What to do in Malcesine????

Bailey101

Evening All

I'm off to Malcesine on Lake Garda in a months time, and I'm looking for a few pointers for what I should be doing while I'm there. I've only got a week so I'm not really wanting to spend time on things that aren't too great, and miss out out on something brilliant IYSWIM. I'm staying very close to the harbour, so pretty central and I won't have a car, but I do a lot of walking so a wee trek now and again won't be a problem

Any ideas and recommendations would be much appreciated :T

xxx

nlwsaint

Malcesine is very pretty. We stayed there a couple of years ago & loved it. Having said that, we did have 2 trips included in our package. We visited Verona (stunning) & also Venice. The water taxis from the waterfront in are frequent & you can hop on & hop off to other resorts around the lake. There is a lovely castle there & also the cable car to Monte Baldo with stunning views. They have a good bus & train network should you wish to go further afield. There is also a tourist info office by the harbour were you will be able to book trips to Venice or Verona.

chivers1977

There is a wonderful restaurant in Malcesine on the edge of the lake to the extent that when you sit down in the outside eating area, all you see is the water. It is not right next to the harbour but a bit further towards the castle.

I am so jealous. We were there in September last year for a wedding and would go back tomorrow if able!!

pinkcandyflossprincess

i went when 17 and remember it was beautiful, the italians were friendly as well, it was one of my fav holidays:rolleyes:

redpete

Bailey101 wrote: »

I'm off to Malcesine on Lake Garda in a months time, and I'm looking for a few pointers for what I should be doing while I'm there.

Some of the other towns round the lake that are worth visiting: Sirmione for the castle, Roman villa and ice cream shops, Limone sul Garda for the promenade, Gardone for the impressive but unsettlingly fascistic gardens of Vittoriale degli Italiani.

Go up the cable car in Malcesine for great views.

Use the boats to get around, easier than driving.

bloaty

On the 2 occasions we have been we picked up discount cards for the boats but for some reason they were not available at Malcesne but they are from Limone.

We stayed at Limone the first time and the cards saved us quite a lot of money but on our second trip we stayed in Malcesne and we only picked the cards up when we went across to Limone for a visit. Available from the Tourist info office.

Both resorts very pretty and on both occasions we were fortunate to be staying on the very edge of the lake with a lake view.

Would certainly go back as lots of great places to visit and the boats are so relaxing.

Blue264

redpete wrote: »

Use the boats to get around, easier than driving.

...but don't break the speed limit on the Lake like my mum did
I'd say take the trip to the opera in Verona (with a champagne picnic like the locals), do the day trip to Venice and spend 4 days exploring the villages around the lake.

alibongo42

Don't worry about not having a car, the buses are really easy and convenient.

Unless you are looking for an extremely relaxing time, you won't want to stay in Malcesine for the whole week. Like most places around Lake Garda, it is beautiful but small.

We spent our week using the buses and boats to visit the other towns (we were based in Bardolino). The buses even go to Verona (couple of hours) and Venice (quite far).

Bailey101

From everyones replies I'm getting the impression that I'm just going to have to fit in everything I really like the idea of day trips out to venice and verona and I'll definitely be visiting the castle and going up the mountain.

Blue264 - do you know if the Opera is a regular thing? (I'm a big opera fan!!!)

I was also wondering if anyone can recommend any restaurants that are good with weird diets? I have coeliacs disease so strictly no wheat or anything with gluten for me - I have heard though that restaurants in this part of the world tend to be pretty obliging with this sort of thing......

Thanks everyone for taking the time to make suggestions for me - it's much appreciated!!!!!

xxx

Blue264

Bailey101 wrote: »

Blue264 - do you know if the Opera is a regular thing? (I'm a big opera fan!!!)

I was also wondering if anyone can recommend any restaurants that are good with weird diets? I have coeliacs disease so strictly no wheat or anything with gluten for me - I have heard though that restaurants in this part of the world tend to be pretty obliging with this sort of thing......

Firstly, I've been vegetarian for 39years and have never eaten as well on holiday as I have done in Italy. If you say right from the off what your requirements are, I have yet to dine in an Italian restaurant in Italy that didn't rise to the challenge. (And once I had mastered the art of telling the waiter that "I'm a vegetarian" and not "I am a vegetable") dining was a great experience.... Particularly with native Italian cuisine, you will find that their main courses mainly consist of beautifully cooked steak and chicken so no worries for you regarding gluten tolerance. Pasta is viewed as a starter over there...

The opera in Verona is the stuff of legends.
I have yet to experience it myself, but my mum was stunned by the performance of 'Carmen' that she saw and wanted to go back to see 'Aida' as that performance is with live elephants, etc... But you also have 'Tosca' and 'Turandot' to choose from... Spoilt for choice eh?
Do you remember several years ago when Placido Domingo did a live, televised performance of 'Tosca' over the Easter weekend from all the venues mentioned and on the correct timescale? Amazing!

http://www.arena.it/en-US/HOMEen.html

Choose wisely or go twice

p.s. Since my mum went there in the late 90's and spread the word amongst friends and family (of all ages), I have heard nothing but great reports about Lake Garda and the region as a whole so please rest easy on that score. She stayed in melcesine too and loved it to bits, but also spent a lot of time in Limone.

teddie2003

Trip to Venice is good, but if you go by coach it is about 3hrs each way and you only end up in Venice for about 2 1/2 hours, so it's a long day. Verona is closer and less tiring.

Been to Garda a couple of times, ferries and buses are easy way of getting around.
If you get a "Northern Lake" ferry ticket you can travel to Limone, Torbole & Riva as many times as you want in a day. We found it was good to get to Torbole and then take the walk around the edge of the lake to Riva and then catch the ferry back to Malcesine.

A bus trip to Arco, north of Riva, is really good as well.

Longer boat trip across the lake to Salo and Desenzo is good as well. Sirmione is good, take one of the little boats on a trip round the penninsula, the rest is a bit busy and dearer than most of the other places around the lake.

Bus trips to Garda, Bardolino, Tori del banico and Lasize are all easy too from Malcesine.

Cable car and the views from the top down to Torbole are well worth doing.

Have a good time.

"Forgot to add, if you ride a bike, then there are plenty of bike hire places in Malcesine, near the centre square and the cable car. Plus on Saturdays, the big travelling market is usually in the car park by the town hall.