lake garda Archive - Madame Schischi

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Oh Verona you are one little Italian city with so much charme and flair. I just don´t know what it is with all of the Italian cities. With the old buildings, the croocket pathways and small alleys. Maybe it is La Dolce Vita or just the delight of being on vacation that everything seems so dreamy and perfect.

How to get there / where to park

This depends on where you are coming from. You can go directly and stay in the city if you are planning on staying more than one day but we are always visiting when we stay at Lake Garda. It is a 35 minute drive from there and costs about 2 Euros of toll.

We like to park as close as possible so we always go to Parcheggia Arena di Verona or Parcheggio Saba Arena. Both are about 2 minutes by foot from the Il Portoni della Brá away – the huge stone gate you will enter to get to the biggest piazza with all the restaurants and the Arena di Verona.

What to see

After you pass through the beautiful Il Portoni della Brá you are in middle of Piazza Brá, the biggest piazza in Verona. To your left is a very long row of cafe´s and restaurants who sell authentic and delicious Italian food. It is a little pricier than in other streets cause you pay for the front row, but in my opinion it is worth it to take in the Italian flair and the hustle and bustle of the city.

To your right is a huge garden area – the Giardini Vittorio Emanule II and right behind it the biggest sight of all. The Arena di Verona.

The Arena di Verona was built 30 after Christ and mainly used to amuse the people with animal or slave fights. It is used until today but of course not for fights anymore. In the Summertime there are many operas and concerts.

Of course you can visit during the day as well and have a look back in time. You can check out the cells where the slaves and the animals had to wait to enter the arena as well as the steps inside and the viewing platforms high above. The entrance fee is about 10 Euro but you can stay and explore the whole day.

Now you can choose between two directions. You can go shopping at the longest and most exclusive street in Verona – the Via Giuseppe Mazzini. It has everything the heart could long for. From Luis Vuitton to Pinko and Sephora.

At the end of the street is another piazza to your left, the Pizza della Erbe. Here you can have lunch or enjoy a cool Spritz Bianco. The beautiful Fontanella Storica can also be found on this piazza as well as a weekly market.

From here you could go back or follow the street down to Casa di Giulietta. Crowds here are always huge so I would suggest to go there right in the morning when the city is still empty. You can get a lot done before 10´o clock. The ticket to Guilietta´s balcony costs 1,10 Euro but therefore you can stand upon there all by yourself and get a cute pic without any strangers. Of course you can still have a look at the balcony without going up and buying a ticket.

After we have checked all the boxes from the sights above there is one thing left. Leaving downtown and taking the scenic route along the river Adige (about 20 minutes by foot) with the goal to visit the Basilica san Zeno di Maggiore. It is one of the most important and biggest churches in Verona and was built hundreds of years back in the 12th century. I personally love the big round window on the front the most.

You take a left before the first coffee shop of Piazza Erbe and go down Via Roma until you see the river. Then you follow the river Adige and the signs to the Basilica.

If you decide to do everything at once you take up a few others of the day but it will surely be a great expericence and so many interesting things to see and learn.

Food to try

This is a whole other category and a very delicious one I might add. There are tons of Italian foods you could or should try but I am sharing three of the best things I have eaten there in quite a while.

Minuto di Bauli – These have been the most amazing little cakes I have ever had. They where soft and moist and filled with so much cream of your choice. We had lemon and pistacchio in the picture above but they also have chocolate of course as well as jam and hazelnut.

Forneria Mazzini – We got slices of pizza and paninis for take-away to eat at our apartment. It was very very soft, tasty and overall delicious but it is expensive. I think I paid about 30 Euro for 5 things.

Grom Gelateria – Our girls got a strawberry gelato from here and it was fair to say that this was the best one I have eaten ever.

Where to shop

Via Mazzini is your first stop for high fashion and affordable pieces as well as food and drug store products. Souvenirs are also available at every corner and the piazzas.

Why we love vacationing at Lake Garda…

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We love Lake Garda! I have been visiting for about 15 years and still love it. It is such a mediteranian place but still so close (about 5 hour drive) to home. There is something about the Italian way of life, the little old towns, the Italian food, the history and of course the huge lake.

Every time we go we drive to our favorite restaurant and have lunch there. It is right at the shore and waves crash against the little stones, the water smells so fresh and the lake breeze goes through your hair. This is when we have finally arrived at our vacation destination.

There are several places we always visit when we are there. The same cities and same coffee shops but we always make sure to also go to new places we have never seen.

Area

We exit the highway at Lago di Garda South which means we are on the east side of the lake about in the middle. The charmful little cities are all close and reachable by car. Parking places are available everywhere. We love that everything is close together either way you are driving. The cities we love to stay or visit are Bardolino, Lazise, Garda, Peschiera del Garda and Sirmione. We have stayed in Sportsman Creola, Lazise, Bardolino, Peschiera and Castelnuovo.

Activities

There are so many different activites you can do at Lake Garda. Besides lying at the pool of course. If you want a little more action there are plenty of things to do on land as well as on the water. Of course they are all charged seperately. We headed to Gardaland with the kids this time and it was amazing. I have also done parasailing and it was a great experience but you shouldn´t be afraid of heights. Another thing we did was rent a bike which is a great way to get around faster but keep in mind that there are lots of people around which doesn´t make it easy.

Parasailing

Rent a boat

Rent a bike / scooter

Gardaland Theme Park

Movieland

Caneva World

Take the ferry

Sea Life

Olive Oil Museum (I love to add this all the time cause it is such a funny thing)

Food

Rock´n Roll Dinner Show – Right after the Movieland you can book different dinner shows where there is food and entertainment.

There have opened up a lot of different restaurants over the last few years. You can now have Bohemian cuisine, of course Italian, Sushi, a nice Burger and there is also a MC Donalds.

Of course all the great waterfront restaurants are Italian cuisine but that mustn´t be bad am I right. Prices are pretty normal in my opinion. You can choose from noodles, pizza, fish or meat dishes to salads and lots of desserts. Keep in mind Italians normally eat noodles as a first course so the serving won´t be as big as you´d expect it. Meat and fish always comes alone. You have to order the side extra.

If you are sitting down during the day or later in the evening most of the restaurants will get you snacks with your beverage. For example you order a glass of wine and you get a plate with nuts, olives, crisps and little sandwiches.

If you are looking for a small snack or lunch there are plenty of options to buy a piece of pizza or a panini on the way or at restaurants, bars.

Overall restaurants are very kid friendly cause the Italians really like children and they also don´t mind if you are sitting outside at a bar with kids.

The choices on ice-cream are incredible everywhere you go and there are definitely flavors I have never heard. The prices are very reasonable and the ice-cream just tastes fresher and better than anywhere else. Sirmione is THE ice-ceram mekka of Lake Garda.

Shopping

There are many opportunities to get rid of your money at Lake Garda. I personally have two shops I like to frequent when we are there other than that I love the local market. They have such a great variety of clothes, leather goods like shoes, handbags and belts. Toys of course for the little ones. The prettiest ceramic pieces you have ever seen and table cloths.

Local Market

Little Shops

Shopping Center