What to see in a day in Peschiera del Garda, among the massive ramparts, historic buildings and bridges over the canals

Canals and bridges, beautiful churches and historic buildings, fortifications and small piers where boats stop. Here’s what to see in a day in Peschiera del Garda, a lakeside village, unique of its kind, overlooking the southernmost shore of Lake Garda, in an area sheltered from the winds on the banks of the Benaco and the Mincio river.

This town is located a few kilometers from Verona but can also be easily reached from Milan, not only by car but also by train, with a journey that takes just over an hour. For those coming from these areas it is therefore a perfect destination for a small trip out of town, even for just one day.

Peschiera Del Garda

What to see in Peschiera del Garda

Thanks to the beauty of the lake it overlooks and the surrounding area, with some of the most famous amusement parks in Italy such as Gardaland, the village attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists every year from all over Italy and beyond.

Here’s what to see in this lakeside village if you only have one day available.

Walking tour of the historic center
If you arrive in the Peschiera del Garda area for the first time and you don’t know what to see, before venturing into the natural beauty of the surroundings, you absolutely cannot miss the beautiful historic center of the town. We advise you to do it exclusively in piendi in order to fully enjoy every corner of the center, with its colors and lights.

In fact, among the alleys of its ramparts, you will find a myriad of shops and restaurants, as well as beautiful historic buildings, squares, churches and impressive military structures.

The Fortress of Peschiera del Garda, or Rocca, is a small architectural jewel, enclosed in an imposing pentagonal wall, dating back to the sixteenth century, with beautiful ramparts and imposing access doors.

All around the Mincio river, an emissary of Garda, whose natural path has been modified by the construction of the fortification, with the definition of three branches exiting the lake which then meet south of the town.

One of the most evocative areas of the town is that of the pedestrian bridge, which crosses the external canal of the fortress. The Porta Brescia, the western entrance to the ancient fortress, is also very interesting.

Just above Porta Brescia, an ancient patrol walkway connects the Tognon and Feltrin ramparts: don’t miss it, because walking along it will allow you to admire the entire fortress from above, discovering views that otherwise you would not be able to appreciate.

Once inside the fortress, keeping to the left along the walls, you arrive at the Bastione Tognon and Piazza Betteloni, right on the small harbor from which the boats depart for trips on the lake and to reach the other villages.

Continuing north you arrive at the Querini Bastion. In front of it, in the clearing beyond the canal, there is the old Command Building of the Piazzaforte, or the Presidio, more commonly known as the Historic Building. It is here that, after the defeat of Caporetto, the glorious resistance on the Piave river was organized. Inside, the room where, on November 8, 1917, King Vittorio Emanuele III and his allies met for the historic Peschiera Convention, has remained intact ever since. The beautiful Parco Catullo surrounds the neoclassical building, which is also the seat of the Military Museum.

Peschiera Del Garda
Just outside Porta Verona is the San Marco Bastion and, right there in front, you cannot miss a visit to the Artillery Barracks, open to the public after a meticulous restoration. The great arsenal, built between 1854 and 1857 by Radetzky in the stronghold of Peschiera., Is home to the Historical Archive and the Civic Library, with spaces for consultation and reading, and also hosts theatrical and musical performances and spaces for exhibitions, reviews and exhibitions.

Continuing the walk south of Peschiera del Garda, to return towards Porta Brescia, we arrive at the vast Piazza Ferdinando di Savoia, better known as Piazza d’Armi, near the Cantarane Bastion. Overlooking the square, the long building of the military prison and the parish church of San Martino, right near where the remains of the Roman settlement were found, probably built towards the end of the first century BC.

Arriving in Piazza D’Armi, it is certainly worth lingering for a relaxing walk on the sixteenth-century Ponte dei Voltoni, with its beautiful terracotta arches, overlooking the Canale di Mezzo, where the boats of the fishermen of Peschiera del Garda stop in order.

From the bridge you can also admire the islet, with its luxuriant vegetation, beyond which the waters of the lake pour into the river. No less pleasant is the walk outside the walls, from where you can admire the suggestive play of water, lights and colors that surrounds the city, between the banks of the river and the ramparts.

What to do in Peschiera del Garda: boat trip and stop on the beach

After the walking tour of the historic center, always within the perimeter of the ancient fortress, from Piazza Betteloni, the boats leave for trips on Lake Garda. From the port it is also possible to embark to visit other beautiful places to visit near Peschiera, such as Riva, Desenzano, Sirmione, Salò and the small and romantic village of Lazise.

Being a village overlooking the lake, Peschiera del Garda also has beautiful and characteristic beaches that deserve a little relaxing stop. The Cappuccini beach is a welcoming grassy area at the end of via Risorgimento while, if you stroll around with a four-legged friend, there is the Braccobaldo Bau Beach.

Events in Peschiera del Garda

If you want to make your one-day itinerary in the village on Lake Garda coincide with one of the events scheduled for the year, you must keep the calendar monitored. On the third weekend of May the Ponte dell’Arte kicks off, an event with works by painters and sculptors. In July, however, the Festival of Musical Bands takes place while in August there is the feast of San Benedetto with fireworks from the Voltoni Bridge.

Bike Tours Peschiera