The lagoon does not end at San Marco. I learned this slowly, on the mornings when the city felt too full and I wanted the horizon to open a little, and every time I came back I understood Venice better…
Lake Garda
The Best Day Trips from Verona
One of the quiet joys of Verona is how much lies within easy reach of it. The city sits at a crossroads of the north, on the high-speed line between Milan and Venice, a half-hour from Lake Garda, with vineyards…
Warm Water and Old Stones: A Slow Day in Sirmione
There are days made for doing very little, and today Sirmione handed me one without my having to ask. I had woken with no plan beyond the vague intention to catch the little ferry, and by mid-morning I had abandoned…
The Most Beautiful Photo Spots on Lake Garda
There are lakes you visit and lakes you remember, and Garda has always belonged firmly to the second kind for me. It is the largest of the Italian lakes, and it wears its size beautifully, shifting from the soft, olive-scented…
Where to Eat on Lake Garda
There is a particular kind of hunger that Lake Garda gives you. It arrives around midday, when the light comes off the water in silver sheets, and the scent of grilling fish drifts up from some harbour trattoria you have…
The Best Time to Visit Lake Garda
I have arrived at Lake Garda in the flat white heat of August, and I have arrived on a soft March morning when the mountains still wore their snow, and I can tell you that the lake rewards you differently…
How to Get to Lake Garda
Every time I return to Lake Garda, I am reminded that the journey there is part of the pleasure rather than an obstacle to it. This is one of the most accessible corners of northern Italy, cradled between Milan and…
The Perfect Lake Garda Itinerary: 5 Days
The first decision on Lake Garda is not what to see but where to sleep, because the lake is long and narrow and the shore you choose quietly shapes every day that follows. I would base myself in Sirmione, the…
The Best Things to Do on Lake Garda
I have a soft spot for Lake Garda that I struggle to explain in a sentence, so I tend to reach for the geography instead. This is the largest of the Italian lakes, long enough that the south feels almost…
Where to Stay on Lake Garda
Lake Garda is not one destination but four or five, and the base you choose does more to shape your holiday than almost anything else you decide. Pick the wrong shore and you spend your mornings in the car; pick…
The Best Towns on Lake Garda
Lake Garda is really three lakes wearing one name, and choosing where to sleep is the single decision that shapes everything else about your trip. The southern shore, in Lombardy, is flat and sun-warmed, all vineyards and castles and the…
Victoria’s Complete Guide to Lake Garda
I have lost count of the times I have promised myself a quiet week on Lake Garda and ended up rearranging my whole itinerary by the second morning, simply because Garda refuses to be one thing. Italy’s largest lake stretches…
