The West shore is said to have some of the prettiest villages and most dramatic scenery, it also has the easier (but probably less interesting) road to the North than the East shore does.
SALO
This town is sited on a narrow strip of bay at the foot of Monte San Bartolomeo and have an impressive and elegant promenade an an ordinary small town feel (less touristy!)
Piazza della Vittoria with a stylish Sunday market ( no cheap tat here!)
This commemorative bust is dedicated to Gasparo da Salo, inventor of the violin, born here in 1540 (bet you never knew that!)
How about this for a lakeside retreat, complete with personal harbour….
GARDONE RIVIERA
Once the most fashionable of Lake Garda’s resorts there is still a lot of evidence of it’s rizty past….
The opulent Grand Hotel, opened in 1884, boasts many famous guests including Sir Winston Churchill and was used as a surgical hospital during hostilities between 1943 and 1945.
The Grand Hotel Fasano, originally a hunting lodge for the Austrian Imperial family became a hotel around 1900…. and was also used as a military hospital in WW2
The Neo Classical Villa Alba, built in the early 19th century was used by German forces during the second world war as a communication centre….
GARGNANO
A quaint little village sealed off by the lake to the East and the mountains to the West….
The village is centred around a small harbour packed full of small boats and sailing yachts….
looking back the other way….
Yet again Grahame had to ‘test’ the local ice cream. In this case, Pistachio……. clearly he is beginning to overdose judging by the way it is affecting his balance!
After Gargnano, the road hugs the shore and is regularly punctuated by tunnels (at times low and narrow!)
We finished our day in Riva del Garda and parked up in the local Sosta ready for the next leg tomorrow….
Wonderful Neo-Classical villas etc. Mumski xxxxxxxx
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