Our Family Trip to Italy Itinerary: Lake Garda
I thought maybe I could combine this post and the next, but as I start, I realize there is so much to share about each stop and I would hate to miss something because it’s all so unique and beautiful! Our second stop on our itinerary after Venice was to Lake Garda. There was an opportunity to stop in Verona to view Juliet’s balcony on this drive over, but we opted to spend more time at this lake because we only had one day here, so off we went! It was about a 2 hour drive as we headed straight for the town of Malcesine, and we left early in the day so we would have plenty of time to explore.
The views driving in were spectacular, and just a preface to what was in store for us.
The small town of Malcesine was so picturesque and easy to walk, although there were still some hills, but not as many steps. We had Juliet in the stroller and were able to navigate everything without a problem. Malcesine has so many cute streets lined with shops, restaurants, and hotels, and we made our way to the lake to eat lunch by the shoreline. The views were so surreal with the mountains just across the lake
We have a great memory from this lunch because they offered us Fanta in champagne flutes, which we accepted and it was our first taste of Italian Fanta which is much different than the bright orange Fanta in America! It was a lighter, more natural citrus flavor, and we loved it! So it began a quest for Fanta many more times on our trip!
The pizzas in Italy are very thin crusted and do not come cut, so most people just use a fork and knife to eat them! Delicious.
Our lake views were stunning from this restaurant.
After lunch, we strolled some more, got gelato, and enjoyed some more views…
Dave and Beau found leather belts they liked at a cute shop that would custom-size them for you!
From Malcesine, we took a passenger ferry across the lake to the cute and colorful town of Limone, known for what else?.. Lemons! You can buy tickets for the ferry on the dock, and the boats go back and forth so it’s not hard to catch another one back.
The views of Malcesine…
And the views as we approached Limone…
Again, this was an adorable town of colorful houses and restaurants and shops, all looking like a postcard scene.
We decided we had to try the freshly-sqeeezed lemonade and my sister had warned us it was, once again, not like the U.S.! Even though they said it was sweetened, it was extremely sour! Most of us could not drink it, but somehow Juliet loved it!
After a couple hours here, we caught the boat back across to Malcesine to get to our car and head to out hotel for the night. This was one of our favorite stays of the trip, although we have several favorites! The Borgo Romantico is outside of the busyness of Lake Garda in the countryside and it is beautiful, set in the midst of vineyards and olive groves.
We were catching our breath as we drove up, and were welcomed with fruit, water, and coffee as we were shown to our beautiful rooms.
We had a Superior suite for Dave and me and the girls, which was beautiful and comfortable. The patio had a view of a vineyard and there were plenty of other beautiful views in every direction.
We drove a few minutes to town for a quiet dinner outside at a lovely place we found.
And then we came back and enjoyed the sunset with some coffee on the patio…
Breakfast the next morning was an extensive buffet served in a beautiful sunroom with more views!
I promise you will not be disappointed with this hotel at Lake Garda! We would love to go back. Our next stop was Lake Como… Sharing that soon!