Lake Garda family holidays: Continuing the Italian trip
Today, we will introduce you to the Italian Lake Garda with its small towns and places of interest. Amazing amusement parks will bring great joy to the young ones. Small towns with a rich history will make your holiday very cultural. And last but not the least, you can enjoy the spa treatments.
For an ideal kids’ holiday, add some nature to your program. The safari park “Natura-Viva” is available for you. More than 1,500 species of animals live on its 40 hectares. The first part will introduce you to the life of giraffes, cheetahs, rhinoceroses, lions, zebras, antelopes, and other animals. By the way, the giraffes in Natura-Viva are very sociable. Don’t hesitate to look out of your car window for a greeting. Hold the phone ready to take a selfie in front of their long necks.
The second part, “Fauna”, is a pedestrian area encouraging its guests to walk along five continents and see their respective animals.
Natura-Viva also introduces you to the history of life on Earth thanks to its full-sized reconstructions of dinosaurs and other extinct animals. They are hidden in the thickets so skilfully that meeting them makes your heart race. The park is located between the towns of Bussolengo and Pastrengo.
If you are still full of energy and the kids are hungry for new experiences, go to Jungle Adventure. A drive from Villa dei Cedri will take you there in about 50 minutes.
This park is for Indiana Jones lovers, with 4 levels of difficulty.
Green – for beginners older than 8 and taller than 1.40 cm with their hands up.
Blue – for 11 year-olds +. It will be popular with Lara Croft fans.
Red – a complex and exciting route for 14 year-olds plus.
Black – for 14 year-olds +who love extremes.
The park has a swimming pool and a toddler playground, a bar and a spacious car park.
After four days of intense adventure, you may want to reflect in simple contemplation. Nature is marvelous all around the lake. But we are inviting you to go to one of the most beautiful gardens in Italy, Sigurt. 8 kilometers south of Peschiera, they occupy a total area of 560,000 m2. This miracle is the 40-year life’s work of Cardu Sigurt. A world-famous alley of roses, a yew labyrinth with a two-meter tower, a four-hundred-year-old oak, and a herb garden are all there for you to admire. You can walk along its paths, but we recommend you rent a bicycle or a golf cart.
It is a 2-3 hour walk taking you to the small medieval village of Borghetto, located on the Mincio River flowing into Lake Garda. Tiny houses built right on the water, mills, and bridges – all this makes Borghetto attractive for lovers of romance, and sweethearts. Swans swim on one side of the bridge while a river rages on the other. Interestingly Borghetto is called a “village of mills” – almost every house has its own water wheel. It is impossible to get there by car, as you will have to leave it at the entrance.
I also recommend that you dine in Borghetto and try a local onion soup alongside the freshest trout or eel. After lunch, take a walk along the ancient Ponte bridge, go through the fortress gate to the high dam built in 1393 by the order of Gian Galeazzo Visconti. The church of St. Mark the Evangelist, located in the centre of Borghetto, is also worth a visit with its two 14th century frescoes.
How to finish your Italian trio the Lake Garda read in our next article.
Photo by HelloMonaco