Italy Two Centre Holidays - Lake Garda

Garda is the largest and most dramatic of the Italian Lakes. Mussolini took his last stand here, and Goethe and Byron made Garda’s sprawling landscape their bolthole, sweeping from gentle plains covered with semi-tropical flowers, to the rugged mountain range in the north. Ever the chameleon, Garda has everything from Roman remains to adrenaline filled sports, but is always blessed with a balmy climate, the heady scent of lemons in the air from the nearby groves. Visitors are enchanted by romantic resorts like Sirmione, with its fairytale castle and roman spa town, and the Riviera Bresciana, Garda's small-scale version of the Côte d'Azur which takes in the towns of Salò and Gardone Riviera, a gourmand’s delight of artistic trattorias and inventive restaurants. Windsurfers and Sailing fans have elected Torbole as the centre for high-octane sports, but this pretty town also offers breathtaking clear views right down the lake for the less active. For more inspiring vistas take a cable car from Malcesine, a charming town named the “botanical garden of Europe”, nestled at the foot of Monte Baldo, a mountain covered in blooming rhododendrons and rare orchids. Kids will love Garda, for its promiximity to the Gardaland amusement park, the largest in Italy, but this colourful resort is close to more adult pursuits; the neighbouring vineyards in Bardolino, and the city of Verona for Opera fans.