Lake Garda

The small town of Malcesine has a picturesque location on the northern shore of Lake Garda. Not without... reason does it number among the most visited places on the lake, with its friendly old town, the lovely harbour and the defiant castle of Scaliger. The Scaliger castle is located on a rock ledge directly on the lake and thus guarantees fantastic views. Inside, the rooms house an interesting natural history museum of the local Monte Baldo and Lake Garda with numerous findings and plates depicting local animal and plant species. One of the rooms is dedicated to Goethe; a few sketches are exhibited here which the poet drew during his trip to Italy. The tin-topped Palazzo dei Capitani del Lago built in Venetian gothic style and in which the Venetian Governor once lived is also worth a visit. Nature lovers will enjoy Monte Baldo since the area around its summit is home to some very rare plants. If you do not wish to walk the whole way up, you can cut most of the corner off in a modern rotating cable car. more

In the steep, gray rocks of the 1540 m high Monte Rocchetta, the beautiful, proud, northernmost town... of the lake is located. On the wide Piazza Tre Novembre, from the cafés and restaurants under the shady bowers of the 14th century, you can see the medieval municipal and military buildings as well as the bobbing sailboats in the harbor. Via the lively streets of the old part of town with their elegant boutiques you reach the atmospheric Piazza delle Erbe, the market place and the photogenic Rocca, which was rebuilt several times starting from the 12th century and which houses the Museo Civico. To the east of the castle you walk further along the lake through charming gardens (Giardini di Porta Orientale, Parco del Lido). more

In Brescia (200,000 inhabitants), 30 km southwest of Lake Garda, you can experience Italian lifestyle... - but without huge crowds of tourists. In the Centro Storico, Renaissance buildings line the central Piazza della Loggia. Right next to it you see the vast Piazza del Duomo with the white marble facade of the baroque New Cathedral. The Romanesque Rotunda, the older dome, which can easily be overlooked, and the medieval municipal palace Broletto with its towering Torre del Popolo more or less fade into the background as well. In the neat streets of the old part of town, fashion boutiques and specialty stores attract the visitors, from the castle hill with its mighty Castello, you have a spectacular view. Outstanding works of art await you in the northeast corner of the Centro Storico: In the Pinacoteca civica Tosio Martinengo as well as in the former convent of Santa Giulia (Museo della Città). more