Lombardia · Brescia
Gardone Riviera
A western Garda lakeshore town whose hillside holds an estate turned into a monument to one man's self-image.
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 53 min from Brescia
- Population
- 2,626
Known for
VITTORIALE
Hillside estate Gabriele D'Annunzio built between 1921 and 1938 with architect Gian Carlo Maroni as a monument to himself and the First World War.
NAVE PUGLIA
Protected cruiser of the Regia Marina built into the Vittoriale hillside, gifted in 1923 and reassembled above Lake Garda on land.
HELLER GARDEN
Botanical garden begun by Arturo Hruska around 1901, taken on by André Heller in 1989, with bamboo, ravines and waterfalls.
- J9°
- F12°
- M14°
- A18°
- M22°
- J27°
- J29°
- A29°
- S25°
- O20°
- N14°
- D10°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
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Why come
Gardone Riviera sits on the western shore of Lake Garda, in the province of Brescia. The lake here runs deep against the wall of Monte Pizzocolo, and the climate stays mild enough that lemons, olives and bamboo grow within walking distance of each other. The town divides between the lakefront and the hill above it.
Along the water, Gardone Sotto holds the promenade and harbor; above the centro storico, the ground rises toward the estate grounds and, further up, toward the garden that has drawn on the same mild hillside climate since the start of the twentieth century. The boathouse on the estate holds a torpedo boat from a 1918 wartime raid, alongside the villa called the Prioria, an amphitheatre and a circular mausoleum. The garden above town spent six decades being arranged, one man working a single hillside into bamboo groves, alpine ravines, Japanese ponds and waterfalls.
The lakefront promenade carries the Bandiera Blu. What holds the town together is that division of altitude: a working lakefront below, and above it two hillside projects, one architectural and one botanical, each built slowly and by a single hand over decades on the same slope.
How to get there
From Milan Bergamo (BGY), about 1 h 21 min by car.
Verona (VRN) is about 1 h 22 min away.
By car from the center of Brescia 53 min or Trento 1 h 42 min.
Coming by train into Brescia? Gardone Riviera is about 52 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Milan Bergamo airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Vittoriale degli Italiani
Nine-hectare hillside estate occupied by Gabriele D'Annunzio from 1922 to 1938, with villa, amphitheatre, mausoleum and the cruiser Puglia.
Nave Puglia
Protected cruiser of the Regia Marina set into the slope above the lake, gifted to D'Annunzio in 1923 and assembled on land at the Vittoriale.
Giardino Botanico Hruska (Heller Garden)
Botanical garden begun around 1901 by Arturo Hruska, with bamboo, Japanese ponds, alpine ravines and waterfalls on a single hillside.
Anfiteatro del Vittoriale
Open-air amphitheatre on the estate grounds, used for summer opera, theater and concert seasons each July and August.
Lungolago
Lakefront promenade between Gardone Sotto and the botanical garden, carrying the Bandiera Blu, with ferry pier and small harbor.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Gardone Riviera fits in a slow Italy circuit.
Answer six questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.
Itineraries that start in Gardone Riviera
- Gardone Riviera, Chiavari and Massa Marittima · 8 days, nature
- Gardone Riviera, Spoleto, Ercolano and Chiavari · 19 days, nature
- Gardone Riviera, Spoleto and Torre Annunziata · 19 days, nature
From the guides
Where to eat and stay
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Lido 84Ristorante
Lido 84 has the number 16 spot on the World's 50 Best, three Gambero Rosso forks (91/100) and a place in L'Espresso's Top 300, among other nods.
Il FagianoRistorante
Il Fagiano holds one Michelin star and two Gambero Rosso forks (84/100).
Villa FiordalisoRistorante
A Gambero Rosso listing for Villa Fiordaliso, and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
BalìRistorante
Balì carries two Gambero Rosso forks (80/100).
Osteria Antico BroloRistorante
Osteria Antico Brolo carries a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Grand Hotel FasanoHotel
A Leading Hotels of the World listing for Grand Hotel Fasano, and a place in the Michelin hotel guide.
Grand HotelHotel
Grand Hotel holds a place on Italy's historic-locali register.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
- Population 2,626, down 2.1% since 2015
- In-betweeni
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Gavardo, 11 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Full fibre reaches 5% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Milan Bergamo airport, 1 h 21 min drive, the closest of the 15 airports we time
- Regional capital Milano, 1 h 58 min drive
Could you live here?
Gardone Riviera is at the end of the road.
- A village of 2,626. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Salò, is 20 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Brescia, a city of 196,446, is 53 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
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Common questions
- What is Gardone Riviera known for?
- Gardone Riviera is a western Garda lakeshore town whose hillside holds an estate turned into a monument to one man's self-image.
- Where is Gardone Riviera?
- Gardone Riviera is a comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardia, at 71 meters above sea level.
- Which of the airports we measure is closest to Gardone Riviera?
- Of the 15 airports we time the drive to, the closest is Milan Bergamo (BGY), about 1 h 21 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Brescia to Gardone Riviera?
- About 53 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Gardone Riviera?
- Best in Apr–Oct. August is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 16 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Gardone Riviera?
- Predore, Limone sul Garda and Monte Isola.
- How many people live in Gardone Riviera?
- 2,626 at the 2023 count.
- Is Gardone Riviera a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Gardone Riviera is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Salò, is 20 min away. The nearest city, Brescia, is 53 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Gavardo, 11 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 5% of homes.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 71 m
- Population: 2,626
- Surface area: 21.39 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
Featured on
Gardone Riviera appears on this themed pick from our Collections:
Similar
Towns like Gardone Riviera
What all six share with Gardone Riviera: lake towns
Predore
Province: Bergamo
both under 3,000 people · both near sea level
Limone sul Garda
Province: Brescia
both under 3,000 people · both near sea level
Monte Isola
Province: Brescia
both under 3,000 people
Brenzone sul Garda
Province: Verona
both under 3,000 people · both near sea level
Torri del Benaco
Province: Verona
both under 3,000 people · both near sea level
Salò
Province: Brescia
both near sea level
The ranked lists
Lists Gardone Riviera appears in
- The 6 prettiest small villages that eat well in LombardiaLombardiaeats wellprettiest villagessmall6 towns · smallest 1,007 residents
- The best lake towns that eat well within 90 minutes of BresciaNear Brescialakewithin 90 mineats well6 towns · smallest 2,626 residents · closest 28 min away
- The best small lake towns that eat well in LombardiaLombardialakeeats wellsmall6 towns · smallest 693 residents
- The prettiest villages in the province of BresciaBrescia provinceprettiest villages6 towns · smallest 1,130 residents
- The 7 prettiest villages inside a nature park in LombardiaLombardiainside a parkprettiest villages7 towns · smallest 1,130 residents
- The best lake towns inside a nature park in LombardiaLombardialakeinside a park7 towns · smallest 693 residents
The letter
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An unusually global town on a clay hill
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