Lazise, Lake Garda, Italy

Lazise

We were supposed to spend the weekend at Elba. That was until Hub remembered that he was in charge of the Podio - an important event that takes place every 2 years in Ferrari. He has been working overtime (if he were paid by the hour we would have been rich this month) and couldn't take Friday off anyway.

Medieval San Niccolò church with frescoes dating from the 12th century

One of the streets leading to the port

We decided to make a day trip to Lake Garda - the largest lake in Italy - in the Veneto region instead. After consulting a few friends, we drove to Lazise and spent the day there. It's about 1.5 hours' drive away and was fortunately still not too busy in early July.

There were many German and Dutch tourists when we were there. It probably explains why the town is so clean and tidy. We found an outdoor parking just outside the old city and port for a reasonable price and visited Lazise on foot.

Lazise is really pretty, its old town surrounded by old fortified walls. Most buildings have been beautifully restored and the grounds were nicely paved. There were boutiques and restaurants everywhere and signs were often written in German as well as in Italian.

The marina

Baby Boy wearing MIL's sunglasses

The beach

The port has a nice large promenade, but the "beach" was tiny and crowded with sunbathers and swimmers. We looked for a restaurant to lunch in and was about to go for one of the touristy ones facing the lake when we noticed a quiet place just opposite the marina. It was called "Il Porticciolo" and contained simple pasta, risotto and grilled fish dishes in its menu. None of the ubiquitous seafood pasta and breaded veal, but alot of lake fish and prawns. A good sign.

Il Porticciolo

Maccheroni al ragu di pesce di lago

Grilled Seabass

We have made a good choice. It was actually quite chic but simple and served pretty good food, providing even a cold vegetable and fish buffet. I had Pasta with Lake Fish Ragu to start followed by Grilled Seabass. The white Lugano wine that accompanied our meal was nice and fruity.

Ferry to other towns along the lake

View of Lazise from the ferry

On our way back much later in the day, we bought a few bottles from a little wine shop that was quite well-stocked. And all throughout the day we kept buying gelato from this gelateria opposite the old church St Nicolò - they had good ice cream and lots of flavours. It's called Cremeria di Lazise (via Fontana).

Part of the old fortified walls

Ristorante Il Porticciolo

Lungolago Marconi 22

37017 Lazise (VR)

Tel : 045 7580254