Best Things to Do in Castelnuovo del Garda

Things to do in Castelnuovo del Garda

1. 

   01 Family

   Spend a full day at Gardaland

   • Via Derna, Ronchi, on the lakefront road between Peschiera and Lazise
   • Full day
   • €35–55 per person online; car park free, covered spaces from €5 online

   Italy’s largest theme park has been at Ronchi since 1975 and now covers big coasters (Raptor, Oblivion, Blue Tornado, Shaman), a large Fantasy Kingdom and Peppa Pig Land for small children, water rides like Jungle Rapids and Fuga da Atlantide, and a full programme of shows. In July and August it opens until late for Gardaland Night. A day is enough for the highlights; two lets you do everything at a walking pace. Dated online tickets are 20–30 percent cheaper than the gate, and the Fast Track pass is worth it on a Saturday in August.

   Buy tickets Map
2. 

   02 Family

   Add the Legoland Water Park or the SEA LIFE aquarium

   • Gardaland Resort, Ronchi
   • Half a day
   • Water park €25–35, SEA LIFE €15–20, or combined tickets

   Two extras sit inside the Gardaland Resort. The Legoland Water Park (the first in Europe) is a gentle water park aimed at children of about two to twelve, with slides, a lazy river of floating Lego bricks and a build-your-own-raft pool; it opens from late May to mid September and needs a separate or combined ticket. Gardaland SEA LIFE is a mid-sized aquarium with a walk-through tunnel and a Lake Garda tank, good for a rainy afternoon or a toddler who has had enough of queues.

   Park tickets Map
3. 

   03 Beach & lake

   Swim from the pebble beaches at Ronchi

   • Lungolago between Ronchi and Pacengo
   • 2–3 hours
   • Free

   Below the park, the Castelnuovo shoreline is a run of small pebble beaches and grassy banks between the campsites, reached from the lakefront path. They are quieter than Lazise or Peschiera because most people here are inside Gardaland, and the water is shallow and warm from June. Take shade: there are few trees on this stretch, though the campsite bars will sell you a drink even if you are not staying. See how they compare in our pick of the best Lake Garda beaches.

   Map
4. 

   04 Outdoors

   Cycle the lakefront path to Lazise and Peschiera

   • Lakefront path from Ronchi
   • 2–3 hours
   • Free; bike hire €15–25 per day

   A flat path runs along the shore in both directions from Ronchi: south past the campsites to Peschiera’s fortress (about 4 km) and north through Pacengo to the walls of Lazise (about 5 km), then on to Bardolino and Garda. It is mostly car-free, fine for children, and there are beaches and bars to stop at. From Peschiera you can carry on down the Mincio cycle path to Borghetto. Bikes are for hire at the campsites and in Peschiera for €15–25 a day.

   Map
5. 

   05 Food & wine

   Taste Custoza and Bardolino at a family winery

   • Sandrà, Cavalcaselle and Oliosi, 5–10 minutes inland
   • 2 hours
   • €10–25 per tasting

   Castelnuovo’s inland hamlets of Sandrà, Cavalcaselle and Oliosi sit right in the Custoza DOC white wine zone, with Bardolino red and Chiaretto rosé grown on the lake side of the comune. It is farming country rather than a wine-tourism strip, so tastings are relaxed, cheap (€10–25 with salumi and bread) and often led by the family. Most sell bottles at €7–12. Book by phone or email the day before. We list our favourite estates in our guide to the best Lake Garda vineyards.

   Map
6. 

   06 Sightseeing

   Climb the old town hill and see the tower

   • Castelnuovo del Garda town centre, 4 km inland from Ronchi
   • 1 hour
   • Free

   Castelnuovo proper, 4 km inland, is a small hilltop centre around Piazza degli Alpini with the medieval Torre Viscontea, the parish church and a handful of bars where the locals drink. It was fought over in the 1848 and 1866 wars of Italian unification, when the battles of Custoza were fought on the hills just east; the Ossario di Custoza memorial at Sommacampagna is a 10-minute drive if you want the history. Come for an hour in the early evening, have a drink in the piazza and see a Veronese village that tourism has largely passed by.

   Map
7. 

   07 Beach & lake

   Cool off at Caneva Aquapark or Movieland

   • Località Fossalta, Lazise, 3 km north of Gardaland
   • Full day
   • €30–40 per person per park

   Canevaworld is 3 km north at Fossalta, just over the Lazise boundary, and makes the obvious second park day. Caneva is the water park (slides, wave pool, lazy river, a toddler lagoon) and Movieland is the film-studio park with stunt shows, a log flume and a Hollywood-style street. Pick one per day. Caneva is only open from late May to mid September, while Movieland runs a longer season with Halloween weekends in October. Our best Lake Garda parks guide rates all of them.

   Map
8. 

   08 Food & wine

   Eat at an agriturismo in the vineyards

   • Sandrà, Cavalcaselle and the Custoza hills
   • 2 hours
   • €25–40 per person

   The best meals around Castelnuovo are inland, at the farm restaurants between Sandrà, Cavalcaselle and Custoza. Expect a set menu or a short list: tortellini from Valeggio, risotto with Custoza wine or tastasal (seasoned pork), grilled meats, and the house wine from the vines outside the window, for €25–40 a head. Most only open Friday to Sunday outside July and August and need a booking. Around Ronchi the lakefront restaurants are pizzerias and grills aimed at park visitors, fine for families and priced accordingly. Our best Lake Garda restaurants list covers the wider lake.

   Map
9. 

   09 Outdoors

   Take the ferry from Peschiera to Sirmione

   • Imbarcadero, Peschiera del Garda, 4 km south
   • Half a day
   • €6–15 each way

   Castelnuovo has no ferry pier of its own, but Peschiera’s is ten minutes away by bus, bike or car, and from there the Navigazione Laghi boats reach Sirmione in about 30 minutes. It is the best way to see the castle and the Grotte di Catullo without sitting in the Sirmione car queue, and the same boats go on to Desenzano, Lazise and Bardolino. Check the timetable the night before; the last return sailing can be early in shoulder season.

   Ferry timetable Map
10. 

    10 Outdoors

    Visit Parco Giardino Sigurtà and Borghetto

    • Valeggio sul Mincio, 15 km south
    • Half a day
    • Park entry €15–18 adults

    Twenty minutes south by car at Valeggio sul Mincio, Parco Giardino Sigurtà is a 60-hectare landscaped park famous for a million tulips in spring, water gardens, a hedge maze and lawns that go on for ever; hire a bike or golf cart inside to cover it. Ten minutes further, Borghetto is a hamlet of watermills on the Mincio under the Visconti bridge, with restaurants serving Valeggio’s tortellini. Together they make the best non-park day out from Castelnuovo, especially in April and May.

    Map
11. 

    11 Evening

    Watch the Gardaland fireworks from the lakefront

    • Lakefront at Ronchi
    • Evening
    • Free; drinks €4–7

    Evenings at Ronchi are family-shaped: an aperitivo at a campsite bar or on the lakefront, pizza, then a walk along the shore path as the sun goes down behind the western hills. On Gardaland Night dates in July and August the park closes with a fireworks and light show that you can see for free from the beaches below. For proper bars and late nights, Lazise’s harbour is 10 minutes north and Desenzano is 20 minutes west; our pick of the best Lake Garda bars has the details.

    Map

Castelnuovo del Garda in pictures