Italian masterpiece
Discover it to the full, says NICK DALTON
THE sun shines on the gently lapping waters of Lake Garda. The mountains form a backdrop of ever-changing shades and colours. And on the shore, sitting at a classically Italian café with the sort of ice-cream you know you’d never find anywhere else, you can relax.
It’s the type of holiday that’s always been a classic – and yet now it is more than ever before. They call the trip The Essence of Italy Explorer and it’s just that.
It’s a gorgeous holiday in the town of Garda, one of the most beautiful spots in an exceptionally beautiful part of the world. And four included excursions take you from the peaks of the Dolomites to the canals of Venice.
Thomson Lakes & Mountains is the specialist in this region and combines the very best it has to offer into one affordable holiday that makes budgeting easy with your travel, accommodation and excursions included.
And it’s all done with laid-back Italian hospitality – after getting to explore the streets of Garda on your first full day there are drinks with your rep in a bar before a three-course meal back at the Hotel Imperial.
The family-run place, refurbished for summer 2017, has rooms with balconies that overlook the palm-lined gardens, swimming pool and mountains. It is only a five-minute stroll from the lakeside.
Next, there’s a day tour of Lake Garda, Italy’s largest lake, seeing the towns and villages, the vineyards and lemon groves that dot its shores.
Then it’s a full day in Verona, where you can visit Verona Arena, a 1st-century Roman amphitheatre still used for opera, and a 14th-century residence with a tiny balcony overlooking a courtyard said to be the inspiration for the balcony scene in Shakespeare’s Romeo And Juliet.
A free day in Garda gives you the chance to walk up into the pastures and mountains, take a ferry ride from quay to quay down the lake, or simply explore the town. Then, as the sun sets there is dinner at one of the town’s restaurants, with a bottle of wine per couple.
Next, you head south for a day in Venice, exploring the Grand Canal and the tiny alleys that form the picturesque backstreets, the imposing setting of St Mark’s Square and the extraordinary array of little shops.
On your final day there’s a trip to Bolzano and Renon. The former is a cathedral city with a medieval heart in a valley surrounded by vineyards, and with the Dolomites as a backdrop; the latter is a high mountain plateau with views across to the Sella Massif rock formation, and a cable car and historic cog railway to ride, footpaths to explore and cafes to sample.
There’s one final evening by the lake before heading home, having discovered the essence of the Italian lakes and mountains.