Lago di Garda Veneto
Lake Garda Veneto brings together ten municipalities in the province of Verona overlooking the eastern shore of Italy's largest la...
Updated 11 July 2026
Lago di Garda Veneto
Towns in the area
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The story of Lago di Garda Veneto
The Riviera degli Olivi
The Riviera degli Olivi is the name given to Garda's Veronese shore, where a mild climate allows olive cultivation at latitudes that elsewhere in Italy know only Alpine cold. Terraced olive groves run down from the morainic hills almost to the water's edge, sketching a landscape that recalls Liguria or Tuscany more than continental northern Italy. The phenomenon is made possible by the lake's huge mass of water, which softens winters and retains summer heat, creating a microclimate unique in Europe for its latitude. Along the riviera, between Bardolino, Garda and Torri del Benaco, historic oil mills and farms open their doors for tastings and guided visits among the trees, many of them centuries old, while scenic trails link the groves to the coastal villages.
Malcesine and the Scaliger Castle
Malcesine is perhaps the most photographed village on the Veronese shore of Garda: its houses face directly onto the water at the foot of the Scaliger Castle, a 13th-century fortress built over an earlier fortified settlement. It was here in 1786 that Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, on his way to Italy, was arrested on suspicion of espionage while sketching the castle: the episode, recounted in his 'Italian Journey', is still commemorated in one of the castle's rooms. From the historic centre, a maze of alleys, small squares and Venetian arcades, the rotating cable car departs, climbing in a few minutes from lake level to 1,760 metres at Punta Tratto Spino, on Monte Baldo, with cabins that rotate to offer a 360-degree view over the Alps, the lake and the Po valley.
Monte Baldo, the garden of Europe
Monte Baldo, which towers over Garda's Veronese shore along its long ridge, has been known since the 16th century as 'Hortus Europae', the garden of Europe, for the extraordinary variety of Alpine and Mediterranean plant species that coexist on its slopes, including endemic species found nowhere else on Earth. Naturalists and botanists have studied it for centuries precisely because of this concentration of biodiversity, favoured by the contrast between the lake climate at its base and the Alpine climate at altitude. Today Baldo is a destination for hikers, mountain bikers and, in winter, skiers, thanks to the lifts departing from Malcesine and Prada. From its viewpoints the eye sweeps from Lake Garda to the Brenta Dolomites, one of the widest panoramas in the whole southern Alpine arc.
Bardolino and Garda's wines
Bardolino lends its name to one of Italy's best-known red wines, Bardolino DOC, made from Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara grapes on the morainic hills surrounding the town. Its historic centre, with the Romanesque church of San Severo and the small San Zeno, among the oldest on Garda, comes alive every year with the Festa del Vino and the Festa del Novello. The bond between Bardolino and its typical products is told in the Wine Museum, housed in an old cellar, and in the nearby Olive Oil Museum, which traces the history of traditional pressing with original presses and millstones. The lakeside promenade, with its tree-lined walk and small marinas, remains one of the most elegant on the Veronese riviera.
Lazise and the Venetian Customs House
Lazise boasts no small historical claim to fame: it was the first free municipality in Italy, with a communal statute dating back to 1194. Its lakeside promenade, girdled by almost intact Scaliger walls, is dominated by the Venetian Customs House, the 16th-century building where the Serenissima collected duties on goods in transit, today one of Garda's most photographed sights, its arches mirrored in the water. The Scaliger castle, the small fishing harbour and the alleys of the old town tell centuries of Venetian history, when Lazise was a strategic trading port for oil, wine and salt on the lake. Today the town is also a gateway to the area's large amusement parks, while keeping intact the charm of a medieval lakeside village.
Peschiera del Garda, a UNESCO fortress
Peschiera del Garda occupies a strategic position at the mouth of the Mincio, the lake's only outlet, and this made it a military stronghold for centuries. The old town is enclosed within imposing star-shaped fortifications designed by the Republic of Venice in the 16th century, later reinforced by the Austrians in the 19th century as a vertex of the famous defensive Quadrilateral. Since 2017 the 'Venetian Works of Defence between the 16th and 17th Centuries: Stato da Terra - Western Stato da Mar' have been a UNESCO World Heritage site, and Peschiera is one of six Italian sites, alongside Bergamo and Palmanova. Walking along the bastions, canals and drawbridges of the fortress, with the waters of the Mincio flowing calmly beneath the walls, is an experience that blends military history with lakeside scenery.
Garda and Punta San Vigilio
The municipality of Garda, which gave its name to the whole lake, preserves Venetian palaces, loggias and a Renaissance parish church overlooking one of the most striking squares on the eastern shore in its historic centre. A little further north, the headland of Punta San Vigilio is one of the most famous and exclusive corners of Garda: a small harbour enclosed by cypresses, the 16th-century Villa Guarienti and the private beach of Baia delle Sirene, a destination for illustrious visitors since the Renaissance. The combination of Mediterranean vegetation, turquoise water and Venetian architecture makes this stretch of coast one of the lake's most recognisable images, immortalised by painters and photographers through the ages.
Garda DOP olive oil
Garda extra virgin olive oil has been awarded Protected Designation of Origin status and is considered one of the northernmost oils produced anywhere in the world, a record made possible by the climate softened by the lake. The Garda DOP Orientale sub-zone, which covers precisely the municipalities of the Veronese shore, yields a delicate, lightly fruity oil with notes of almond and artichoke, obtained mainly from the Casaliva cultivar. The harvest, traditionally between October and November, still involves many small family businesses working the terraced olive groves on the morainic hills. Historic oil mills in Bardolino, Garda and Torri del Benaco offer guided visits, tastings and direct sales, keeping alive a tradition that here has roots going back to Roman times.
Watersports and cycle tourism
The Veronese shore of Garda is a natural stage for watersports: the regular thermal breezes, the Ora that rises from the south in the afternoon and the Peler that descends from the north in the morning, draw sailors and windsurfers along the whole coast, with schools and rental centres concentrated between Malcesine, Torbole and Brenzone. Stand up paddle, canoeing and scuba diving in the lake's clear waters are also popular. On land, the Garda cycle path, being completed around the entire perimeter of the lake, already offers scenic stretches running halfway up the slope among olive groves and villages, while the roads climbing towards Monte Baldo are a classic proving ground for medium and high-altitude cycle touring.
When to go
The Veronese shore of Garda is pleasant to visit from April to October, with spring ideal for the intense green of the olive groves and the flowering on Monte Baldo, and summer for swimming in the lake and watersports, favoured by more regular thermal winds. September and October bring the grape and olive harvests, with festivals and food-and-wine events in Bardolino and Lazise, as well as milder temperatures for hiking. Winter, less crowded, allows visitors to enjoy the villages in peace and, on Baldo, to ski or snowshoe. Summer holidays and high-season weekends bring intense tourism, especially near the area's amusement parks, so booking ahead is always advisable.
Unmissable experiences
- Ride Malcesine's rotating cable car up to Punta Tratto Spino, on Monte Baldo
- Visit Malcesine's Scaliger Castle and the room dedicated to Goethe
- Walk along the bastions of Peschiera del Garda's UNESCO Venetian fortress
- Admire Lazise's Venetian Customs House mirrored in the water at sunset
- Taste Bardolino DOC in a historic cellar on the morainic hills
- Swim at Punta San Vigilio's Baia delle Sirene
- Try sailing or windsurfing at Malcesine and Torbole with the lake's thermal breezes
- Visit a historic oil mill and taste freshly pressed Garda DOP olive oil
To see
What to see in Lago di Garda Veneto
Routes · Trovido Route
Routes in Lago di Garda Veneto
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