Day trip to Malcesine plus more views of Lake Garda

Hi,

I promised you some more about our holiday, we only took one trip over to the other side of Lake Garda to Malcesine. It takes about 20 Min's by boat from Limone.

We saw these statues as we walked into the centre of Malcesine, the boat docked in the Porto Vecchio which had great views of the lake and quite footpath to walk along the shoreline and a short walk into the centre. This was a family of swans and babies that we saw in one of the squares in the town, unfortunately I thought I had more pictures but I think the rest must be on the videos which I have not looked at yet. Having coming home and going straight into hospital, I have got behind with sorting out all videos.
Malcesine is a pretty small town on the eastern shore of the Lake. It's a picturesque tourist resort with cobbled lanes and the castle, crammed between the blue lake waters and the massive mountain ridge behind, Monte Baldo. In the summer months Malcesine is packed with tourists. Malcesine would make a good base for sightseeing with the cable car running up to Monte Baldo which is a magnet for cyclists, walkers and para gliders. We sat one evening watching the para gliders come all the way down the mountainside to the lakeside from the hotel terrace, the air was still and view clear, in fact you can see the castle of Malcesine from Limone.
Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy, and Malcesine lies towards the narrow and mountainous northern end, and is on the main lakeside road connecting it with the other towns on that side of the lake, there is also bus service connecting it with Garda and beyond. The town is situated at the edge of the Veneto region, in the province of Verona. 'Malcesine' is a good exercise in Italian pronunciation: the name is pronounced approximately MalCHESinay.

The town is a lovely place to stroll for an hour or so, with picturesque medieval lanes winding up the slope from the lake. There are pretty little squares, cafes and restaurants, and shops selling designer handbags, shoes, and clothes.

Malcesine's most striking feature coming over Lake Garda is the historic castle, the Castello Scaligero. The castle takes its name from the della Scala family, who owned it and made alterations in the 13th and 14th centuries; the castle was used, restored and adapted for military purposes until the 19th century. Nowadays the castle is also used as wedding venue. The battlement fortress is open to the public as a museum, called the Museo Castello Scaligero.
There is a cable car to Monte Baldo we did not do this but it has great views of the Lake Garda from Monte Baldo it climbs from 100m to 1760m, it would be a great excursion, particularly on a hot day, as temperatures are lower and the breeze cooler than by the lake below. In winter this is a base for mountain sports. After the snows have melted, energetic walkers and mountain bikers take over. We were told the cable cars get busy so you should be prepared for queues. 45-people capacity cars run up to a half-way station called San Michele. The cars which continue the journey up to Monte Baldo take 70 people and are slower rotation so all can enjoy the views over Lake Garda and up to the mountain.
This is some views of the Lake on our way home to the airport

I hope you have enjoyed this next piece Lake Garda is a great place for a holiday, and of course the Italian food, local wine, where you go around this area of Italy you will see rows and rows of vineyards, even ordinary homes have a few grapevines in the gardens, wine is one of the exports of the region. I would recommend Lake Garda for a holiday to anyone young or old. I have something to left to post which I will do in a few days.

Until we meet again take care

Hugs

Margaret