I travelled to Lake Garda in April 1999 on a package tour for four days booked with Thomsons Lakes and Mountains. I don't normally travel on package tours as I enjoy doing the research and booking everything myself. There are now lowcost flights such as Ryanair and Easyjet who fly within the region that did not fly when I went. We were allocated a room at the Hotel Italia, on a hill at the edge of the lake. We travelled in March and it was sunny and warm while we were there.
Lake Garda (or Garda Lake as the Italians call it), is the largest Italian lake and is at the foot of the Alps. It is located in Northern Italy and is half way between Venice and Milan. Lake Garda is beautiful and there is plenty for everyone to do. It is popular with walkers and mountain bikers and has lot of other activities such as sailing, scuba diving and wind surfing. There are lots of narrow streets with cafes, shops and restaurants. We took the boat across the Lake to Limone Sul Garda, which takes about 15 - 20 minutes and has lots of narrow streets to get lost in.
There are outdoor opera concerts in the summer and you can visit the Lemon House of Castel. Part of the new James Bond Movie Quantum of Solace was filmed on Lake Garda, Limone Sul Garda and Tremosine among other locations around the lake. It was really nice to sit outside the restaurants overlooking the lake, it is so peaceful and quiet. We also took the boat over to Malcesine across the Lake. This is a beautiful little town which has things to see and do such as Castello Scaligero , Mount Baldo Cable Car and Palazzo dei Capitani dei Lago among others.
Lake Garda is a good location for visiting other destinations. The historic town of Verona is 30 km, Milan is 100 km and Venice is 130 km. We booked a day trip to Venice and Verona. The bus trip to Venice took about 2 hours, and we left early in the morning so we would have all day there. We arrived in Venice about 10:00. We had to travel into the centre of Venice by water taxi, and I was quite surprised at just how busy the waterways are. Venice is built on 117 small Islands.
We did book a Gondola ride with 2 other people on our trip as they are very expensive (approx £100 per boat!!!!). The Gondola was nice and something everybody wants to do on a trip to Venice, but as it is so costly, you can book a boat trip or water taxi for much less. The water buses are also a much cheaper way to get around as you can buy passes. The Gondola took us along the Grand Canal and we ended up at Piazza San Marco (St Marks Square), where you will find the Basilica Di San Marco. I was surprised at how big the Square was, there are loads of restaurants (and believe me you pay for the view and location!!!!!) and so many pigeons. I thought Trafalgar Square in London was bad but there are loads at St Marks!!!! I could not believe how many people were actually feeding them!!!!
We saw lots of brides in the square wearing every colour wedding dress you can imagine although it was so busy I did wonder how they would get the perfect photograph with no pigeons or people in them. We went into Basilica di San Marco which is beautiful both outside and in. There are lots of mosaics, paintings and monuments inside. We also visited the Doge's Palace (Palazzao Ducale). Doge's Palace is a museum that was once a prison and home to the Doge. The tour includes the Grand State rooms, private apartments used by the Doge and has lots of paintings (including one of the worlds largest oil paintings!!!!).
You are taken down lots of narrow corridors to the Ponte dei Sospiri (or Bridge of Sighs as we know it,) so called to give convicts the last view of Venice before being locked away. The bridge leads you to the prison, where we were taken around and shown the cells. On leaving the prison, you exit into the Porta della Carta. There is lots to do in Venice as well as sightseeing and there are loads of shops from designers like Louis Vuitton, Armani and Prada to shops selling jewellery, local arts and crafts, and souvenirs.
There are lots of small narrow streets where you can get lost that have shops, restaurants and stalls selling all sorts of tat!!!! There are also lots of bars, discos and cocktail lounges that have live music such as jazz and blues bands on. We did not get to sample any night entertainment as we were only there for the day. We found Venice to be very expensive, but had expected this anyway. Restaurants and bars with a view of the Lido or St Marks Square are obviously a lot more expensive as you are paying for location, so if you are on a budget, I would recommend the side streets that are away from the main attractions.
There is a lot more to Venice than we saw, there are lots of museums, Galleries and Churches to visit but we simply ran out of time. If you are planning a trip to Venice, I would recommend doing some research and have an idea of the things you would like to see and do before travelling. We were exhausted when we got back to Lake Garda, so we had an early night as we were up early the next day for our trip to Verona.
It took about 45 minutes by bus to get to Verona which is a beautiful old city dating back to the Romans. One of the first sights we saw on our arrival was the Roman Arena which is the largest Roman Amphitheatre in Northern Italy. There were not any events on in the area when we visited, but there are regularly, including a summer Opera Festival. Piazza Delle Erbe is the popular market square which is filled with stalls selling souvenirs, football shirt and crafts. Some of Verona's most famous buildings are in the square such as Baroque Palazzo Maffei and Torre del Gardello. For some of the best views over Verona you should visit the Torre dei Lamberti which is an 84 meter Tower with spectacular views over Verona and it has an octagonal Bell tower. Verona is famous for the fictional story of Romeo and Juliet. You can visit Capulet House (Juliet's House) which dates back to the thirteenth century and was owned by the Dal Capello Family.
You can buy tickets to go inside the multi storey house which has wooden staircases, stone fireplaces and medieval ceramics. There is also the famous balcony where it said that Juliet is said to have spoken to Romeo. In the courtyard stands a bronze statue of Juliet, it is said that if you need a new love, then you should rub her right breast for luck. Throughout the courtyard walls are graffiti love messages that people visiting have left.
The best way to see Verona is by foot. The buildings are all so old and the city very clean. There are lots of narrow streets and monuments. There is the Roman Bridge and lots of arches and Roman Gates throughout the City. We visited the CastelVecchio which is a former 14th century fortress (now a museum) which houses paintings, jewellery and artefact's. I would also recommend the Basilica di San Zeno Maggiore. There are not lots of shops like there are in Venice, but there are a few scattered around the narrow streets selling souvenirs and local arts and crafts. There are also cafes and restaurants around Verona where you can take in the view and watch the world go by!!!! I found Verona to be cheaper then Venice.
There is a lot of history, culture and architecture in Verona, so if that's your thing, then you will love Verona. We certainly did not have time to see and do everything that we wanted to do in a day. I would recommend a couple of days at least is required to explore this old and historic city.
There is a very good rail service in Verona with links to Milan, Venice, Rome and Florence among other destinations from the City's main station Porta Nuova Station. After our day in Verona which was lovely but very tiring, we headed back to Lake Garda for a well earned rest and to get ready for our flight home the next day.
Lake Garda and its surrounding area is one of the most beautiful regions in the world and is great for exploring. There is the option of a hire car and you would see a lot more, but the roads are narrow and very winding so it can be a little scary on the blind corners. Four days is not enough time to see and everything there is to do in the area so I will definitely go back. We really wanted to go to Florence as neither of us had been and it is supposed to be beautiful, but we just ran out of time!!!!!
We found the people to be very friendly and they appreciate it very much if you try and communicate with them even a little in Italian. The currency is Euro and Italy is quite expensive, but there are bargains t0 be had if you plan ahead and do your research. There are lots of low cost airlines now that fly to Italy such as Ryanair, Bmibaby and Easyjet. When searching for cheap flights, I use the comparison site travel supermarket to check the lowest fares and advise of any promotions that may be on.
There are also many hotels in and around Lake Garda to suit all budgets, so I am sure you will find something to suit you. If you do not fancy a DIY trip, there are companies that will arrange everything for you such as Italian Getaways, First choice and Holiday Hypermarket among others.
