Lake Garda - August 2013
We decided on a two week “Chalet” style package holiday in Gardone Riviera, flying from Birmingham. The holiday included: breakfast, all day tea/coffee, packed lunch, afternoon tea & cake as well as dinner which started with an aperitif & canapés, followed by starters, choice of main course plus dessert with wine included and finally cheese and biscuits! I cannot fault the hotel or food at all! Needless to say, we didn’t go hungry but we carried a few extra pounds home!
On Mondays the team had a well earned day off which gave us a chance to try out the local restaurants. The first Monday we took the children to lunch for their first “real” pizza. The service was very friendly, the food delicious and with stunning views of the lake we had to return a further 3 times! The same evening we went to a Trattoria in Gardone Sopra which is the old village up in the hills, organised by our rep. It was a fun evening and gave us a chance to get to know the other guests and experience “real Italia”!
We returned to Gardone Sopra the following day on a free guided walk and visited the local St. Nicolo church as well as “Il Vittoriale degli Italiani” – the villa, museum and gardens of poet, journalist and politician Gabriele D’Annunzio.
On Saturdays, there is a market in the nearby town of “Salo” so after breakfast we decided to opt for the 30 minute walk there. The market was typically Italian, selling leather goods, clothes and of course food such as Parma ham, parmesan, olive oil and fresh produce. We then walked to the lake side to have our packed lunch and a stroll before heading back to Gardone on the local bus. Salo is quite a big town with a lovely promenade, lots of shops, restaurants and a few bars. We liked it so much so that we returned the following Monday afternoon to explore further and have dinner.
We booked a couple of organised trips which is well worth it if staying on this side of the Lake unless you hire a car. Our first trip was to “Tremosine” a village up in the hills where on a good day you can see both ends of Lake Garda! It was a hairy experience driving through tunnels, winding narrow roads and gorges. I can see why the “Quantum of Solace” car chase was filmed here. We stopped at a hotel which had a balcony to take in these views and you could almost see both ends of the lake!
Part of this holiday was a free Sunday afternoon boat trip to the historic spa town of Sirmione. The trip takes in a close up view of Isola de Garda and also views of Gardone and Salo from the Lake. We had a couple of hours to explore the cobbled streets and see the outside of the Scaliger castle as well as have more of the lovely Italian ice cream!
The romantic city of Verona is an absolute must when holidaying in Lake Garda! Our organised trip with a guide was well worth it. We spent the first hour with the guide who walked us round the streets of Verona taking in the Arena, famous Piazzas, Scaliger family tombs and of course “Romeo’s house” and “Juliet’s Balcony”. We were then left to explore the city on our own for a few hours. It’s worth paying to see the inside of the Arena as it is quite spectacular and you can only imagine what it would have been like 100’s of years ago!
Lake Garda has so much to offer all types of travellers so if you’d like to go, please get in touch as this journal is just a glimpse of what you can see and do.