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Family & Days Out · Lake Garda

Best Lake Garda Attractions in 2027

Ten Lake Garda attractions worth your time and money, from Gardaland and the Monte Baldo cable car to castles and Roman ruins.

Lake Garda's headline attractions are spread around all four shores, which is why it pays to choose before you go. The south has the theme parks and the Roman and medieval sights of Sirmione. The east has the cable car that lifts you from the lakefront at Malcesine to 1,760 metres on Monte Baldo. The west has a poet's hillside estate and a private island you can only visit with a guide, and the north has a waterfall inside a gorge. This list mixes all of them. If rides and slides are what you are after, our guide to the best Lake Garda parks goes deeper on theme parks, water parks and gardens.

The ranking is our judgement of what you get for the time, money and travel each one asks of you. Every price, opening time and season below was checked against the operator's own website in October 2026, and nobody pays to be listed. Where an operator has not yet published 2027 dates or prices we say so instead of guessing, so treat 2026 figures as a guide and confirm before you travel.

At a glance

  1. 1 Gardaland Best overall day out 96
  2. 2 Monte Baldo cable car Best view of the lake 95
  3. 3 Scaliger Castle, Sirmione Best castle 93

Some booking links on this page are affiliate links: if you book through one we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what we recommend or the order of the list. How we choose

  1. Our top pick

    Best overall day out

    #1 Gardaland

    Italy’s best-known theme park sits beside the lake road at Castelnuovo del Garda, between Peschiera and Lazise. The operator counts more than 40 attractions, from the Peppa Pig Land rides for small children to the Raptor, Oblivion and Blue Tornado coasters, which all need riders to be at least 140 cm tall. The SEA LIFE aquarium is a short walk from the gate and three themed hotels sit on the same site.

    Buying online matters here. In October 2026 a dated one-day ticket was on sale online from €44 while the walk-up price started at €59. Children under 90 cm go in free. The 2026 season ran from 28 March to 1 November, followed by Magic Winter on selected days from 5 December to 6 January 2027. Uncovered parking is currently free, and a free shuttle links the park with Peschiera del Garda station every 30 minutes on opening days.

    Our full Gardaland guide covers tickets, the calendar, height limits and the hotels.

    What we love

    • More than 40 attractions plus SEA LIFE next door
    • Online tickets from €44 against €59 at the gate (October 2026)
    • Free shuttle from Peschiera del Garda station
    • Free uncovered parking
    • Under 90 cm free
    Read our full review Buy tickets Website Map

  2. Best view of the lake

    #2 Monte Baldo cable car

    • Malcesine · Malcesine, Via Navene Vecchia 12, five minutes on foot from the castle
    • €€€€

    The Funivia Malcesine–Monte Baldo climbs from the edge of Malcesine’s old town to Tratto Spino at 1,760 metres in about 20 minutes, with a change at San Michele. The upper cabin holds up to 75 people and rotates as it climbs, so everyone gets the view of the lake dropping away beneath. At the top there are ridge walks, mountain restaurants, a paragliding launch about a kilometre from the station and, in winter, a small ski area that depends on natural snow.

    An adult return costs €30 at the ticket office or €28 online, and children under 1.20 m travel free. In the 2026 summer season, 4 April to 1 November, cabins left at least every 30 minutes from 8:30, with an extra first run at 8:15. The line closes for maintenance in March and in November until mid-December.

    Prices, timetable and what to do at the top are in our Lake Garda cable car guide, and the town below is covered in things to do in Malcesine.

    What we love

    • Lakefront to 1,760 m in about 20 minutes
    • Rotating upper cabin
    • Adult return €30, or €28 online
    • Ridge walks and restaurants at the top
    • Under 1.20 m free
    Read our full review Book tickets Website Map

  3. Best castle

    #3 Scaliger Castle, Sirmione

    • Sirmione · Sirmione, Piazza Castello, at the gate to the old town
    • €€€€

    The moated castle at the entrance to Sirmione’s old town was built by the Della Scala lords of Verona in the second half of the fourteenth century, and it is one of the best preserved lake fortresses in Italy. You cross the old drawbridge, walk the battlements around the main courtyard and climb the 37-metre keep for a view over the lake. The fortified harbour that once sheltered the fleet still holds lake water, though it is only open on guided visits.

    The state museums authority lists a full ticket at €10, with opening from 8:30 to 19:15 Tuesday to Sunday and the castle closed on Mondays. A combined ticket at €20 is valid for seven days and adds the Grotte di Catullo and the Roman villa in Desenzano. Our guide to things to do in Sirmione has the parking and ferry practicalities, which matter more here than anywhere else on the lake.

    What we love

    • Fourteenth-century moated fortress
    • 37 m keep with a view over the lake
    • Full ticket €10, combined ticket €20
    • Closed on Mondays
    Opening times and tickets Website Map

  4. Best for a rainy or slow day

    #4 Vittoriale degli Italiani

    • Gardone Riviera · Gardone Riviera, on the hill above the lakefront
    • €€€€

    The hillside estate that the poet Gabriele d’Annunzio built for himself above Gardone Riviera is the strangest and most rewarding house museum on the lake. The monumental park covers 10 hectares and holds several small museums, an open-air amphitheatre, a torpedo boat and the bow of a warship set into the slope. The house itself is called the Prioria.

    The park and its museums can be visited freely during opening hours and the park ticket is valid all day, so you can leave for lunch and come back. The Prioria is different: it is visited only on a guided tour of about 35 minutes in groups of ten, at a fixed time printed on the ticket, and places are limited. The foundation recommends buying those tickets online in advance. Current prices are on its booking site. Pair it with the Heller Garden using our guide to things to do in Gardone Riviera.

    What we love

    • 10-hectare park with museums and a warship bow
    • The poet's house, seen on a guided tour
    • Park ticket valid all day
    • House tour in groups of ten, about 35 minutes
    Prices and booking Website Map

  5. Best for history

    #5 Grotte di Catullo

    • Sirmione · Sirmione, Piazzale Orti Manara, at the tip of the peninsula
    • €€€€

    At the very tip of the Sirmione peninsula are the remains of a Roman villa from the age of Augustus that covered about two hectares. The name is misleading twice over: fifteenth-century travellers mistook the overgrown ruins for caves, and the villa was built after the poet Catullus died. What survives is the huge substructure, a long cryptoportico, an olive grove of around 1,500 trees and a small museum with frescoes and mosaics found on site.

    The full ticket is €10 and payment is by card only. The listed hours are 8:30 to 19:30 from Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00 to 19:30 on Sunday and 9:00 to 13:00 on Monday, with last entry 40 minutes before closing. The shortest route takes about 40 minutes; allow more to wander. The swimming rocks below the ruins are in our guide to the best Lake Garda beaches.

    What we love

    • Roman villa covering about two hectares
    • Olive grove of around 1,500 trees
    • Full ticket €10, card payment only
    • Monday mornings only
    Opening times and tickets Website Map

  6. Best guided visit

    #6 Isola del Garda

    The lake’s largest island lies off San Felice del Benaco and is still the private home of the Borghese Cavazza family. You cannot land on your own: the only way in is the family’s guided visit, which includes the return boat from one of more than a dozen ports around the lake, a guided tour in Italian, English or German, and a welcome drink with local wine and a taste of olive oil.

    In 2026 visits ran from 29 March to the end of October, with no visits on Saturdays or Mondays, and adult prices were €39 to €49 depending on the departure port. The nearest ports, including Salò, Gardone Riviera, Portese and Manerba, are the cheapest. The visit itself lasts about two and a quarter to two and a half hours, not counting the crossing, and booking is compulsory. Our guide to San Felice del Benaco covers the closest shore.

    What we love

    • Private island visited only with a guide
    • Boat, tour and welcome drink included
    • Adults €39 to €49 by departure port (2026)
    • Booking compulsory, no Saturday or Monday visits
    Book a visit Website Map

  7. Best on a hot day

    #7 Cascata del Varone

    • Tenno · Tenno, on the road above Riva del Garda
    • €€€€

    Just above Riva del Garda, a waterfall drops through a narrow gorge inside the mountain, and walkways first laid out in 1874 let you stand in the spray at two levels. The Lower Cave shows the last plunge; the Upper Cave, 40 metres higher, shows the full force of it. The paths between them run through a small private nature park.

    It is a short visit, and a cheap one. Tickets are €7 per person, with family tickets from €19 for two adults and a child, and are sold only at the entrance. The site is open all year except 25 December, from 9:00 to 19:00 between May and August and for shorter hours in the other months. Take a waterproof and shoes with grip, because you will get wet and the gorge is cold. There is a picnic area by the entrance. See things to do in Riva del Garda for the rest of the day.

    What we love

    • Waterfall inside a gorge, seen from two levels
    • Tickets €7, family tickets from €19
    • Open all year except 25 December
    • Picnic area and bar at the entrance
    Plan a visit Website Map

  8. Best castle on the east shore

    #8 Scaliger Castle, Malcesine

    • Malcesine · Malcesine, on the rock above the old harbour
    • €€€€

    Malcesine’s castle stands on a rock directly above the water, with the old town’s lanes wrapped around its base. It is smaller than Sirmione’s and feels more lived in: the rooms hold a natural history museum of the lake and Monte Baldo and a room dedicated to Goethe, who sketched the castle on his Italian journey, and the tower looks straight up the northern lake.

    The cable car operator puts the castle five minutes on foot from the Monte Baldo valley station, so the two make a natural day: mountain in the morning, castle and a swim in the afternoon. We could not confirm the 2027 ticket price or winter opening from an official source, so check locally before you go. Our guide to things to do in Malcesine has the rest of the town.

    What we love

    • Castle on a rock above the water
    • Natural history museum and Goethe room
    • Tower view over the northern lake
    • Five minutes from the cable car station
    Map

  9. Best for under-tens in summer

    #9 LEGOLAND Water Park Gardaland

    The water park inside Gardaland is built for families with young children: a slow river you float down on a raft you customise with bricks, a DUPLO splash area for toddlers, slides that are fun without being frightening and a Miniland of Italian monuments made from more than four million bricks.

    The catch is how you get in. There is no separate ticket. Entry is only with a combined Gardaland Park and water park ticket, or by paying a supplement on any park ticket at the ticket offices or inside the park. It is also a summer-only attraction, and the 2026 season had finished by early October. Children under 14 must be with an adult. Our LEGOLAND Water Park guide explains how the combined ticket works and who will enjoy it.

    What we love

    • Inside Gardaland, summer only
    • Entry only with a combined park ticket or supplement
    • Slow river, toddler splash area and Miniland
    • Under 14s must be with an adult
    Read our full review See the water park Website Map

  10. Best for teenagers and petrolheads

    #10 South Garda Karting

    The circuit at Lonato del Garda, just inland from Desenzano, is a real racing venue: 1,200 metres long, homologated by the CIK-FIA and used for international championships. When there is no race on, anyone can turn up and drive. Sessions are ten timed minutes with the helmet included and no booking needed.

    A session costs €15 in a mini kart (minimum height 130 cm) or a 200cc go-kart (minimum 150 cm), and €25 in the 400cc sport kart, which is for experienced drivers aged 15 and over, or in a two-seater driven by an adult with a passenger at least one metre tall. Rental hours are limited and change with the race calendar, so check the circuit’s calendar on the day. Details are in our South Garda Karting guide.

    What we love

    • 1,200 m CIK-FIA circuit
    • Ten-minute sessions from €15, helmet included
    • No booking for rental sessions
    • Two-seater karts for younger children
    Read our full review Check opening hours Website Map

Good to know

What is the number one attraction on Lake Garda?

Gardaland, for the amount there is to do in a day. It has more than 40 attractions for every age, an aquarium next door and a water park inside it in summer. If theme parks are not your thing, the Monte Baldo cable car at Malcesine is the one we would not miss. Our Gardaland guide and cable car guide have the details.

Which Lake Garda attractions are open in winter?

More than you might expect. The Cascata del Varone opens every day except 25 December, and the Sirmione castle and Grotte di Catullo are state museums that list only 1 January and 25 December as closures, apart from the castle's Mondays. Gardaland opens for Magic Winter on selected days from 5 December 2026 to 6 January 2027. The Monte Baldo cable car closes in November and reopens before Christmas. Our Lake Garda weather guide goes month by month.

Which attractions are best for young children?

Gardaland first, because of Peppa Pig Land and the number of rides with no minimum height when an adult rides along. In summer the LEGOLAND Water Park inside it is aimed squarely at under-tens. The Cascata del Varone is short enough for small legs, and the cable car is free for children under 1.20 m. For more ideas see our best Lake Garda parks.

Can I visit the main attractions without a car?

Most of them, yes. Gardaland has a free shuttle from Peschiera del Garda station, and Sirmione, Malcesine and Gardone Riviera are all ferry stops, so the castles, the Grotte di Catullo, the cable car and the Vittoriale work by boat. Isola del Garda includes its own boat. South Garda Karting is the exception and needs a car or taxi. See our Lake Garda ferry guide and trains guide.

Do I need to book Lake Garda attractions in advance?

For three of them it is worth it. Isola del Garda can only be visited with a booked tour, the house tour at the Vittoriale has limited places at fixed times, and bike spaces on the Monte Baldo cable car are limited to 24 an hour. Gardaland tickets are cheaper online than at the gate. The Varone waterfall sells tickets only at the entrance.

How much do Lake Garda attractions cost?

From €7 to about €60 per adult. At the cheap end are the Cascata del Varone at €7 and the Sirmione castle and Grotte di Catullo at €10 each, or €20 for a seven-day combined ticket. The Monte Baldo cable car is €30 return, or €28 online. Isola del Garda was €39 to €49 in 2026 with the boat included, and Gardaland's walk-up price started at €59 in October 2026, with online tickets from €44.

Is Sirmione castle or Malcesine castle better?

Sirmione's is the more impressive building, with its moat, fortified harbour and 37-metre keep, and it sits a walk away from the Grotte di Catullo. Malcesine's is smaller but has the better setting, on a rock above the water with Monte Baldo behind, and it pairs with the cable car five minutes away. If you are based in the south go to Sirmione; in the north, Malcesine.

What can we do on Lake Garda when it rains?

Head for the Vittoriale in Gardone Riviera, where the museums and the house tour are indoors, or the SEA LIFE aquarium beside Gardaland. Gardaland itself stays open in rain, although some rides stop in thunderstorms. The Varone waterfall is a good wet-weather choice too, since you get wet there whatever the sky is doing. Avoid the cable car: the view is the whole point and tickets are not refunded for bad weather.

How do you choose the attractions on this list?

We rank by what a visitor gets for the ticket price, the time it takes and the effort of getting there, and we mix types on purpose so the list works for families, couples and walkers. Every price, date and opening time is checked against the operator's own website before we publish, and the date at the top of the page shows when. Nobody pays to be included and there are no paid placements.

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