Sirmione Things to Do

Just five kilometers north from the A4 highway Venice-Milano, Sirmione is ready to offer an unforgettable visit. Sirmione is a peninsula, starting as a triangle peninsula, then continuing to a narrow - to its narrowest width of only 70 meters (!) - for about 1 kilometer, then growing again in a triangle shape - where the castle and the old city is. On the middle of the narrow peninsula there is only a street - Via 25 Aprile - left and right of which there are accommodations. You can see in the picture the street and the walk path. Find a place where you can look left and right to see the lake on both side of the peninsula.

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The Aquaria spa at Terme Catullo is fabulous! Make sure you check at your hotel desk for a discount (sconto) of 10%. We did the 5 hours, bathrobe, sun bed, complimentary drink, and all the thermal water you want for $30 something euro each. If you still want to get sun but not spend that, go to the beach before the Grotto. There you will find chairs are $7 euro each.
The spa features bubble beds, hot tubs , etc. The indoor pool seems to have the highest concentration of mineral water- it was warmer and algae was floating around.
We were also fascinated by the watch style ID bracelets they give you. The coolest thing the bracelets do is this futuristic way to put up your clothes. You can order food with it as long as you already have added some extra money to your account.

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The Romans builded two castles, two harbours, a settlement and the gigantic villa that rises on rocks and powerfully towers on the lake. On the fundations of the old eastern harbour, the Scaligers later built their famous fortress: a charming, graceful yet strong and imposing bultwark, one of the most beautiful buildings in Italy.
The entrance itself will convince you that it is one of the touristic place near the Garda Lake
But have a look over the basic walls - and you will see local nature, birds ans swans

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It is loaded with shops to buy souvenirs, clothes, and art. Sirmione can be very charming when it is not crowded; and very annoying when it is packed.

I’d recommend trying to visit earlier in the day, and when the crowds pick up you can head further north on the peninsula for stretches of un-congested walks on the beach and the roman ruins at Grotte di Catullo. Also the weekdays should offer smaller crowds than the weekends with Italians visiting on thier days off.

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Since the town is surrounded on 3 sides by the lake, take advantage. We grabbed some picnic food and found many nice areas on the eastern shore of the peninsula. On clear days you can see the peaks of the Dolomites. There are areas to go swimming as well on this eastern side.

The western shore is lined with modern hotels and docks for public and private docks. From the main dock here you can get on a ferry to other areas of the lake, or take a short cruise. We were told the best views of Sirmione and the surrounding towns are from the water. We’ll have to hop on a boat next time.

The Dramatic entrance to the old town center is through the well preserved Castle. For a few Euros, you can tour the inside of the Castle, though there is not much to see- the views from the tower however may make the entrance fee worthwhile.

The castle was built in the 1300’s by Verona’s ruling family at the time (the Scaligeri, Verona’s version of the Medici). It ) is cleverly designed with a protected harbor for protection of the original fleet of boats, as well as to provide protected fishing during rough weather. We spotted many large carp in the moat on our visit.

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Unless you live there or have a hotel reservation, you should leave your car in the big parking lots and go in by foot. Once you crossed the little bridge, just walk in the picturesque alleys and look around.

Another sure thing to see is the church Santa Maria Maggiore.
It is a bit tucked away in a side street, away from the shopping street and it is just great to go into the church after trying to find your way through the crowd, there are also some very nice fresco's in it.
More info will follow asap.