Sirmione Weekend Escape
- Irene
- Jun 26, 2024
- 4 min read
Sirnione can be the perfect place for a relaxing weekend escape. This thermal town located in a thin peninsula that comes out into Lake Garda with a beautiful castle and a charming old town to walk around is the perfect destination for a couple days of tranquillity.
How to get there: To get to Sirmeone you can fly into Verona or to Milan Bergamo and then drive either 45 min or 1 hr respectively. You are going to need a car as there is not an easy way to get here by public transport. The drive is easy and straight forward.
Where to stay: it is fundamental that you stay as close as possible to the town centre but before the castle. The reason for this is that once you pass the castle into the old town the streets are extremely narrow and there is lots of people walking around so trying to get there by car is just going to be a nightmare. I would recommend to book a hotel with private parking, as parking in Sirmione is really complicated, also is better to select a hotel with lake access and swimming pool – the lake water can be really cold so better to have the swimming pool option. The following hotels are perfectly located and have all the requisites :
Hotel Vinci SIrmione (4*)
Hotel Fonte Boiola (3*)
Grand Hotel Terme (5*)
Best time to go: probably June and September. We went at the end of May and out of 3 days, 2 days we had really nice weather but the other was a bit cloudy and cold so better June and September when it gets hotter. July and August are high season and I would not recommend to go then. In May it was really busy already and sometimes a bit overwhelming so I can only imagine how crowded it gets during peak summertime.
Day 1: Castle old town and wine
The point of this weekend is to relax but there are also a few things you can do while in Sirmione that you will definitely enjoy.
You can start the day by going to a wine tasting a vineyard tour. Just 10 min drive from Sirmione Castle, you will find Santa Maria di Lugana, famous for the vineyards that produce the Lugana wine. There are few options in the area but we chose “Corte Anna” vineyard and couldn’t be happier with the experience. They give us a 30 min tour of vineyard and then we enjoyed the tasting of 4 of theirs wines (3 whites and 1 red) accompany by the local salami and cheeses. Wine was excellent and the personnel very attentive.
After this you can go back to Sirmione to explore the Castle and City centre.
The Scaligero Castle of Sirmione is a fortification built after the middle of the fourteenth century on the waters of the lake by the Veronese Della Scala family, from whom it takes its name “Rocca Scaligera”. It was used as a defensive post for the entire territory of Verona and its surroundings, over which the Della Scala family ruled between 1259 and 1387.
The Grottoes of Catullus are the remains of a Roman villa built between the 1st century BC and the 2nd century AD. According to unfounded local popular belief, it was once the residence of the poet Gaius Valerius Catullus, hence its name.
Walk around the old town which is full of picturesque streets and shops.
Once you are done exploring, you can get back to the hotel to relax by the swimming pool and the lake. In Sirmione there are 2 well known beaches “Lido delle Bionde Beach” and “Jamaica Beach” but in my view these are not worth visiting, it is easier and nicer just access to the swim in the lake from the access that the hotels have set up.
Another very popular activity to do in Sirmione is to go to one of the two thermal baths “Terme Virgilio in Colombare” and “Terme Catullo” but it is worth noticing that some of the hotels have thermal spas as well (such us Hotel Fonte Boiola Grand Hotel Terme).
For dinner you can go to “L'Arcimboldo Ristorante” a lovely Italian restaurant overlooking the lake. I would recommend to book in advance to ensure you get a table outside in the garden by the lake. Note that they don’t take bookings on Sundays and bank holidays.
After dinner if you fancy a drink go to “Bar la Torre”, incredible location and super nice staff.
Day 2: Boat trip
On your second day there are few boat trips that you can take. Obviously is important to note that the weather has to be nice for this to take place.
There are 3 types of boats you can take:
The most popular one and affordable is the boat tour around Sirmione peninsula. Which takes 25min and the cost is 12 €.
Cruise to Isola del Garda – which takes 3h30m and the cost is 43 €. During this tour you will disembark on Garda Island for 2-hours to discover the lake's main attraction, visiting its interior and exterior.
Another option is to take one on the ferries that connects the lakeside towns. These work on a way like “buses” so you can get on and off in different towns for a relatively cheap price.
Once you finish the boat activity, you can go for lunch to “Barracuda” which is located in a beautiful the spot right on the shore. They have different menus depending on the area that you are at, for example more formal lunch at the garden, relax tapas and sandwiches by the bar and casual dishes right by the lake front.
Again, the afternoon can be spent relaxing by the lake.
For dinner you can go to “Il Girasole”.
If you have more than 2/3 days there are other interesting activities that you can do in the area:
Visit Malcesine and take the Cable car from Malcesine to Monte Baldo – one of the highest peaks on lake garda. If you are going by car, you can park at Parcheggio Paina parking.
Santuario Madonna della Corona – one hour drive from Sirmione. Once here, you can walk to the church (a steep downhill walk that takes about 20 min, followed by a steep uphill walk back to the car) or ride one of the shuttle buses that runs from Spiazzi to the church. The entire visit takes 3 to 4 hours including driving time.
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