A Trip To Lake Garda – When the Lake Lies Still…

Wait a minute, seriously Lake Garda, the Italian favorite of the Germans with a license for hustle and bustle? It’s all a seasonal question, as C&C author Cornelia Menner has discovered.

Lake Garda has always been the (easily accessible) destination of longing for Germans: Once over the Brenner Pass and then, after just under two hours by car, enjoy the Italian flair of Lake Garda, indulging in gelato, pasta and pizza. It is probably this special mixture of beaches, high mountains, steep coastal roads and green countryside that makes Lake Garda, as the Italians call their country’s largest lake, so unique. And somehow there is something for everyone, whether you want to swim, surf, bike, hike, paraglide, climb – or simply enjoy.

Not so easy when you’re surrounded by “millions” of like-minded people. In high season, the queues in front of the ice cream parlors, ferries and sights are legendary – and the famous Gardesana road, which connects all the coastal towns, can only be negotiated at walking pace. The overtourism syndrome that has long been known from Venice has also arrived at Lake Garda after corona at the latest, with the tourism board reporting over 24 million overnight stays in 2024. With a license to go up.

Away from the tourist crowds

Good to know: The flow of tourists is largely limited to the summer and the vacations. When I visit Lake Garda in November and the following year in March and April, the picture is completely different: there is little going on on the lake, the souvenir stalls with lots of cheap stuff are still closed. Only a few restaurants and hotels are open, waiters and hotel staff are relaxed. A few words of the local language wouldn’t go amiss: the purely German-speaking staff will probably only be recruited for the summer season. This makes the whole thing all the more Italian, especially as Sicilians, Sardinians and Romans have also long since discovered their country’s largest lake as a vacation destination.

Of course, water sports are not yet or no longer possible – and I’m definitely not one of those hardened ice bathers. When even the ferry service has a winter break, from November onwards, the water birds are in high season: I could watch the red-brown pochard with its oversized head forever as it glides calmly across the lake, diving as fast as an arrow in search of algae and aquatic insects. The mallards in Limone keep an eye on the few tourists, waddling curiously out of the lake at the harbor in the Bar al lago. It could be that one of the visitors drops chips or nuts during an aperitif. Then it’s time to grab them and let the seagulls watch enviously from high above.

My favorite place on Lake Garda

Limone is one of my favorite places on the western shore. A terraced village, squeezed between rock faces and the lake shore, whose name says it all. The scent of lemons wafts through the flower-filled alleyways. The first souvenir stores offer lemon soaps, lemon tagliatelle and, of course, the famous limoncello liqueur, which also makes a great spritz. Even more of the village’s treasures can be found in the Limonaia del Castel, the lemon greenhouse from the 18th century.

For the modest entrance fee of 2 euros per person, you can walk through a huge garden on several levels. You can watch lemons, sweet and bitter oranges, chinotti, grapefruits, mandarins and kumquats grow along white pillars and walls, facing the sun.

Speaking of the sun, it is of course not a reliable partner in the early and late season. It has just been drizzling in Limone, but in Malcesine on the other shore we are greeted by blue skies and warming rays of sunshine. Constant changes in the weather are the order of the day. The bars and ristoranti are prepared for this, and it is often possible to sit outside if the temperature drops below 18 degrees thanks to the canopies, blankets and heaters. So we can enjoy freshly caught trout and whitefish with a glass of Lugano and a view of the lake at Italia Ristorante da Nikolas.

Excursions with a view

We have to cancel the cable car ride up Monte Baldo as it only runs in season. But the Scaligeri castle is open and we will often come across the name on Lake Garda. The Scaligeri family was a powerful dynasty that ruled the city of Verona, which is just a stone’s throw from Lake Garda, in the 13th and 14th centuries. As feudal lords, they had great economic and political influence in the region and built mighty castles on the lake, e.g. in Sirmione or Lazise.

I like it best in Torri del Benaco on the southern western shore. In the middle of the historic center with a view of the castle and lake, we sit under colonnades in the café of the venerable Hotel Albergo Gardesana. Over a cappuccino, we watch the boats sway quietly in the medieval harbor. Admiring the rapid change in color of the water, from pale blue to turquoise to dark blue depending on the weather capriole: you can’t get more dolce far niente than that.

Oil and wine tasting

The weekly market is busier here. The local visitors are not so interested in jewelry and sun hats, preferring to pounce on fresh truffles, fruit, vegetables and olive oil. We stock up on the latter at the olive oil museum in Cisano near Bardolino. First we have the laborious process of oil production explained to us and learn how the freshly harvested olives are washed, ground and cleaned of residues. Why some oils labeled “extra virgin” are better suited for cold use in salads, breads, carpaccio and tomatoes and others only really blossom in the pot and pan. Tasting is delicious, buying is a challenge: would you prefer a mild, fruity or spicy variety? After all, they are all healthy.

This certainly also applies (in moderation) to the fine wines from the Zeni estate near Bardolino. Here too, a museum vividly illustrates the creation of these precious wines. The cultivation of the vines, the harvest, the processing and bottling, the ageing in barrels and finally the transportation. And again, tasting and options:Light, full-bodied, tart and in general: red, white or rosé? We find what we are looking for….

An Eldorado for hiking

After so much indulgence, exercise is urgently needed. Lake Garda is an Eldorado for hiking. Palm Sunday is the perfect day for a pilgrimage to the Madonna della Corona pilgrimage church. It nestles spectacularly against the steep rock face of Monte Baldo. At over 2000 meters, it is the highest mountain massif on Lake Garda. The church stands at an impressive 770 meters and is the highest place of pilgrimage in Italy. Initially an old hermitage in the Middle Ages, the first church was built into the rock in the 15th century.

The path leads over steps, stepping stones, earth and stairs carved into the rock, is quite steep and offers a veritable Eldorado of views of karstic rocks and flower-covered meadows. As the sun is making another long guest appearance, we reach the church on dry feet just as the service is about to begin and the chorales are being broadcast over the loudspeakers into the mountain world. Quite moving. Incidentally, old master Goethe, who also visited Lake Garda on his trip to Italy in 1786, felt the same way. He was not only taken with Madonna della Corona, but the whole of Lake Garda. Well, he probably wasn’t traveling in the high season either…

photos: Cornelia Menner (8), Fattoria La Vialla (1)