Ortisei to Verano

Back down the mountain pass. The second photo shows the highway we were heading towards; explains the tolls on the autobahn ~ it went on for miles like this!

First sight of Lake Garda was spectacular. We made a few stops as we meandered along the lake highway. First stop was Malcesine. We had coffee and walked around ~ super cool old town featuring Castello Scaligero.

Next stop Garda town. Strolled along the waterfront promenade. Much more of a beach town than Malcesine.

Lazise was a nice combo of the first two towns with its cobblestone streets and waterfront walk. Lazise was the first free commune of Italy and is completely surrounded by a fortified wall dating back to the early Middle Ages.

Off to Verano. We had to park a bit of a walk from our flat ~ more rolling down cobblestone streets.

Our first sight was Piazza del Erbe - spectacular. We wandered the streets for a few hours ~ found the coolest candy store ever, Piazza del Bra, and the Verona Arena where they held the closing ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Ate dinner on the Piazza del Erbe ~ first Italian fish ‘n chips ~ so yummy and it didn’t even need tartar sauce. (Fortunately I googled whether that was ok in Italy…it is not 😳)

The main objective of the evening was to see the sunset from Castel San Pietro. Unfortunately it was too cloudy to see the sun actually set but it was still spectacular. We waited patiently for the lights of Verona to come on before climbing back down the 249 stairs back down. Worth the wait!Read more