The historic Sirmione is located on the tip of a long peninsula protruding from the southern shore of the lake between Desenzano del Garda and Peschiera. Sirmione has thermal springs and was a spa destination even in Roman times of which you can still visit some impressive Roman ruins. Sirmione is a pleasant place to stay, with lots of comfortable hotels, spread in the centre and along the green pensinsula. They are designed for relaxing stays, with sun terraces, pools or private beaches. The town itself offers short strolls, a couple of tourist attractions and lake views.
Gardone Riviera is a small tourist resort on the western shore of Lake Garda. It’s a small place with several hotels, a little piazza sloping down to the lakeshore and a peaceful lakeside promenade decorated with well-kept flowerbeds. Holiday-makers have the choice of places to eat and drink, and the welcoming town has lined the promenade with benches for visitors to sit and relax. This is the kind of place for lazy afternoons whiled away strolling or enjoying lake views, sipping cups of English tea and savouring extravagant ice creams at coffee tables.
Torri del Benaco is one of the most beautiful Lake Garda towns. Elegant and pocket-size, this lakefront town is a great destination for a day trip or a longer holiday on the shores of Italy’s largest lake. Very easy to reach from nearby Verona, Torri del Benaco has a cute historic centre, a picturesque harbor, an imposing medieval castle with a centuries-old citrus garden, cute pebbly beaches right next to its promenades, and countless hiking trails in the hills that keep guard over it. From swimming to sailing, the town offers many opportunities to practice water sports. It also has a busy social calendar with large festivals and traditional celebrations taking place all throughout the year. Buzzing with visitors and events in summer and enjoying a quiet and relaxed winter, Torri del Benaco is a must-see. Especially, if you love small Italian towns with good food, interesting history, and beautiful nature around.
In a position with a view, on the lower slopes of the morainic amphitheatre, Lonato del Garda offers a wonderful perspective that dominates the lake and the plain of Brescia. This lovely location is not only perfect for lakeside holidays, but also satisfies any other interests, with it’s beautiful beach, welcoming hospitality, excellent cuisine and modern facilities, only 4 kilometers from Desenzano, and equally nearby is the important prehistoric spa of Polada.
Today visitors to the town can still find interesting traces of the local history: firstly the sixteenth century Torre Civica, the beautiful eighteenth-century basilica in Baroque style, with the wonderful dome by Soratini, and also, the impressive fortress, superb testimony of the long dominion of the Republic of Venice, and home to the Casa del Podestà, to the Ugo da Como Foundation, as well as to the Civic Museum of Ornithology, and, finally the Roman kilns, a crafts complex dating back to the second and first centuries before Christ.
Perched on the edge of the wooded peninsula of Lavedo, Villa del Balbianello offers a wide panorama over Lake Como, which makes it one of the most spectacular estates in the area. This elegant, romantic 18th century mansion and its magnificent garden have hosted writers, scholars and travelers. Trees pruned into unusual shapes, romantic views, avenues with statues, panoramic terraces and abundant blooms surround an ascending path leading to the 18th century Loggia Durini, which crowns the whole Balbianello complex and offers the visitors two different panoramas of the Lake. The beauties of Villa del Balbianello, which is also accessible by water, led many Hollywood directors to pick it as the filming location for several movie series, such as Star Wars and 007.
Mandarin Oriental on Lake Como is a 5 star luxury resort, set in the 19th-century Villa Roccabruna in the charming village of Blevio on the southeastern shore of Lake Como. Villa Roccabruna is at the heart of the resort and skillfully renovated to create a sense of modern Italian elegance with a subtle oriental charm. Idyllic lake views can be enjoyed from the resort‘s restaurants, which include a gourmet restaurant and a café by the resort’s floating pool on the lake. Ease yourself into lakeside living with a stroll around the majestic botanic gardens that surround the villa, before hopping onto a Riva boat for a cruise along the shore to admire the magnificent neighboring villas.