Fun things to do in Lago di Garda

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This area was a major battleground in WWI, This area was held by the Austrians until near the end of the war. Every village has a memorial to the soldiers who died in battle. In memorial churches you can read the names of the men who died both in WWI and WWII. What is sad to me is that when you compare the lists, you see the same last names, several men per family, who were lost.
There can also be found the trenches and storage area for artillery ammunition along this road. During that time, the soldiers set up posts to watch the area below, and use artillery to destroy any movements by the other side.
This might have been good duty during the summer months, but in the winter it was very cold. The Italian soldiers one winter got new shoes....and they found out they were made of cardboard when they fell apart. Spending the cold winter this high up in a trench was not a good life.

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High up from Garda Lake you will find ValVestino Parco. The road is used a lot by bicycle traffic, and by motor cycles. Such a beautiful place.. you will see waterfalls, canyons, a dam with a lake, Lago Valvestino, villages hanging on steep hills, several World War I memorials, trenches and storage for weapons, houses with thatched roofs and the best of all.....cows with bells on their necks. I heard them over two miles away on another valley top...that is how quiet it is there. And close up...? Such a beautiful sound... I am putting up a video with this for you to enjoy...Go and hear it... really nice.
This road is not used much by cars and so it has become a favorite for bikes....of all types.
Be careful around turns....some bikers swing out far.... They say that in the past two years 92 people have died here because they were not careful or went too fast.
Take your time and enjoy....
This is a great escape from the craziness of the Lake!

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Imagine driving high in the mountains near Lake Garda and suddenly on the top of the highest hill you see old thatched roof houses. You proceed on towards them and you come upon a tiny village, so peaceful, green, and all the houses have thatched roofs. What happened to the tiled roofs? (This area used to Austrian). After World War I, because the Italians won over Austria, the land was given to Italy. Most of the citizens spoke Italian, so for them it was not much of a change. But you can see the difference in customs. And it is a nice change.
In fact, the whole drive up to this tiny village is really nice.
There are two restaurants here, and I reviewed one of them in another tip.
Expect to walk around, hike, and take lots of photos. So different than at the lake.

Part of the Canevaworld resort is Aqua Paradise. I generally prefer waterparks to theme parks and found this better value for money than Gardaland. Slides, including some really really high ones, pools, whirlpools and good for smaller children too. The obligatory blackhole, lazy river, pirate themed lagoon etc. Like Gardaland the food is a bit pricey.
Do it once if you're looking for an exciting family activity.

We visited Lake Garda early September as we found the lake very busy the last time we visited in July 2003. We decided to tour the lake this year staying in four different places. Malcesine, Limone, Garda and Bardolino.All the hotels we booked before hand at www.lakegarda.biz. In september without all the tourists even though it's still pretty busy Lake Garda is an absolute dream! We highly reccomend visiting Locanda San Verolo which you can find just above garda at costermano if you realy want the best of Italian cuisine. Malcesine has much to offer including many shops and restaurants and a beautiful castle near the Lake front. Bardolino is famous for it's wine which we enjoyed and managed to buy 4 cases from a local supermarket called D piu in Garda for only 1 euro 30 per bottle! If I had to choose to stay in one place though it would be Limone, less comercial with quaint cobbled lanes lined with shops. There are picturesque waterfront terraces, and many places to eat and drink while admiring lake views and just enjoying italian life!

One last tip, if you have time take a trip to Ferrara di monte baldo, follow signs to Caprino Veronese from garda , from Caprino follow signs to Spiazzi then Ferrara , about a 35 minute drive from the late and well worth it! It's a beautiful mountain village with a couple of fantastic family run restaurants and a lovely hotel called hotel Monte baldo..

We visited the Lake in the winter season where everywhere was quiet and peacuful. In fact the Lake was not so crowded with tourists. One good tip for things to do is to hire a bicyles and since some of the southern villages are next to each other, one can enjoy a good cycling day whilst visting some great places along the lake.

I felt this was a satellite town of Riva. I felt this was worth only a short visit, maybe for an hour or two,. Good beach area and a few restaurants to choose from. Many had a German feel, guess this area is popular with German tourists. My weinerschnitchel was great.

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A 10 minute drive outside the town centre is the falls. You have to pay to get into these which is a little steep for the half hour or so you can spend there.

There are two main viewing points here - the bottom and two thirds of the way up. Quite spectacular arrangement but not sure it was worth the entrance fee.