A day at Garda lake or Sirmione in pictures

Usually Sundays are the days when I am writing about my travels but as yesterday was traveling than decided to make an exception of the rule and share my weekend’s getaway to a lovely, stone age dated city – Sirmione today. This small town is located and North of Italy and is located on the southern shores of lake Garda and are famous with its Grottoes of Catullus (Grotte di Catullo), the most striking example of a Roman private edifice discovered in northern Italty also it is famous for it’s thermal springs, but that I am planning to explore next time as this story is about exploring Sirmione on foot and catching first impressions.

Already can tell you that this place has definitely an aura and a particular charm that attracts people from all over the World, especially saw many Germans and Austrians that had decided to come down there by their sporty, posh and family cars. The city gave me an impression how was the life here at medieval times mostly because of it’s 13th century built Scaliger Castle that are open to visitors only for 4 eur and the view from above is just wonderful. 

The castle stands at a strategic place at the entrance to the peninsula so it can only be entered by two drawbridges which once served a purpose to protect the city from enemies as well as from locals. 

Once upon a time it was guarded by brave guards, now it was a place of swans, ducks and cranes.

 

Once we got passed the gates we headed to explore it properly and what can give you a better impression about the place than seeing it from above?

 

Once passed the gates we headed to explore the old town and see what the peninsula offers to us.

I am just messing, this is not my bicycle, but I did explore it on foot instead and by the end of the day tracked that have been walking 8km. Good sightseeing and pleasant way of burning off some calories.

 

The old town was full with cozy, fancy and spacious restaurants each of them offering a nicer view than other. as it was Ferragosto (Italian public holiday – Assumption of Mary) than the city was packed with tourists so we preffered our own takeaway snacks with a view to the lake.

 

By the very end of the peninsula relieved a wonderful view to the lake hugged by the mountains and this last piece of the land was also dedicated to the Grotte di Catullo which is a must see  when visiting the town as offering the wonderful view together with a piece of history.

Heading back to our starting point we passed by to a wonderful Maria Callas park where the City of Sirmione was hosting open cinema and event sessions under the stars all summer long, to entertain the visitors and locals. A nice touch, I would say.

 

The end of our long walk we spent relaxing at the pier of the lake just to relax, catch some sunshine and enjoy the view before heading back to Milan.

 

That’s in short my weekend at Garda lake! What about you? 

What’s your favorite lake? Where is it?