Best Things to Do in Limone sul Garda

Things to do in Limone sul Garda

1. 

   01 Outdoors

   Cycle or walk the Ciclopista del Garda along the cliff

   • Starts at Capo Reamol, 1.5 km north of the harbour
   • 1–2 hours
   • Free; bike hire from around €15 a day, e-bikes €35–50

   The cantilevered path that opened in 2018 hangs off the cliff face a few metres above the water, running north from Capo Reamol at the edge of town for about 2.5 km to the Trentino border. It is shared by walkers and cyclists, free, flat, and closes for high wind or rockfall checks. Most people ride it as the showpiece stretch of a longer route; bike and e-bike hire shops in town rent by the hour and the day, and the path is one of our favourite Lake Garda bike rides.

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2. 

   02 Culture & history

   Visit the Limonaia del Castèl lemon house

   • Via Orti, 5 minutes uphill from the harbour
   • 45 minutes
   • €2

   Lemons were grown commercially this far north from the 1600s inside limonaie, terraced greenhouses with tall stone pillars that were boarded up with glass and timber every winter. Most fell into ruin when Sicilian fruit undercut them; the comune restored the Castèl one on the hillside above the old town and now grows lemons, citrons, kumquats and bergamots there. There are display boards on the trade, the old roofing timbers, and a terrace with a view down over the rooftops. Open daily from late March to the start of November and at weekends in winter; entry is €2.

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3. 

   03 Sightseeing

   Wander the old harbour and Via Porto

   • Old town, around the harbour
   • 1 hour
   • Free

   The old town is tiny: the harbour with its fishing boats, Piazza Garibaldi behind it, and Via Porto running along the water past the old church of San Benedetto and a row of restaurants. Look for the lemon motifs on the shop fronts and the old town gate. The name, by the way, comes from limes, the Latin for border, not from the fruit; Limone was the last village before Austria until 1918. Residents are also famous for a gene, ApoA-1 Milano, that protects against heart disease, discovered here in 1979.

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4. 

   04 Family

   Take the ferry across to Malcesine and up Monte Baldo

   • Ferry pier, Limone harbour
   • Full day
   • Ferry from about €7 each way; cable car €30 return (2026)

   Malcesine is 20 minutes away across the water on the Navigazione Laghi passenger ferry, which runs several times a day in season (there is no car ferry here; the lake’s only one is Maderno–Torri). From the pier it is a ten-minute walk to the Monte Baldo cable car, whose rotating cabins take you to 1,760 metres for meadows, views of both shores and, in summer, a cold beer at the top. Add the Scaliger castle on the way back. We cover it all in our guide to Malcesine.

   Ferry timetables Map
5. 

   05 Beach & lake

   Swim from the pebble beaches south of the harbour

   • Lungolago, south of the old town
   • Half a day
   • Free; sunbeds €10–15 a day where available

   Limone’s beaches are strips of grey pebble along the lakefront path running south from the old town, with lawns and trees behind and cafés close by. Spiaggia Cola, towards the southern end, is the widest and the calmest for children. The water is deep and cold-clear, and by early afternoon the Ora wind ruffles it enough for a bit of chop. See where they rank in our guide to the best Lake Garda beaches.

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6. 

   06 Food & wine

   Eat lake fish and lemon desserts on the waterfront

   • Via Porto and the old town
   • 2 hours
   • €25–45 a head

   Via Porto and the lanes behind it are wall to wall restaurants, and the good ones serve the lake: sardine di lago grilled or marinated, lavarello (whitefish) with lemon, trout, and the Trentino cured beef carne salada from just over the border. Puddings lean on the lemons: sorbet, a lemon cake, limoncello made in town. Prices are higher on the water than two streets back. For our full list see our pick of the best Lake Garda restaurants.

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7. 

   07 Outdoors

   Walk up the Valle del Singol behind the town

   • Trailhead at the top of Via Milanesa
   • 3–5 hours
   • Free

   A marked path leaves the top of town and climbs the narrow Singol gorge, past a series of small pools and the ruins of old mills, into the beech woods and up towards Passo Nota and the old front line. You can turn round at any point; an hour in you already have the whole northern lake below you. Go the whole way and it is a 1,000-metre climb, so start early and carry water; there is nothing to buy up there. It features in our guide to the best walks on Lake Garda.

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8. 

   08 Culture & history

   Climb to the church of San Rocco for the view

   • Above the old harbour
   • 30 minutes
   • Free

   The small 16th-century chapel of San Rocco stands on a terrace just above the old harbour, built after a plague year and still opened for the saint’s feast in August. The walk up is a few minutes of steps, and the reward is the best free view in town: the harbour and rooftops below, Monte Baldo opposite, and the ferries coming and going. On the way back down, the bigger parish church of San Benedetto is worth a look for its Baroque altars.

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9. 

   09 Evening

   Watch Monte Baldo turn pink from a lakefront bar

   • Lungolago Marconi and the harbour
   • 1–2 hours
   • €5–9 a drink

   Limone faces east, so you don’t get a sunset over the water. What you get instead is better on a clear evening: the sun goes down behind the cliffs early, the town drops into shade, and the whole Baldo ridge opposite lights up gold, then pink, then grey, mirrored in a lake that has gone flat. The bars along the lungolago all have a view; order a spritz or a glass of Lugana and sit still for half an hour. Other good spots are in our pick of the best bars on Lake Garda.

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10. 

    10 Beach & lake

    Hire a motorboat from the harbour

    • Limone harbour
    • 2–4 hours
    • €80–120 for two hours, plus fuel

    The cliffs north of Limone are best seen from the water: little waterfalls, the cycle path from below, and coves you cannot reach any other way. Boat hire outfits at the harbour rent small motorboats that need no licence (up to 40hp) by the hour or half-day, and they’ll point you towards the quiet spots. Mornings are calmer; by 2pm the Ora makes the northern lake choppy for small boats. Compare operators in our guide to Lake Garda boat rentals.

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11. 

    11 Sightseeing

    Drive up the Strada della Forra to Tremosine

    • Porto di Tremosine, 10 km south on the Gardesana
    • Half a day
    • Free (a car or taxi needed)

    Ten kilometres south of Limone the Gardesana passes Porto di Tremosine, where the Strada della Forra turns off and climbs through a gorge of tunnels and galleries to the plateau village of Pieve and its cliff-top terrace 350 metres above the lake. It is the best half-day drive on the western shore and we cover it in our guide to Tremosine. Combine it with lunch at the Alpe del Garda cheese dairy on the plateau.

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Limone sul Garda in pictures