September 11-26, 2024
Feeling pretty healthy after a night of altitude sickness! Before heading to our next destination we filled up the rental at the edge of Ortisei...BANG CRASH!! ooh car pulling in got side swiped by a car backing up, thankful it wasn't us! We also stopped at a wood carving shop at the edge of town, bought a couple small pieces, they are so talented at this. I didn't calculate our mileage in the hybrid, but I know we burned little gas going all downhill towards Lago di Garda.
It was very overcast this day and the drive was pleasant, roughly takes 2 hours to get to the lake. 1.5 hours into the drive I became very hungry, my wife found Castel Toblino on the map for a lunch stop! We were in the "Valley of the lakes" so lunch at a great castle on a lake seemed appropriate! History dates the origin back to 201AD. Unfortunately we could not go inside the castle this day, but they have a beautiful patio and bar on the water that was perfect. Having missed dinner the night before I had a strong hunger for a hamburger and fries ;-) I've had much better hamburgers, but having an appetite and that lake view was priceless.
With our bodies fueled up we hit the road and 30-45 minutes later we were at the north end of Lake Garda. It was noticeably warm, we rolled the windows down for fresh air as we drove down into Limone sul Garda. Our hosts instructed us to check in at the towns kios in the parking area. My wife jumped out and returned quickly saying pull into the garage, park and return to kios. When we returned they had a long golf cart ready to deliver us to the hotel, nice! Limone sul Garda streets are pedestrian only except for a few golf carts and delivery vehicles, we liked that!
We booked a "last minute" 2 night stay at Albergo Bella Vista in the center of town. This attractive lake front property dates back to 1600's and the hotel has been in the same family since around 1900. Our very clean room was large, yet sparsely furnished. The bed was comfortable and the nice bathroom was also huge! The lake views from our room were incredible, some other units had nice balconies, I was jealous watching people having cocktails on those balconies. There is a small elevator in the hotel, but we enjoyed walking the marble stairs admiring the many antiques and architecture.
We spent 2 nights simply relaxing, eating great food and walking every square foot of this little gem. It was September and the crowds were relatively moderate. Ferries were often coming and going to other ports of call. The large number of day trippers would slowly dwindle by sunset and then the town took on a more peaceful relaxed feel.
We really liked the many shops and cafes here. Lemons of course are a big deal in this tiny town, we walked up to the early 18th century La Limonaia Del Castel to visit the museum with its hillside orchard with a view! It contained over 100 trees including citrons, lemons, sweet and bitter oranges, chinotti, grapefruits, tangerines and kumquats. It's also an educational center and the videos/displays were quite interesting, the irrigation system is creative. Did I mention the VIEWS!
There seems to be quite a few very nice hotel/resorts stretched along the steep hillside and banks of Limone, many with beautiful pools which must be enjoyable in the summer months. As I mentioned we took a relaxed approach to this beautiful town and spent most of our time hovering around the shoreline and side streets. Food, drinks and of course the atmosphere were wonderful here. Our favorite meal and drinks were at Ristorante Montebaldo, set in the tiniest and most colorful marina, We met yet another nice traveler from Australia there, so many wonderful Aussies this trip! She had just finished a very long hut to hut solo hike in the Alps. Her stories of her many hiking expeditions were entertaining. She would be heading home the following day to check on her....million acre cattle station, daaang! I think the amazing people we come across during our travels is what makes travel so enjoyable and addictive.
What say, I just add some pics from our 2 nights in this wonderfully quaint and picturesque village of Limone sul Garda.... and no trip is complete without a couple hours on the water!
Thanks for following, to be continued on the southern end of lovely Lago di Garda!
Feeling pretty healthy after a night of altitude sickness! Before heading to our next destination we filled up the rental at the edge of Ortisei...BANG CRASH!! ooh car pulling in got side swiped by a car backing up, thankful it wasn't us! We also stopped at a wood carving shop at the edge of town, bought a couple small pieces, they are so talented at this. I didn't calculate our mileage in the hybrid, but I know we burned little gas going all downhill towards Lago di Garda.
It was very overcast this day and the drive was pleasant, roughly takes 2 hours to get to the lake. 1.5 hours into the drive I became very hungry, my wife found Castel Toblino on the map for a lunch stop! We were in the "Valley of the lakes" so lunch at a great castle on a lake seemed appropriate! History dates the origin back to 201AD. Unfortunately we could not go inside the castle this day, but they have a beautiful patio and bar on the water that was perfect. Having missed dinner the night before I had a strong hunger for a hamburger and fries ;-) I've had much better hamburgers, but having an appetite and that lake view was priceless.
With our bodies fueled up we hit the road and 30-45 minutes later we were at the north end of Lake Garda. It was noticeably warm, we rolled the windows down for fresh air as we drove down into Limone sul Garda. Our hosts instructed us to check in at the towns kios in the parking area. My wife jumped out and returned quickly saying pull into the garage, park and return to kios. When we returned they had a long golf cart ready to deliver us to the hotel, nice! Limone sul Garda streets are pedestrian only except for a few golf carts and delivery vehicles, we liked that!
We booked a "last minute" 2 night stay at Albergo Bella Vista in the center of town. This attractive lake front property dates back to 1600's and the hotel has been in the same family since around 1900. Our very clean room was large, yet sparsely furnished. The bed was comfortable and the nice bathroom was also huge! The lake views from our room were incredible, some other units had nice balconies, I was jealous watching people having cocktails on those balconies. There is a small elevator in the hotel, but we enjoyed walking the marble stairs admiring the many antiques and architecture.
We spent 2 nights simply relaxing, eating great food and walking every square foot of this little gem. It was September and the crowds were relatively moderate. Ferries were often coming and going to other ports of call. The large number of day trippers would slowly dwindle by sunset and then the town took on a more peaceful relaxed feel.
We really liked the many shops and cafes here. Lemons of course are a big deal in this tiny town, we walked up to the early 18th century La Limonaia Del Castel to visit the museum with its hillside orchard with a view! It contained over 100 trees including citrons, lemons, sweet and bitter oranges, chinotti, grapefruits, tangerines and kumquats. It's also an educational center and the videos/displays were quite interesting, the irrigation system is creative. Did I mention the VIEWS!
There seems to be quite a few very nice hotel/resorts stretched along the steep hillside and banks of Limone, many with beautiful pools which must be enjoyable in the summer months. As I mentioned we took a relaxed approach to this beautiful town and spent most of our time hovering around the shoreline and side streets. Food, drinks and of course the atmosphere were wonderful here. Our favorite meal and drinks were at Ristorante Montebaldo, set in the tiniest and most colorful marina, We met yet another nice traveler from Australia there, so many wonderful Aussies this trip! She had just finished a very long hut to hut solo hike in the Alps. Her stories of her many hiking expeditions were entertaining. She would be heading home the following day to check on her....million acre cattle station, daaang! I think the amazing people we come across during our travels is what makes travel so enjoyable and addictive.
What say, I just add some pics from our 2 nights in this wonderfully quaint and picturesque village of Limone sul Garda.... and no trip is complete without a couple hours on the water!
Thanks for following, to be continued on the southern end of lovely Lago di Garda!
Last edited:
