Lake Garda, Italy’s largest lake at 52km from top to bottom, is shared between three different regions: Veneto on the eastern shore, Lombardy to the west and Trentino at the northern tip.
Each area has its own rich history, typical cuisines – including the freshwater fish increasingly present on menus – and winemaking traditions. The lake’s many and varied wines are found everywhere.
Garda has none of the soporific atmosphere of some lakes; instead there’s an energetic vibe in the numerous historic waterside towns and villages, many of which are linked by lakeside foot and cycle paths.
See below for our expert’s insider guide on where to eat and drink around Lake Garda
The clear waters invite refreshing swims and are popular for windsurfing, kitesurfing and other watersports, especially towards the north, thanks to regular winds: the Péler, which blows from the northern mountains during the morning, and the afternoon Ora from the south.
The winds also help keep vineyards in the nearby regions healthy, while the mild climate is fundamental for Lake Garda’s excellent olive oil and exotic vegetation.
Lakeside attractions
The lake’s efficient ferry service makes it easy to explore from the water, calling at many points around the shores.
Sit back and watch the scenery change, from the wide open landscapes of the south, passing places like Sirmione, with its ancient Roman villa ruins at the end of a narrow peninsula, to Bardolino on the eastern side, where the annual wine festival celebrated its 94th edition this October (2-6), and the Punta San Vigilio headland.
Cross west to the secluded Salò inlet then northwards where the lake narrows and the scenery rises in a surging crescendo to mountain backdrops. Monte Baldo (2,218m) on the northeastern shore is linked by cable car down to Malcesine, which features one of the lake’s striking waterside castles.
On the opposite side of the water is pretty Limone, where there are historic lemon houses (the town has been known for its lemon cultivation since the early 18th century) and sheer rocky cliffs skirted by a spectacular cycle path over the water’s edge.
To the north, Riva del Garda and Torbole are home to numerous watersports centres and to traditional Trentino cuisine that is celebrated with a month-long autumn festival of food-themed events. This year’s ‘Mese del Gusto’ festival runs from late September through to the first week of November.
For more information on things to do and places to be around Lake Garda, visitgarda.com is the region’s official tourism website
Where to eat and drink around Lake Garda
Madonna delle Vittorie.
While everything tastes good with a lake view, sometimes the most authentic flavours are found away from the waterside. Lake Garda has a thriving restaurant scene, from fine-dining spots to simple wine bars and trattorias.
OsteRiva, Riva del Garda
From the message on the window alerting potential diners to the fact that no pizza, lasagne or mussels are served, it’s clear that the Torboli family, who run this appealing place in central Riva, are committed to authenticity.
The menu includes Trentino regional specialities such as canederli dumplings with crunchy speck, as well as venison and freshwater fish. Try the homemade whitefish ravioli with smoked tench, fried lake sardines with polenta, or grilled rainbow trout.
The wine list is impressive here, too, focusing on the region and the Lake Garda area, with a selection of old vintages and wines made from rare, ancient varieties from pre-phylloxera vines.
OsteRiva.
Madonna delle Vittorie, Arco
An award-winning wine and olive oil estate with a farmhouse restaurant that’s easy to reach on foot or bicycle from Torbole and Riva del Garda along the Sarca river path.
Signs lead to the winery, olive mill and restaurant, where dishes include lake fish, carne salada and homemade tagliatelle with ragout. The meat dishes are made with the estate’s own beef.
This is in the Trentino region, so the wines, which are an ingredient in some dishes, include Teroldego (red), Nosiola (white) and Trentodoc spumante (try the driest dosaggio zero version). Finish with a lemon and olive oil gelato or grappa sorbet.
Vineria Rèfol, Torbole
A friendly wine bar on a pretty piazzetta opposite the water, just a short stroll from the ferry stop at Torbole on Garda’s northern shore.
There’s a laid-back vibe and cool soundtrack, with a small interior and outside tables backed by lush wisteria, with bougainvillea next door.
The selection of wines is perpetually evolving and although the majority are from the lake or the wider Trentino-Alto Adige region, there are bottles from Sardinia and elsewhere, too, which are sure to satisfy the curiosity of the locals who like to drop in for a glass on the way home from work. See the Vineria Rèfol Facebook page.
Vineria Rèfol.
Vecchia Malcesine, Malcesine
Chef Leandro Luppi inaugurated his one-star Michelin restaurant in this panoramic spot in 1998 and has never lost his love for colour and spontaneity – characteristics that shine through in his creations.
The menus change regularly, but classics include lake fish carbonara, and trout with white chocolate and horseradish. Wine pairings are sometimes bold and never banal (the marinated cucumber with sake is memorable), and from the wild herb bouquet starter to the beetroot gelato with liquorice and lemon for dessert, every meal is full of surprises.
The atmosphere is welcoming and Luppi, whose cat strolls freely, lives upstairs. The playlist of laid-back ’70s to ’90s classics is the chef’s own.
Il Cicheto (left), and Leandro Luppi of Vecchia Malcesine (right). Photo credit: Sarah Lane.
Il Cicheto, Garda
Join the locals at the Coltro family’s small and simple wine bar just beyond the souvenir shops in central Garda. Order a glass of Garganega or Custoza, Trentodoc or Bardolino Chiaretto, and pair it with your pick of the day’s freshly prepared cicchetti snacks.
Self-defined as an ittiturismo (a fish-themed version of an agriturismo), this is a place where you can enjoy fish both sea- and lake-sourced, with tempting bites such as fried perch fillets, mussels, whitefish, tuna balls, sardines and smelt, although mini-panini with cold cuts are available, too.
The atmosphere is pure Veneto, so take a stool inside or out and relax as the regulars banter. See the Il Cicheto Facebook page.
Munus, Bardolino
The location is the charming Borgo Bardolino, a walled public-access park converted by the Guerrieri-Rizzardi wine-producing family, on the site of their former winery, as a precinct for shops and restaurants.
Opt for dinner at Munus restaurant for an attractive farmhouse setting with dishes such as burrata-filled ravioli with Valpolicella Ripasso reduction and speck, or a lake fish version of Parmigiana with char in addition to the usual aubergine and cheese.
The good range of vegetarian dishes includes fresh pasta with spinach and local truffle. While the Guerrieri-Rizzardi family doesn’t run the restaurant, its labels do feature on the wine list.
Munus.
Tenuta Canova, Lazise
With its ‘wine first’ philosophy, this informal estate eatery 4km from charming Lazise features a menu that includes suggested pairings.
Some recipes incorporate the wines, too, such as the delicious risotto made with Amarone and Monte Veronese cheese. Starters include Venetian-style cicchetti bites, while grape-must gelato is among the desserts. It’s a peaceful spot, with a contemporary interior and outside tables surrounded by greenery.
Don’t miss the multimedia wine museum also here. This is part of the Masi group run by the Boscaini family, famous for Amarone; its Valpolicella winery is a 20-minute drive away.
Tenuta Canova. Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi.
Osteria Rivelin, Peschiera del Garda
A wine list that focuses on labels from the Lake Garda area and a menu incorporating ingredients protected through Slow Food’s Presidia preservation scheme, such as Monte Veronese cheese, make this welcoming little restaurant within the historic town walls of Peschiera a must.
Run by Andrea Girlanda, it makes gnocchi fresh daily (try them with lake fish ragout) while other typical dishes include baked tench al saor (think escabeche).
Before dinner, check out the Girlanda family’s La Vecia Bottega deli/wine bar a five-minute stroll away – run by Girlanda’s sommelier sister Michela – for an aperitivo with a taste of local cheese or charcuterie.
Andrea and Michela Girlanda at La Vecia Botega, the sister deli / wine bar of Osteria Rivelin. Photo credit: Sarah Lane.
Trattoria La Fiasca, Sirmione
Stunning Sirmione is a narrow peninsula at the heart of Lake Garda’s southern shore. It can get busy, but a peaceful mealtime is guaranteed at this traditional trattoria in the centre.
Two simple dining rooms on opposite sides of the lane leading to the Santa Maria Maggiore church are a haven for enjoying lake fish dishes such as spaghetti with smoked pike or red tagliolini pasta with perch.
The wine list is excellent, with lots of local labels including a hard-to-find white, San Martino della Battaglia DOC, made with the Friulano grape known locally as Tuchì.
Trattoria la Fiasca.
Banco Salumi, Salò
At Salò, which sits around a secluded bay on the lake’s western shore, this modest looking deli run by Rocco Arici and wife Monica is the locals’ choice for a tasty lunch.
Alongside daily specials such as meatloaf or frittata, platters and panini are available all day. Specialities include truffle-infused Formagella from Tremosine sul Garda, mature goat’s cheeses and Bagòss, a strong-flavoured Slow Food Presidium cow’s milk cheese made with saffron.
The selection of wines includes a refreshing own-label Turbiana white and there’s a range of drinks from Tassoni, the historic Salò-based producer of the citron drink cedrata; try it as a spritz. See the Banco Salumi Facebook page.
Mapping the wines of Lake Garda
Image credit: JP Map Graphics Ltd. (NB: This is a cropped version of the original map in Decanter magazine’s October 2025 Italy supplement).
The huge variety of wines made around Lake Garda creates a mosaic of styles and colours, from any-time sparklers through to youthful and ageworthy whites, rosés and reds, to luscious passitos.
Beginning at the lake’s northernmost point and working around roughly clockwise…
Trento DOC
From the Trentino region, lying to the north and northwest of the top end of the lake, Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio and Meunier are the grapes grown for Trentodoc, a traditional-method spumante that spends a minimum of 15 months on the lees (or 36 months for Riserva).
Vino Santo del Trentino DOC
Sweet wines produced in the region from the top of Lake Garda northwest into Trentino towards Vezzano, near Trento. After several months of appassimento (drying) on racks, Nosiola grapes produce wine that ferments in oak, often ageing for 10 years. The style features among the Slow Food Foundation’s protected Presidia categories.
Bardolino DOC
These light, fruit-forward red and chiaretto rosé wines from Lake Garda’s southeast are made with a Corvina-Rondinella-based blend.
Valpolicella DOC & Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG
Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella vines, largely pergola-trained, grow just east of Lake Garda for Valpolicella’s celebrated reds, including rich ripasso and intense Amarone.
Custoza DOC
Situated just to the south of Lake Garda and west of the city of Verona, Custoza DOC produces delicate white blends with a savoury character made with Garganega, Trebbianello, Trebbiano and Bianca Fernanda (a local Cortese clone) in still, spumante and sweet passito versions.
The tower of San Martino della Battaglia near San Martino, with the southern end of Lake Garda in the distance. Photo credit: Eyes Travelling / Shutterstock.
Lugana DOC
The Turbiana grape is the protagonist of this historic wine area, which cradles the lake’s south-southwestern shores, for some of Italy’s favourite cellarable whites. The bulk of the DOC is in Lombardy, but its top northeastern corner lies over the border in the Veneto region. Also try the sparkling and late-harvest versions.
Garda DOC
Covering a vast territory stretching across 10 denomination areas, Garda DOC encompasses various styles but the focus is on spumante, especially made with white Garganega, plus Corvina for rosé bubbles.
Riviera del Garda Classico DOC Valtènesi Chiaretto
While various wine styles are made in this area west of the lake in Lombardy, it’s the fresh chiaretto rosés, predominantly made with Groppello grapes, that take centre stage.
San Martino della Battaglia DOC
A lesser-known denomination on the southern side of Lake Garda, producing rounded whites made with the Tuchì grape, known elsewhere as Friulano. The San Martino della Battaglia tower merits a visit.
Sarah Lane is an AIES certified sommelier who specialises in wine and food travel. She lives near Bologna and leads private tours around Emilia Romagna, as well as writing on the subject for various guides and publications.
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