Terme di Sirmione
SIRMIONE IS A BEAUTIFUL OLD TOWN JUTTING INTO LAKE GARDA. The walls of 13th-century Castello Scaligero are built into the lake and dominate the entrance to the town. Vehicles cannot enter the town, and pedestrians walk into the town through an archway. Sirmione is a busy place during the daytime with visitors exploring the narrow streets and restaurants. Strolling through the town in the evening I discovered Piazza Carducci, where the opera singer Maria Callas once lived. Towards the end of the peninsula are the ruins of a Roman villa known as the Grotto di Catullo. This dates all the way back to the 1st century BC and is believed to be where the poet Catullus lived.
Terme di Sirmione’s Aquaria Thermal Spa was a short walk through the town from my hotel. The thermal waters of Sirmione’s Aquaria Spa were first discovered by a diver who spotted bubbles coming up from the bottom of the lake. This spring water was 65 degrees centigrade and, once piped to the spa and cooled, was used for thermal treatments.
WHAT’S ON OFFER
The spa has indoor pools plus several rooms for relaxation, saunas and circulatory baths. Outside there are thermal pools with jets, waterfalls and an infinity pool. The pools and loungers along the edge of the lake add to the feeling of wellbeing. I relaxed as I tried the pools and relaxation rooms, especially the green rain room.
VISITING
The spa opens daily and costs from £16 to £50, with treatments starting at £50.
☎ +39 030 916044
Castello Scaligero is open to visitors daily except on Mondays and Sunday afternoons. Tickets cost £5, children go in free.
☎ +39 030 916468
ACCOMMODATION
I stayed in the 4-star Hotel Sirmione e Promessi Sposi on the edge of the lake, where hotel rooms start at £109 a night. I had a lovely room overlooking a piazza and the lake. The hotel’s Ristorante dei Poeti, where I ate, specialises in dishes using fish from the lake. www.termedisirmione.com