Verona and Lago de Garda

Verona is in Veneto, on the banks of the Adige River, on the route between Milan and Venice. The historic center, a UNESCO World Heritage site, houses a 1st-century Roman arena still used for opera, medieval squares and the Romanesque and Gothic churches built during the time of the Scaligeri, the Della Scala family that ruled the city in the 13th and 14th centuries. It is also the city where Shakespeare set Romeo and Juliet.

About 30 kilometres to the west begins Lago de Garda, the largest lake in Italy. Its shores are divided among three regions: Lombardy to the west, Veneto to the east and Trentino-Alto Adige to the north. In the south, where the lake is wide and surrounded by hills, sits Sirmione, on a narrow peninsula with a castle surrounded by water and the ruins of a large Roman villa.

Heading up the eastern shore, the Gardesana road passes fishing villages until Malcesine, at the foot of Monte Baldo, with another Scaligeri castle and a cable car that climbs nearly 1,800 metres. At the northern end, where the lake narrows between rock walls, Riva del Garda has squares with an Austrian feel, a fortress on the water and a waterfall that runs inside a gorge.

In season, the Navigazione Laghi boats link the lakeside villages and are a way to see the lake without facing Gardesana traffic.

This destination brings together 4 cities: Verona, Malcesine, Riva del Garda, Sirmione.