Driving Tour of Western Lake Garda
A Print-and-Take-Along Guide to the West Shore of Italy’s Lake Garda
The western side of Italy's largest lake drops sharply from the mountains that frame it; its must-see sights include the lake's most elegant towns and splendid villas.
Continuing the driving tour route that led north along the lake’s eastern shore, this route begins at the far northern end of the lake. Riva can also be reached by south-bound travelers from Trento, in the Alto Adige near the Austrian border. Although it is easy to find your way around Lake Garda’s beautiful shore, knowing when and where to stop, and how to get to the little-known places is not so easy. Print this driving tour and slip it into your guidebook to use on the road.
The total driving time, not allowing for traffic jams, is about 3 hours, but lakeside traffic may make this longer, especially on the southern end of the lake. You can shorten the route by leaving out some of the little side detours, but to see everything you should plan on two days.
Riva del Garda
Begin the tour in Riva del Garda, parking at the eastern side of the lakefront to explore its old center and the museum inside the moated castle. From Riva del Garda S-45B heads north through Arco and Dreno, both with castles. Arco’s is worth a stop and the climb, to see its interior, as well as the botanic gardens that lie below it. Backtrack to Riva and follow brown road signs to Cascata de Varone, a dramatic waterfall that drops straight from a mountain lake through a twisting chasm it has carved in the rock.
Limone sul Garda to Gardone Riviera
Go south from Riva on S-45B, which almost immediately disappears into a series of tunnels. Exits to shore towns are inside these, so watch carefully for signs to Limone sul Garda. This tiny town with its miniature boat harbor was once the center of lemon growing, and you can still see a few of the terraces over the lake.
More tunnels obscure the lake, so watch carefully for signs to Toscolano Maderno, where there is one of the lake’s nicest stretches of beach, as well as a parish church with beautiful and intricate stone carving around its door. Look also for the inscribed stones in the wall, reused from a Roman construction.
Follow the shore road south into Gardone Riviera, keeping a sharp lookout for the neoclassical Villa Alba opposite the stone San Marco Tower on the shore. The hillside is covered in the Andre Heller Botanic Garden, with exotic plants from all continents. A right turn will be marked to Gardone di Sopra and Il Vittoriale, the over-the-top Art Deco villa of the poet Gabriele D’Annunzio, one of the lake’s highlights. Return to the shore to see Gardone Riviera’s promenade and Art Nouveau facades.
Salo to Desenzano
The shore road continues into Salo, one of the lake’s larger towns, but an interesting one, with a fine carved altar in its small duomo (cathedral). The un-numbered shore road climbs sharply out the other side of Salo to join S572, but a prettier route winds around the headlands to the little castle towns of San Felice de Benaco and Manerba del Garda before joining S572 into Desenzano, and the end of the tour.
For a driving tour of eastern Lake Garda, forming a complete around-the-lake circle, click here.
