Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
From the castle, Via Vittorio Emanuele leads through the center of the town
and emerges after a few blocks into the greener, garden-lined lanes that wind
through the tip of the peninsula to the
Grotte di Catullo
(
%
030-916157;
€
4;
Mar-Oct 14 Tues-Sun 8:30am-7pm, Oct 15-Feb Tues-Sun 8:30am-4:30pm).
Whether these extensive ruins at the northern tip of the peninsula were actually
once the villa and baths of the pleasure-loving Roman poet (and Sirmione native)
Catullus is open to debate. But their presence here, on a hilltop fragrant with wild
rosemary and pines, demonstrates that Sirmione has been a deservedly popular
retreat for millennia, and you can wander through the evocative remains while
taking in wonderful lake views.
If you want to enjoy the lake's clean waters, head to the small
Lido delle
Bionde beach,
near the castle off Via Dante. In summer, the beach concession
rents lounge chairs with umbrellas for
5
€
5 per day, as well as kayaks and pedal
boats (
€
8 per hr.).
Riva del Garda
Riva del Garda is not just a resort but also a real town (the northernmost on the
lake), with medieval towers, a nice smattering of Renaissance churches and
palazzi,
and narrow cobblestone streets where the everyday business of a prosper-
ous Italian town proceeds on its alluring way.
LAY OF THE LAND
Riva del Garda is roughly 2 hours by
bus
from a num-
ber of nearby cities and lake towns, including Trent (24 buses daily), Verona (16
buses daily), Brescia (5 buses daily), the busy
train
station at Desenzano (6 trains
daily; see “Sirmione” for details), and Sirmione (although from there only the
4:30pm run is direct; for all others, you must transfer at Peschiera).
It's far more genteel—if slower—to arrive by
boat
(
%
800-551801; www.
navigazionelaghi.it).
Schedules vary with the season, with very limited service in
the winter, but in summer you can opt for one of three daily hydrofoils (80 min.
from Gardone, 2hr. 10 min. from Sirmione), or the two daily ferries (2
3
⁄
4
hr. from
Gardone, almost 4 hr. from Sirmione).
The fastest way to Riva
by car
is the A22, which shoots up the east side of the
lake (exit at Mori, 13km/9 miles east of Riva). It's far more scenic to drive along
the western shore, past Gardone, and along the beautiful corniche between Riva
and Salò that hugs cliffs and passes through kilometer after kilometer of tunnels.
The Riva del Garda
tourist office,
which supplies information on hotels,
restaurants, and activities in the area, is near the lakefront
(Giardini di Porta
Orientale, 8; (
%
0464-554444; www.gardatrentino.com or www.garda.com).
It's
closed Sundays April to June 15 and September 16 to October; closed weekends
November to March.
ACCOMMODATIONS & DINING
Perhaps the least pretentious of the lake
towns, Riva del Garda has a handful of affordable options for travelers.
€
La Montanara
(Via Montanara, 18-20;
%
0464-554857; closed Nov-Easter),
for example, ain't fancy, but it's cheap. The exceedingly basic, midsize rooms (
36
doubles) are squirreled away above an equally inexpensive trattoria in an old
palazzo
in a quiet part of the
centro storico.
It's all a bit down at the heels, but
€
