Lombardia · Brescia
Lonato del Garda
A hilltop commune on the southwestern Garda morainic ridge, with a Visconti castle and a private library of 52,000 volumes.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Lonato del Garda is on our list
It holds Città del Vino.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 32 min from Brescia
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 17,062
- J8°
- F12°
- M14°
- A18°
- M22°
- J27°
- J30°
- A30°
- S25°
- O19°
- N13°
- D8°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Lonato del Garda sits on a low morainic hill on the southwestern side of Lake Garda, between Brescia and the Mincio, halfway between Milan and Venice. The castle was raised on the recognition that this rise commanded the surrounding plain, a position the wife of Bernabò Visconti judged worth fortifying. The Venetian rectors who later governed the town from their seat below the hill were themselves administering territory for a republic that reached this far inland from the lagoon, a detail the building's later life as a private museum has mostly obscured.
That seat passed in 1906 to a Brescian senator and his wife, who furnished it room by room rather than converting it into something else, which is why it now reads as a residence rather than an institution. South of the center the ground flattens into the vineyards of the Lugana zone, the same morainic soil finishing out toward the lake's edge. The town, then, is a hill town in shape only at its summit: castle above, rectors' house and church at the level below, and the flat wine country taking over where the moraine runs out toward the water.
How to get there
From Verona (VRN), about 42 min by car.
Milan Bergamo (BGY) is about 56 min away.
By car from the center of Brescia 32 min or Trento 1 h 23 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Verona, Milan or Venice?
Coming by train into Brescia? Lonato del Garda is about 31 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Verona airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Rocca di Lonato
The upper structure, the Rocchetta, stands above the lower body known as the Quartiere Principale. The walls carry later reshaping over a fortress begun in the tenth century and strengthened in 1376 on the order of Regina della Scala.
Casa del Podestà
Rooms furnished as left by their restorer, with paintings, sculpture and majolica alongside the library, including a notable collection of incunabula.
Duomo di San Giovanni Battista
Late Baroque collegiate church in the center, a single nave with sculpted altars and a frescoed dome.
Fondazione Ugo da Como
The foundation that holds the residence, the library and the castle complex, open to visit on a single ticket.
Vigneti del Lugana
Flat morainic vineyards south of the center, part of the Lugana DOC zone, Turbiana white wine since Roman times.
From the guides
Where to eat
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.
Da OscarRistorante
Da Oscar has a spot in the Michelin Guide to its name.
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
Could you live here?
Lonato del Garda meets all 3 of our rules for a small town.
- 17,062 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Brescia, a city of 199,853, is 32 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
- A station of its own. Trains are the overlooked way to get around Italy: no parking, straight into the center.
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.
- Population 17,062, up 6.3% since 2015
- Nearest city Brescia, 32 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Desenzano del Garda, 6 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,450 to €1,850 per m² to buy, €4.30 to €5.80 per m² a month to rent
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Commuter belt
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 68% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Verona airport (VRN), 42 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Milan, 1 h 33 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
11% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Pakistan and Senegal, against 9% across Italy. 64 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany, France and the United Kingdom. There are 167 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 20% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Brescia province ranks 28th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Desenzano del Garda, 6 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Brescia, 22 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Brescia, 22 km away. The nearest IB school is International School Brescia, 6 km as the crow flies. There are 2 within 30 km.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 0.96% a year in property tax at the 2025 rate, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.8% to your income tax. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Lombardia spends about €2,410 a month, €510 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €415 a year for water, on the Lombardia average. In Brescia, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.30, a meal in a pizzeria €12.47 and a man's haircut €26.14.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone E, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from October 15 to April 15, up to 14 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 5% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 14% in a high or medium one. They show no residents in a high landslide zone.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
VISCONTI ROCCA
Castle begun in the tenth century and strengthened in 1376 on the order of Regina della Scala, wife of Bernabò Visconti.
CASA DEL PODESTÀ
Ugo da Como's restored Venetian residence, one of northern Italy's most important private collections, with over 50,000 volumes.
LUGANA WINE
Turbiana white wine of the southern Garda flats, one of Italy's oldest protected wines, cultivated since Roman times.
Common questions
- What is Lonato del Garda known for?
- Lonato del Garda is a hilltop commune on the southwestern Garda morainic ridge, with a Visconti castle and a private library of 52,000 volumes.
- Where is Lonato del Garda?
- Lonato del Garda is a comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardia, at 188 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Lonato del Garda?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Verona (VRN), about 42 min by car.
- Can you get to Lonato del Garda without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Brescia to Lonato del Garda?
- About 32 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Lonato del Garda?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 16 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Lonato del Garda?
- Peschiera del Garda, Anguillara Sabazia and Arona.
- How many people live in Lonato del Garda?
- 17,062 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Lonato del Garda a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Lonato del Garda is a small town that meets all 3 of our rules. The nearest city, Brescia, is 32 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Desenzano del Garda, 6 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 68% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 188 m
- Population: 17,062
- Surface area: 68.2 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.
The ranked lists
Lists Lonato del Garda appears in
- The best lake towns that eat well within 90 minutes of BresciaNear Brescialakewithin 90 mineats well6 towns · smallest 2,593 residents · closest 28 min away
- The best lake towns within two hours of BolognaNear Bolognalakewithin 2 hours6 towns · smallest 3,967 residents · closest 106 min away
- The best wine towns in LombardiaLombardiawine6 towns · smallest 4,814 residents
- The best lake towns within two hours of VeniceNear Venicelakewithin 2 hours8 towns · smallest 1,500 residents · closest 93 min away
- The best lake towns in the province of BresciaBrescia provincelake10 towns · smallest 1,103 residents
- The best lake towns within two hours of BolzanoNear Bolzanolakewithin 2 hours10 towns · smallest 1,103 residents · closest 59 min away
Featured on
Lonato del Garda appears on 2 themed picks from our Collections:
Similar
Towns like Lonato del Garda
What all six share with Lonato del Garda: over 10,000 people
Peschiera del Garda
Province: Verona
both lake towns · both near sea level
Anguillara Sabazia
Province: Roma
both lake towns · both near sea level
Arona
Province: Novara
both lake towns · both have a railway station in the comune
Omegna
Province: Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
both lake towns · both have a railway station in the comune
Riva del Garda
Province: Trento
both lake towns · both near sea level
Curtatone
Province: Mantova
both near sea level · both have a railway station in the comune
The letter
Read a sample letter
Chioggia | Everyone is wrong about this town
It’s not an alternative to Venice
Letters from the towns we visit. Free.
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