A Day Exploring Malcesine & Limone Sul Garda

This post is based on a visit in June 2024 which we paid for ourselves. Please check with venues direct for the most up to date info.

We spent a week exploring Lake Garda and were based at the South of the Lake in Pescheria which is more convenient for travel. This was our first visit though and I wanted to spend a day in the North of the Lake too. The North is very different to the South and has a much more mountainous terrain.

We settled on spending the day at Malcesine and Limone which are just a 10 minute ferry apart. It does take a long time to get there from the South though - an epic 3 hour ferry journey! It was nice though with plenty of stops and we were able to make a note of places we'd like to visit next time as we passed them too.

We caught the early ferry and were in Malcesine just before lunch time. The weather on this day was on and off rain showers.

Malcesine & Moute Baldo

I didn't think we'd have time to venture up Mount Baldo as I'd heard of really long queues but everyone I spoke to said we simply had to do it so I risked it. We weren't sure on the weather so pre-booked a ticket online just as we were pulling into Malcesine Port. I think it was around £30 each for a return cable car journey to the top. It's around a 10 minute walk from Port to the Cable Cars and there was no queue when we arrived.

They do pack you into the Cable Cars mind but the views were just incredible. I am so pleased we decided to book this and would recommend to everyone. It was actually pretty sunny at the top of the mountain on our visit but this can vary so do take a coat.

Mount Baldo is part of the Italian Alps and has an altitude of 2218m. There's a bar / restaurant area at the top where the cable car drops you off and it has a chilled apres-ski vibe with music playing and beanbag chairs to kick back on.

Food and drinks prices were mega reasoable - around £20 for pizza, a cheese platter and drinks to share. It was lovely to enjoy this as we watched the paragliders jumping off the side of the mountain beside us.

You can walk around the top of the mountain and there are activities to book including Alpaca Trekking. We were happy to just relax and take in the views.

Before catching the Cable Car back down to Malcesine.

Lots of people rave about Malcesine but I have to say, out of all the places I visited across Lake Garda, it was my least favourite. It just didn't seem as pretty or as charming as the others. I did love Moute Baldo though and would visit again but I wouldn't choose Malcesine as a base.

From Malcesine we caught a quick ferry (less than 10 minutes) across to Limone which was gorgeous and exactly as you'd expect.

Limone Sul Garda

Ah Limone Sul Garda is just beautiful. It is busy though and probably the busiest place we visited in Lake Garda (busier than Venice and Sirimone). There are lots of little side streets and lemon stalls. I loved it.

The weather was very changeable when we visited and as it started raining we ducked into the first bar we could find with space for cover.

This restaurant was right by the port and like most restaurants in Lake Garda, had a retractable roof but still offered views of the lake. A nice place to relax and wait for the weather to pass.

I love how Limone is kind of built into the mountains.

Depsite being busy, it also has a very laid back feeling about it.

We picked up some homemade lemonade from one of the many lemon stalls, purchased some lemon themed souveniers and then enjoyed just sitting for a bit and watching the world go by.

We decided to pick up a bottle of local wine from a specialist store to take back to our lodge as after a tiring day, we knew we didn't fancy a night out and just wanted to chill. The staff inside this store were so lovely offering recommendations and they even gave us a free corkscrew as we weren't sure if we had one.

We were able to catch a fast ferry back to Pescheria which takes just over 2 hours. This was another lovely day in Lake Garda!

I'm pleased we visited this area of the lake but I do think I prefer the South.

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