Right at the moment of border crossing, I felt excitement – la bella Italia! We followed the highway A4, direction – Venezia/Milano, then we turned to Verona and continued to Lago di Garda.
We planned our short trip of just a three days to maximally enjoy a beauty of the lake and charge our own battery. On the other hand, we like our kids to enjoy and have fun in Gardaland. – family and fun park. Followed by that idea, we decided to start our trip some further north. So, the moment when I first had a view toward the lake in front of me, has been breathtaking. The color is a beautiful blue and you can’t see the end. The vegetation is gorgeous, some kind Mediterranean, no matter what the lake is actually under the Alps.
The first town on our route on Lago di Garda, which we decided to visit was Malcesine. The parking area is very well marked and we parked into garage, right above the town’s center. We were walking down the streets, looking the beauty of the architecture. I just felt happiness! With the smile on my face, I tried to see every detail and explore every secret corner. We were moving to the lake’s coast, people all around absorbed the rays of the sun. A beautiful lake surrounds by the high rocks. Above the town, the Monte Baldo has loomed over, we planned a ride by cable car to enjoy the view. In those thoughts, an interested man interrupted us. Actually, it was a captain of the boat near us. It recommended us to visit the Limone sul Garda – a town on the other side of the lake. We were thinking about this option, but captain gave us some discount to decrease of tickets price. Just in the next moment, we were seating on the boat waiting to start a ride.
So, we leaved Monte Baldo for some other time and started our boat ride (duration is about 20 minutes) toward Limone. Now, we had ability to enjoy the view to Malcesine from the lake’s side – absolutely priceless! As the boat was closer to the other side of the lake, I was waiting to experience some gorgeous view to the Limone. Finally, I’d like to mention that the view from the boat was not so impressive. But, don’t worry, here, the magic starts when you step down from the boat. And with the every single step, I felt warmness in my heart. This town truly looks like fairytale or some Disney’s cartoon in the most beautiful colors. A houses and other buildings carved into the rocks and whole town is somehow marked by the lemon. So, you could see the lemon trees all around and buy different lemon’s products, like caramels, liqueurs, soaps, ceramics… After some walking, lunch time came and we choose some small cute tavern to enjoy Italian cuisine – pasta and pizza (something for each one). For the total experience, a glass of prosecco is “the must”. Finally, we were pleasantly surprised with amount of the bill. A little bit later, we were catching a boat to return to Malcesine. During the boat ride, we enjoyed the view to the old fortress of Malcesine. It was time for dessert and that was definitely ice cream or famous Italian “gelato”. Between the more Gelaterias, we like to found the best one. Finally, I think we succeeded. I chose the taste named “Audrey Hepburn”, that was absolutely perfect combination of chocolate with nuts. A few steps further, I set on the bench near the lake and enjoy the taste of the ice cream and the view toward the lake – priceless!
A little bit later, we decided to leave this beautiful place and continued toward some souths area of the lake, where located our hotel. Since was a Sunday afternoon, we traveled some longer than usual. Probably, the most of families spent Sunday on the lake and that caused traffic jam. So, I rather recommend some other day for driving near the lake. Our hotel located on the south side of the town Lazise. During the driving through the town, we saw a beautiful old town and citadel. Lately, after the check-in, we moved by car to the town Peschiera del Garda. It is just a few minutes distant. It’s located on the coast channels that enter to the town and surrounds the walls of the old town. It’s just perfect for the evening walk. Once again, we was successful in selection of ice cream. And how couldn’t we … when the price of one scoop amounts 3 €. I must explain that it was some homemade “gelateria” and it’s really to recommend.
After some walking near the lake, we decided to move back to our hotel, since we were planning some other experience for the next day. The whole day fun in amusement park Gardaland. Our kids was very excited and waiting for morning to adventure begin. Our hotel was about 500 m distant from Gardaland. So, after the breakfast, we walked to the Park. A lot of people have been already waiting for opening. I’d like to hardly recommend this Gardaland adventure for kids and adults. Definitely, your kids will never forget it. Additionally, I recommend to choose period of the year when Park is open till 11pm, to have enough time for enjoying in all attractions.
The third day of the short trip around Lago di Garda, we moved a little bit southern and visited Sirmione. Even in the moment of first look to the peninsula and moving closer, I had feeling that we are somewhere in the Mediterranean coast, near the sea. We drive through the street that leads to the top of the peninsula. From the both side of the road, we could see beautiful houses or villas and private hotels. The peninsula is so narrow that we could see the coast of the lake, from the both side of the road. We choose one of parking area near the road and continued walking toward the center. After 10 minutes walking, we arrived to the port with a very nice decorated promenade. Here you could take a boat and experience ride through the lake. We moved further toward the old town and citadel that stays just in front of us. Slowly, we stepped through the bridge and enjoy the view in all directions. Occasionally, you could see some of the luxury cars driving through the narrow streets, full of tourists. I consider that this is synonym for the fashionable summer area near the lake. Unfortunately, we were not prepared well, since we didn’t’ have our swimming suits. The day was wonderful, people enjoyed on the beaches and swimming in the lake. So, we had to take of our shoes and put our legs in to the water. We enjoyed walking near the lake. It was really great.
At the end, I’ll just let to photos say more than words and wish you to pack your suitcases as soon as possible to enjoy magic of Lago di Garda.
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