The Modern Nomads

Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy at 370 square kilometers (143 square miles). This was actually our second stop by Lake Garda. We recently did a road trip through the Italian Alps and if you haven’t read that blog post you can by clicking HERE. During that trip we stayed on the north eastern side of the lake but this trip we were going to be spending 3 nights on the southern most part of Lake Garda in the beautiful town of Sirmione!

Sirmione is considered by some to be one of the most beautiful towns on Lake Garda and therefore is also one of the most popular. In addition to its beauty, what also draws people to this area are two prominent features, the Scaligero Castle and the town’s thermal baths.

Sirmione is located on a thin peninsula in the center of the southern shores of Lake Garda. The peninsula, or promontory as it is also referred to, is 2.5 miles (4 km) long and in its narrowest point it is less than 400 feet wide.

During our walking tour of Sirmione, we took a stroll down the peninsula and visited the castle, we saw Jamaica beach, walked through the Grottoes and basically sweat enough to fill a 5 gallon bucket during our visit. Now while it was uncomfortably warm, our tour guide made our visit there fantastic! He was very informative and super funny! It made bearing the heat much more enjoyable!

Now before we continue, let’s talk about the so called “Grottoes” of Sirmione. First and foremost, they aren’t what most would think of as a grotto. There are no underground caves or anything really resembling a “grotto” by definition. What you will find, are the remains of a Roman Villa built 2000 years ago. The so-called Grottoes of Catullus, is the biggest ancient Roman villa of its kind in all of northern Italy. The archaeological complex is located at the very tip of the Sirmione peninsula that overlooks the lake.

It is hard to get a feel of how massive this ancient villa was but it felt like we were walking around a small city and not a villa if that puts it in perspective. Here is the link to more information and some aerial views – Grottoes of Catullus

I think I mentioned once before that August is probably the hottest time to visit Italy? Well, it is! Luckily the forecast was for some cooler temperatures to move in which we were definitely looking forward to. Each day after just a few hours outside we were drenched in sweat – as noted in the picture below:

On our second day in Sirmione, we had a day tour back to Verona and got to see some things we missed during our trip last month. Verona has so much to see that visiting it twice was a welcome addition to our agenda while in Sirmione as it is only about a 40 minute drive.

Verona is a city full of legends that have become tourist magnets. While most of these are simply legends, with no documented authenticity to them, they are still fun to see. One of these is the “Well of Love”. Located in St. Mark’s Alley, this romantic corner is where, as the legend is told, a young soldier was in love with Isabella of the house of the Donati. Isabella didn’t reciprocate his affection and after being rejected he professed his love by jumping into the frigid well. Only then did she realize that she did love him and was so overcome with despair she jumped in after him.

The highlight of our day trip to Verona was the wine tour through the Negrar valley and our stop at the Fratelli Vogadori Winery and Vineyards. This is a family owned winery and we got to enjoy a personal wine tasting from one of the owners and a great history of the vineyard. We tasted their white wine, some red wine, meditation wine as they call it and even tried their sweet wine which is best for desert. Not only did they have great wine, they had amazing sweet olive oil. Oh, and let’s not forget about their Grappa – the Golden grappa by far was my favorite!

Other noteworthy things from our stay in Sirmione:

Nom Nom Nom: During our visit to Sirmione we had dinner at one specific place that is worth mentioning. Restaurante Bistrot Grill da Pier is an Italian restaurant with a beautiful outdoor patio.

Lodging: We stayed Hotel Du Parc and while it wasn’t the most modern hotel, it was clean, staff was friendly, and our room had a small outdoor patio that was shaded in the evenings which was nice. The location of this hotel was just outside of the hustle bustle of Sirmione and only about a 30 minute walk (2 miles) to Sirmione old town. We would recommend to skip the evening meal at the hotel as there are much better options nearby. And if you enjoy time by the pool when traveling this hotel did have a nice sized outdoor pool with plenty of lounge chairs and would be great for families with kids. Not our favorite hotel but we will give them points on their location.

Transportation: There are buses that run and seem to be the primary mode of transportation (other than bikes). There is parking on the peninsula but the lots fill up fast. The peninsula is over 2 miles long so if weather permitting you can walk the whole thing. And while Uber shows it’s available, there were no cars that showed up to accept rides so plan accordingly if you plan on visiting Sirmione. There is a lot to see and being so close to Verona there will be times you want to get out and about. We had a rental car but found it easier to reserve transportation with our trips to Verona because parking seems to always be limited and at a premium. Plus if you want to stop by the wine region then booking a ride is the way to go!

This may have been our second time in this area but I can honestly say that we saw an entirely different part of Lake Garda (and Verona) for that matter and we thoroughly enjoyed ourself!