Lake Garda in Italy - Lago di Garda

Here I am in Italy again, my third time visiting this alluring and charming country. There is still so much to see and learn about this country. This time, arriving from my home of Cyprus, I land in Milan at Bergamo airport. My beloved local tour guide is waiting for me at the airport in a charming new FIAT 500L car which has Sponge Bob pictures all over it! 

I thought I was over Sponge Bob years ago when my daughter finally ended her love affair with this cute children’s comic character. Apparently I was not over Bob! He would accompany me for a few days, taking me around Lago di Garda, its beautiful towns, and later to the cities of Verona and Padova .

Lake Garda, Italy’s biggest lake, is not well known outside Italy as Como Lake. Located in Northern Italy, it is about half-way between Brescia and Verona, and between Venice and Milan. Its beautiful surroundings have captured my attention and I am intrigued to explore this area as much as time allows me.  The classic and modern blend very well together all over Italy and especially here and all the towns across the lake’s shoreline. Northern Italians as well as many other Europeans keep this area as their pristine summer holiday destination.

After leaving the airport our first stop is the gorgeous town of Sirmione. We are staying at this charming bed and breakfast place, Raggio Di Sole, run by Wilma, a lovely woman who rents rooms out of her home through the AirBnB program. If you are looking for a friendly, comfortable, clean and easy to get to place while visiting this area, that’s where you should stay. The rooms are all located on the ground floor and the hostess lives with her family on the upper floor. The property has a beautiful and very large back yard with a swimming pool and a lovely vegetable garden. It seems only I would notice and find the vegetables beautiful! She offers breakfast outside on a covered patio area but she also has a small indoor eating area.  Our breakfast consists of various yummy Italian pastries accompanied by the aromatic Italian Espresso or any other coffee or tea your heart desires. 

I’m certain that if I lived in Italy, I would be about 50 pounds heavier. I can’t resist these pastries and cakes offered in the morning – all fattening but yet Italians manage to stay thin!

Dinner on the first night is at Al Cavallo, close to our B&B and easy to find since it has a big horse statue outside. I just love being in Europe where I am able to have a late dinner. I know that it’s not very healthy to eat late in the evening but 8:00 p.m. is not late in my book if you go to bed at 11:00 or later. We enter the charming restaurant fully packed with people. Most of the patrons are sitting outside as the weather is still nice and warm in early October. Everyone is eating and drinking wine or beer and talking with friends and family around their tables. The atmosphere is busy yet offers a friendly and welcoming feeling. It is a sentiment I have no matter where I am in Italy. My tour guide tells me that this is the place to have fresh fish. I don’t wait a moment to order -  fish - exactly how we serve it in my home country of Cyprus – cleared from the bones, opened in half and served on a platter drizzled with a little bit of olive oil, lemon and a bit of chopped parsley on top. I love it and I savor every tasty bite. The fish is fresh and smells of the sea. I don’t need to chew a lot as it melts in my mouth. Of course, freshly baked bread accompanies my meal as well. My smiley Italian companion gets a nice pizza with gorgonzola and speck. I accompany my tasty fish with white wine, prosecco scaraffato. My partner, in this great culinary experience, gets a pint of blonde refreshing beer. I could not fit in any dessert so I skip it this time.

After a restful night, we are up and fully energized in the morning for a tour of the towns around the lake. We have our sweet breakfast with lots of pastries including croissants, apple strudel and yummy cookies. We are ready to conquer the area.

We rent bicycles from our hostess and off we go to the charming town of Sirmione. It takes just 15 minutes to cycle to the old town inside the picturesque 13th century Scaliger Castle walls. We cycle along the lake and the utter beauty is filled with lots of flower beds on the roadside and many small hotels on the lake shore. It’s an easy and pleasant ride. The ancient fortified town of Sirmione, located on the south of the lake, is one particularly popular destination, home to the Virgilio & Catullo Spa Complexes, as well as numerous restaurants, bars, hotels, fashion stores and a market. The minute I step into the castle, I’m in another century and time. I feel lighter, happier and ready to take the world. The beautiful flowers on all the balconies, the quaint patios of the restaurants, the old churches, the cobble stoned streets and the mouthwatering dishes served at every restaurant that we pass by tell me to be happy. I, indeed, take this advice. Everything is beautiful inside the old walls of Sirmione located on the southern part of the lake. 

The lake water is clean, calm and welcoming for a lunch break by the shore, so we do. I order potato dumplings. Italians call them gnocchi but I must admit the ones my Italian partner prepares for me at home are far better than the ones at the restaurant.

Right after lunch the beautiful day turns rainy and windy. As we cycle back to our B&B, we get soaked. I am energetic and happy so I don’t mind getting wet and pushed around by the wind. In the evening we decide to have a quick dinner, something on the lighter side since we had a full late lunch. For the first time I try piadina at a small pub. Our piadina are custom stuffed with ham, mushrooms, grilled zucchini and mozzarella!

The second day in Sirmione we find ourselves wondering about more towns around Garda Lake. Desenzano is one of the beautiful towns we visit. We walk on the pier taking lots of pictures trying to capture the beauty we have around us. We stop by a local bar for an aperitiv. At this point, I call it the Italian national drink accompanied by many appetizers! I can’t believe what I see in front of me! They serve us all these tasty appetizers at no extra cost – small pizzas, olives, cheese, small sandwiches and we just pay for our drink at a very low price! Wow, why don’t we have this in the U.S.?!

Peschiera is our last stop before we head back to Padova! 






On the way, we stop by a flea market and buy fresh cooked fish served on a little brown paper bag and have it as a snack. Yummy! 

The market is filled with colors just like everywhere else - colors of the beautiful clothes hanging everywhere, the fresh fruit and vegetables sold at the same place – colors, lots of happy colors! Lots of stylish shoes and clothes are sold at the market at very reasonable price along with trailers selling fresh raw and cooked fish and fresh vegetables. My camera cannot stop snapping photos.

I am happy. We head back to Padova but before we leave the area I can’t resist but to stop at a local mall. I go crazy with the stylish clothes I find there and splurge! Everything I buy is at a lower price than where I live!

Will I go back to Garda Lake and the surrounding towns? Indeed I will. I simply must!  There are a lot more towns and quaint villages to visit.