I love to talk about the places not far from where I live, I am extremely pleased to introduce wonderful but perhaps not very popular places. It is for this reason that in the past I opened together with other bloggers from Brescia the AmazingBrescia section. It is for this same reason that when the boys of Garda Outdoors they contacted me for a project to promote the lower Lake Garda by bike I could not help but be very happy with the proposal.
Lake Garda is a very inflated destination, I would almost dare to say that over the years it has become a German colony. Germans love Lake Garda in all its forms. There are those who make seaside tourism and those who prefer instead to make active tourism pedaling on the numerous cycle paths or MTB in the areas adjacent to the lake.
It is also true that talking about Lake Garda referring only to the towns washed by the lake has now become limiting. The tourist basin of Lake Garda is much larger than the congested lakeside towns. Areas such as the lower lake are wonderful both on the Verona side and on the Brescia side and must absolutely be taken into consideration if you are on holiday in these areas.
5 experiences on the Lower Lake Garda on the Veronese side
With this article I want to talk to you about the area of the lower Lake Garda on the Veronese side and advise you 5 experiences to do in the Terre del Custoza.
Yes, let's call them "experiences" rather than "things to do". An experience is an emotion that remains and this is what tourists are looking for now. I am convinced that these 5 experiences that I recommend you will surely remember them.
1 - Discover the Terre del Custoza by bike
Active tourism is constantly growing. More and more people want to associate holidays with healthy physical activity. Both are components of well-being: sport makes you feel good, the same holiday. If we then associate these two components with a territory like that of the Terre del Custoza, everything becomes even more beautiful and regenerating.
These places are the undisputed reign of grapes, vines as far as the eye can see that characterize every corner of the landscape. Among the territories of Sommacampagna, Villafranca, Bussolengo and Valeggio sul Mincio, there are many cycle-tourist itineraries that you can follow. Although beautiful, there is not only the very popular Mantova-Peschiera cycle path (which passes through Valeggio).
Throughout the Custoza area you can immerse yourself in the tranquility of the vines. The landscape will also change a lot according to the season: in spring you will see the first leaves on the branches of the vines, in summer a very green landscape awaits you with millions of grapes ready to be harvested. L'autunnofinally, the landscape loses its green color to accommodate that classic yellow shade of this period.
Tourism as well as towards active tourism is also turning towards slow tourism, a slow tourism that allows you to grasp all the aspects of the territory, those small peculiarities that allow you to return home with the awareness that you have not "seen everything" but that what you have seen has excited you. Visiting these areas by bike does not mean compulsive tourism, it means taking your time and appreciating everything around us.
And to make sure that everyone can enjoy the experience, the advice is to also consider e-bikes like those of Bike Experience that help the cycle-tourist to focus more on the territory rather than on physical effort.
In this area there are many cycling routes
2 - Discover the wines of Custoza
Is it possible to visit the Terre del Custoza without trying the wines produced thanks to the grapes of the vines you have just seen? I would say no.
And therefore why not think of including a "detour" to a famous and important local winery among the activities to do around Lake Garda: Cellar of Custoza.
If you really can't fit it into your itinerary, then the advice becomes this: it is important to drink the right wine in the right place, so drink the Custoza for lunch or dinner in some restaurant, perhaps associating it with a plate of tortellini from Valeggio.
3 - Buy and taste Valeggio tortellini
In two days of touring I ate more tortellini than in my entire previous life. I am kidding, "I put it down hard" only because the tortellini from Valeggio are an institution on the lower Lake Garda shore. From cooking classes on the tortellino of the Albergo al Cacciatore to the skilled hands of the ladies who create (at an absurd speed) the tortellini at the pasta factory "Il Re del Tortellino", la local gastronomy is completely linked to this typical product.
Impossible to escape from a dinner based on tortellini of all kinds!
4 - Getting lost photographing Borghetto di Valeggio sul Mincio
I live there just 60 km away and had never been there. So much so that my Sony A7 II looked at me and said “but you wanted to wait a long time to take me to a place like this”. And he is right.
Borghetto di Valeggio sul Mincio is a small hamlet, formed precisely by a small village with many panoramic views of the Mincio river that laps it. Needless to say, the place is extremely romantic both during the day and, above all, in the evening when at sunset the village is illuminated by the warm and welcoming light of the street lamps.
It is certainly a place where the soul of a photographer feels very at ease but you don't need to be a photographer to appreciate this place. Borghetto di Valeggio sul Mincio amazed meo and I can not help but recommend it. If you are on holiday on the lake, plan an evening in a restaurant in the village, but if you are a short drive away, know that it is worth all the kilometers of road you will do!
5 - Visit the Sigurtà Park
This experience is an evergreen. You will forgive me for the pun but I don't think Parco Sigurtà needs any introduction or advice, you just need to name it. For those who do not know it, know that it is a "must do" among the experiences to do around Lake Garda.
60 hectares of naturalistic park in the municipality of Valeggio sul Mincio to be discovered by walking or cycling.
