Lazise Tourist Information

Guidebooks are great, but they do tend to concentrate upon the historical aspects of an area rather than what most people do which is sightseeing, shopping, eating and generally having a good time.  Not to mention buying some quite drinkable wine to take home from one euro a bottle. 

However for everyone interested in the history and development of Lazise the town has 1,000 inhabitants and is a Medieval walled town, with the walls dating back to 1370.  Under Venetian rule Lazise was a major trading centre, the customs house on the harbour still exists from where Venice controlled the movement of goods on the lake.  Today it exists solely as a picturesque town for tourists.  There is the 12th Century Church of San Nicolo which can be seen in the gallery pictures of the harbour area.  For a while it was used as a cinema, but now its back to its original purpose.  The Scaliger Castle dates back to the 12th and 13th Centuries and is only visitable from the outside as it is still in private ownership and somebody actually still lives there!

Lazise is now primarily a town dedicated to tourism, with a wonderfully attractive harbour area and piazza, both featuring a plethora of restaurants, pizzerias and bars.  There are many to choose from but Classique restaurant is a favourite with many regular Lazise visitors with its elevated position above the lake.  Shopping is good at Lazise too with many clothing, shoes and specialist stores often selling good quality products and designer labels as well as some rather unique and unusual stores selling everything from candles to African art.  There are a number of general stores too, plus some excellent wine shops. 

You can rent a boat at the harbour or take a ferry to another town around the Lake, but there is plenty to see and explore at Lazise.  It is also just a short drive or bus ride to the Theme Parks.

Sport and Beaches

Garda is a lake and does not have proper sandy beaches, but it does have man-made pebble beaches all around the lake, but not at Lazise.  The nearest beaches being near Bardolino and Garda Town (North) and Pacengo (South).

Excursions

The Lake Garda paddle steamers regularly visit Lazise from which you can visit virtually any town on the lake.  There is also a faster catamaran service.  The nearest towns are Salo and Gardone both on the West shore of the lake, both of which are very nice.  But don't miss Sirmione as a place to visit.  Closer to hand are Bardolino and Garda both of which are extremely picturesque in their own right and provide even better shopping than Lazise.

Further afield for shopping is Riva (North) and Desenzano (South West), both of which are surprisingly large towns.  Away from the Lake, Verona is unmissable and can be easily visited by car or bus.  About two hours East is Venice and two hours West is Milan, both easily accessible by inexpensive trains from Peschiera (10 minutes South).

Theme Parks

Love them or hate them, there are two large themeparks nearby accessed by complimentary buses and both are very good.  Gardaland is a themepark based on rides and Movieland is a combination of rides and shows.  Gardaland has its own themed hotel which is very nice and near to the Gardaland themepark (but not in the same immediate area) and Movieland (also known as Canevaworld) has its own Aqua Paradise Park, Rock and Roll cafe and Medieval Banquet.

Zoo 

There is an excellent Zoo and safari park nearby at Pastreno on the road to Verona East of Lazise, where you can drive around one half of the zoo in your car and the other half on foot. 

Museums

There is a surprisingly popular Olive Oil Museum nearby, which is no doubt a thrilling experience for those interested, and an excellent motor museum, Museo Nicolis at Villafranca, which is a 20 minute car ride away.

Sports

There are all sorts of sporting activities around the Lake from tennis to football, to inevitable watersports as well as some excellent golf courses.

Thermal Spa

For something a little different try out the Thermal Spa at Cola (Parco Termale del Garda) or at Sirmione (Terme di Sirmione), both are highly recommended.

Guest Comments

Lazise is a beautiful place, I'll always remember that first walk through the city walls and discovering the wonderful streets and the shoreline

Lake Garda itself was wonderful too. We went exploring most days to other locations around the southern end of the lake.

We had a great time.  Lazise was lovely and really good for activities for the kids

We had a great time in Lazise.  It really is a beautiful place.  We will definately return to Lazise whenever possible

It was good to be in walking distance of the centre of Lazise, which we liked a lot - touristy but not excessively so and with enough good restaurants and shops to be interesting and the lake front gave us some excellent evening walks.

We had a wonderful holiday and found Lazise to be a perfect base to explore

The area is beautiful and Lazise town is just magical.  Our favourite restaurant was La Classique, we found the service good, the food delicious and the setting lovely

We really enjoyed being in Lazise and using it as a base for this delightful area.

As for Lazise it was beautiful. It's just a shame that holidays don't last longer.

Lazise and the other lakeside towns were charming

We all loved the area of Lazise as well, and may well consider Lake Garda next year as there is so much to do

We loved Lazise and the surrounding Lake Garda area and the various attractions