Bardolino Tourist Information
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Local Information
Bardolino Tourist Information
Bardolino is an amazingly picturesque town situated South of Garda Town and North of Lazise which has been well known as a tourist resort for over a hundred years, helped by the 'rosso' wine that bears its name. The wine being cultivated in the green hills behind Bardolino which itself is actually very flat and easy to walk around.
Museum of Wine
Staying on the subject of Bardolino wine there is the Museo del Vino (museum of wine), not really a museum, more an opportunity to see how the wine is made and sample some local produce...and its free. This is situated in the hillside just above the town.
Bardolino wine is actually made from a mixture of grapes, Corvina providing the body and colour and Rondinella adding the wine's flavour, Molinara gives the wine fragrance and Negrara assures softness and freshness. And buying it from €1 a bottle is a great start!
A Wine cellar to visit during your stay in Bardolino is:- Cantina Caorsa
(I hope you have more success getting the English language version to work)
info@cantinacaorsa.com
Festival of Wine
If you are looking for an interesting late summer holiday the Wine Festival at Bardolino, known as the Festa dell'Uva, it is well worth a visit in late September, despite a lot of wine being drunk it is light hearted, good natured festival enjoyed by everyone. There are concerts, fireworks, wine tasting and plenty of eat (this is Italy after all). This all takes place outside with over 4000 people attending every year.
There is also the Chiaretto Wine Festival held in May and the Novello Wine Festival held in November along with the non-alcoholic Bird Festival "Sagra dei Osei" held in September at Cisano.
Thrills and S
pills
Slightly further South at Cisano di Bardolino is the thrilling sounding Olive Oil Museum, which despite its name is remarkably popular and always has a fleet of (mainly German) coaches outside. Olive oil doesn't feature highly in most British or American households but is a way of life in Italy and the museum is worth a visit (should you have an overcast day on your holiday!). It also sells a number of beauty products based on Olive Oil!
Cisano di Bardolino
Cisano itself is a hidden gem, its only a small village about a 15 minute walk South of Lazise and looks unremarkable from the Gardesana (lakeside road) but you can park the car and walk to the lakefront and prepared to be very surprised at the pretty little marina and stone causeway, the large piazza and cafes with the lakeside walk then continuing to Lazise. Lake Garda staff have stayed at the Hotel Vela d'Oro at Cisano and found the staff very helpful and thought it was good value.
Bardolino Centro Storico
Going back to Bardolino centre has a picture postcard picturesque shoreline, with lots of interesting streets to explore. Just walking through the narrow streets of the old town and the main piazza you'll be spoiled for choice for the endless array of cafes and restaurants all around you. Restaurants use the local fish and produce. Fish, freshly caught in the lake is used in many of the dishes, inescapably served with Bardolino wines and olive oil.
Like Garda, Lazise, Salo and many other lakeside towns you can eat right at the water's edge in Bardolino and gaze across at the lovely lake view while enjoying remarkably good fayre. 
As well as boats, the lake, eating and drinking, Bardolino has a surprisingly good nightlife with a number of nightlife music bars which are not as common as you might imagine around the lake. Just off the Gardesana (lakeside) road there is Dina's Bar and as you walk into Bardolino you find Club Mezzo and Bar La Strambino (both music bars) as well as the splendid Francescvs Kitchen and Live Music. There is even a nightclub, Primo Lifeclub at Via Marconi in Bardolino (right) which has one of the flashest websites we've ever seen!
It's not Las Vegas, but if you wanted Las Vegas then you'd be unlikely to be in Northern Italy, although Bellagio is on Lake Como but that's a different story!
Close to the Gardesana road is the church of San Zeno which is one of Italy's most important monuments from the 9th century and also there is the church of San Severo from the 11th century which features frescoes from the XII and XIII centuries.
Again, Bardolino is a place to just 'experience' and any visit to Bardolino will be a great place to overpower the senses of just how nice a town can be.
Retail Therapy
Assuming you aren't relaxing in a Spa in Cola or Sirmione, then some retail therapy might work in Bardolino. Like Sirmione, Garda, Riva and Salo (the list is not exhaustive) Sirmione has some very nice shops. It also has some serious shops selling things other than tourist fayre. Bardolino is a real town and the local Italians shop in Bardolino too.
There are some lovely shops selling everything from leather briefcases, the inevitable sunglasses and beach towels to some pretty keen deals on designer clothing. It is worth visiting Bardolino for some very unusual and interesting shops and not a Burger King in sight!
There is a market every Thursday morning in Bardolino. Where among other things wine and oil can be bought directly from producers, but it is also worth just being there to sample the atmosphere.
History
Due to its favourable climate, Bardolino was inhabited in Roman times. The first fortifications were built during the early Barbaric invasions and were rebuilt in the 12th century by the Scaliger family of Verona who added a castle. The castle was then rebuilt in the 14th century by the Visconti family of Milan. Today, only the remnants of the Southern city gate and of some medieval towers remain.
