DK Travel : Milan and the Lakes : Lake Garda : Places of interest

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Bardolino

Bardolino has been famous since Roman times for its light red wine, celebrated at the museum. The town also has two wonderful Romanesque churches.
Castello di Arco, near Riva

Perched above town, this 12th-century castle is in a state of near-total ruin. Only one wall remains of the imposing central keep, and the sole room in the complex to survive intact was filled with debris until 1986. When it was cleared, a surprise discovery found several excellent late 14th-century frescoes depicting nobles playing at board games and war.
Desenzano

A large and delightful town, settled in the Bronze Age and a retreat since the Roman era. Its top attraction is the Villa Romana (see Villa Romana, Desenzano).
Gardaland

Under the icon of a goofy green dragon named Prezzemolo (“Parsley”), the park boasts roller coasters and carnival rides, a water park, jungle safari, ice shows, dolphin tricks and medieval spectacles. Italy’s greatest theme park isn’t quite Disneyland, but it’s a hoot for the kids.
Gardone Riviera

The fruits of Gardone’s long popularity as a resort developed into magnificent villas and gardens, including Hruska and the Vittoriale (see Il Vittoriale, Gardone Riviera, Giardino Botanico Hruska, Gardone Riviera).
Giardino Botanico Hruska, Gardone Riviera

This small but lovely set of botanical gardens features more than 2,000 species on a terraced hillside (see Giardino Botanico Hruska, Lake Garda).
Giardino Sigurtà

Carlo Sigurtà spent 40 years irrigating and planting this barren hillside in order to turn it into one of Italy’s great gardens, with manicured lawns and pathways amid vibrant flower beds and reflecting pools. Hidden along the far western edge are some large enclosures where deer and goats run free. The gardens are a 20-minute drive south of the lake-side.
Grotte di Catullo, Sirmione

Though the ancient Roman poet Catullus did take his holidays at Sirmione, there’s no evidence to suggest that this vast, ancient house at the very tip of Sirmione’s peninsula was actually his villa – in fact, it was probably built after Catullus’s death, sometime in the 1st century BC. It is the best surviving example of a Roman private home in northern Italy, but this didn’t stop it being mis-named a “grotto”, the result of the romantically overgrown and cave-like state it had assumed by the Middle Ages.
Il Vittoriale, Gardone Riviera

This over-the-top villa was built by poet, solider and adventurer Gabriele d’Annunzio, one of Italy’s most flamboyant characters from the turn of the 20th century (see Il Vittoriale, Lake Garda).
Isola di Garda

Garda’s largest island once supported a monastery that attracted the great medieval saints: Francis of Assisi, Anthony of Padua and Bernardino of Siena. The monastery was destroyed by Napoleon and replaced in 1890– 1903 with a Neo-Gothic Venetian-style villa and luxuriant English and Italianate gardens. Two-hour tours take place twice a week and, though the admission price is high, it does include a boat ride and a snack.