for Italy, for the south. Spring and fall in particular, when the crowds of holidaymakers have disappeared, are perfect for exploring the most beautiful places on Lake Garda on a road trip.

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Start: Riva del Garda

Riva was already a popular spa town in the 19th century. Its Venetian palaces, the octagonal Baroque church, and the Scaliger Rocca castle surrounded by water inspired Thomas Mann, Rainer Maria Rilke, and Arthur Schopenhauer. After a steep climb to the Bastione, the Venetian fortress ruins from 1508, you have a postcard view of the town and lake.

The bizarre beauty of the fjord-like northern part of the lake, which is lined with rock faces, is best enjoyed from the top anyway. The free climbers who flock to the rock faces of the Brenta Group to the west of Riva will be happy to confirm this. However, an excursion up there is only recommended for experienced climbers.

Stop 1: Limone (10 Kilometers)

The view of the lake is also spectacular from the car—on the Gardesana Occidentale, the western shore road, which only gave the remote village of Limone a road connection in 1932. 14 tunnels and galleries with lookouts make the lakeside road one of the most magnificent panoramic roads in Italy. Limone, with its narrow alleyways, has clung like a swallow’s nest to the foot of the rugged Dosso dei Roveri mountain for 1000 years—a true painter’s corner, which is particularly beautiful in the fall when there are no crowds of holidaymakers.

Stop 2: Pieve de Tremósine (10 Kilometers)

Good drivers dare to take a detour to the plateau—on a bold mountain road that winds its way up the steep walls in narrow serpentines to an altitude of over 2,000 meters. The 100-soul village of Pieve is a delight with its flower-filled balconies and clean alleyways. The “shivering terrace” of the hotel restaurant “Miralago” is a pure thrill: 350 meters down into the depths.

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Stop 3: Gargnano (28 Kilometers)

In addition to the citrus gardens on the mountainside, there are also stone citrus fruits to admire here: In the ogival cloister of the San Francesco monastery dating from 1289, lemons and other tropical fruits are carved into the capitals of the columns—quite unique in Italy. Another gem of the town is the neoclassical Villa Feltrinelli directly on the lakeshore. During the war it was the temporary residence of Mussolini; today it is a grand hotel with grandeur.

Stop 4: Garden City Gardone Riviera (10 Kilometers)

Gardone Riviera, the “Garden City”, attracts visitors with its elegant car-free lakeside promenade and evening orchestral music. It owes its name to the botanical garden created in 1920 by the doctor Arthur Hruska, now called Fondazione André Heller under its new owner. Particularly worth seeing in Gardone is the park and residential complex of the eccentric Italian poet Gabriele d’Annunzio (1863–1938), who gave the town the pompous “Vittoriale degli Italiani”, the monument to the victory of the Italians. His palazzo became a temple of art, and the park is bursting with curiosities—for example, a torpedo boat, d’Annunzio’s ancient Fiat, and the bow of the battleship “Puglia”, which he commanded in 1919, are on display here.

Stop 5: Italian Flair in Saló (3 Kilometers)

Saló is picturesquely situated on a horseshoe-shaped bay and is the most “Italian” town on the lake. This in turn explains the high quality of the restaurants and the enormous density of boutiques. The late Gothic cathedral with its magnificent Renaissance portal made of white marble is particularly worth seeing. To the south, between San Felice and Manerba, there are long, fine pebble beaches. Above the coast, the hilly Valtenési wine region invites you to go hiking.

Stop 6: Urban Life in Desenzano (15 Kilometers)

With around 29,000 inhabitants, Desenzano is the largest town on Lake Garda. The omnipresent clatter of scooters, the many street cafés, and the characteristic arcades in the old town give the town its charming Mediterranean flair. For art lovers, the colorful mosaic floor of a Roman bathing villa (from the third century) and Tiepolo’s “Last Supper” in the parish church are a must-see. Shopping fans should make a note of Tuesday: On this day—ever since the Middle Ages—a lavish weekly market is regularly held on the lakeside promenade.

Stop 7: Sirmione (7 Kilometers)

“I have a great longing for Sirmione,” the soprano singer Maria Callas told a friend shortly before her death. Her husband owned a stately villa on the peninsula jutting out into the lake in the far south. The diva was often seen with her poodles at the century-old “Caffè Grande Italia“, sipping Campari soda or poring over recipes in the kitchen. The house specialty is a cedrata, made from the juice of the cedro, a citrus fruit in XXL format. Wonderfully refreshing! Otherwise, Sirmione is pure romance—from the moated castle of the Scaliger family to the ruins of an ancient Roman villa at the very tip of the headland, popularly known as the “Grottoes of Catullus”.

Stop 8: Punta San Vigilio (25 Kilometers)

Now, the journey takes you along the eastern shore—the so-called Olive Riviera—passing through Bardolino, known for its red wine, and Garda, with its Venetian palaces, to the next headland, Punta San Vigilio. It is one of the most romantic spots on the entire lake, appreciated from all over the world: Winston Churchill, Vivian Leigh, and Prince Charles, for example, spent the night in the exclusive Locanda San Vigilio.

Stop 9: In Goethe’s Footsteps in Malcesine (32 Kilometers)

Goethe fell under the spell of the labyrinth of alleyways in Malcesine and the imposing Scaliger Castle in 1786. Because he drew them, he made himself suspicious—he was almost arrested as a spy at the time. If you want to follow in the poet’s footsteps, you should choose comfortable shoes. The cobblestones are as bumpy as the Hunchback of Notre-Dame.

End: Torbole (16 Kilometers)

Our scenic journey concludes at Torbole, nestled at the north-eastern tip of the lake. Here, you have one last chance to take a trip on the water before heading home. Either on an excursion steamer for a romantic boat trip. Or on a surfboard: Many know Torbole as Italy’s Mecca for windsurfers thanks to the south wind Ora, which creates waves like those on the open sea.

Text contribution: Elke Backert