Veneto · Verona
Malcesine
The northernmost Veneto town on Lake Garda, where Goethe was nearly arrested for sketching the Castello Scaligero in September 1786.
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 6 min from Trento
- Population
- 3,603
Known for
CASTELLO SCALIGERO
Thirteenth-century fortress on the lake rock, where Goethe was questioned for sketching on 14 September 1786 and devoted pages of Italienische Reise to the incident.
MONTE BALDO
2,218-meter ridge above the town, the Hortus Europae for sixteenth-century botanists; the rotating cable car opened in 2002 climbs 1,650 meters in ten minutes.
PELÈR AND ORA
Daily lake winds from the north in the morning and south in the afternoon; Malcesine is a major European windsurf and sailing center because of them.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J10°
- F12°
- M14°
- A17°
- M21°
- J26°
- J28°
- A28°
- S24°
- O19°
- N14°
- D10°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Malcesine sits on the eastern shore of Lake Garda, forty kilometers northwest of Verona and immediately south of Trentino-Alto Adige. The town strings together five lakeside frazioni between Navene and Cassone, pinched between the water and the slopes of Monte Baldo, which rises to 2,218 meters behind the rooftops. The Castello Scaligero, built by the della Scala family of Verona in the thirteenth century around an older white-stone keep, is the defining building.
On 14 September 1786 Johann Wolfgang Goethe was questioned in front of it on suspicion of being an Austrian spy after drawing sketches; he later devoted several pages to the episode in Italienische Reise. The Monte Baldo cable car, opened in 1962 and rebuilt with rotating cabins in 2002, lifts walkers and paragliders to 1,750 meters in ten minutes. Olive groves along the lower slopes carry the Garda DOP olive oil designation.
The Sunday letter
Malcesine is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Malcesine comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.
Read on
Malcesine in our articles
The best towns with a serious restaurant in the province of Verona6 towns, Malcesine among them.
The prettiest small villages in Veneto6 towns, Malcesine among them.
The prettiest villages that eat well in Veneto6 towns, Malcesine among them.
The 7 best small towns that eat well in Veneto7 towns, Malcesine among them.
How to get there
From Verona (VRN), about 1h 31m by car.
Milan (BGY) is about 2h 12m away.
By car from the centre of Trento 1 hour or Bolzano 1h 38m.
Coming by train into Trento? Malcesine is about 1 hour away by road.
What to see
Castello Scaligero
Thirteenth-century Scaliger fortress on a rock above the lake, with an older white-stone keep, the rooms where Goethe was held briefly in 1786 and a museum on Monte Baldo flora.
Palazzo dei Capitani
Fifteenth-century Venetian palazzo on the lakefront, residence of the Captains of the Lake during the Republic of Venice, with a lakeside loggia and gardens.
Monte Baldo
2,218-meter ridge behind the town, reached by a two-stage cable car with rotating cabins; the summit is a botanical reserve known since the sixteenth century as Hortus Europae.
Centro storico
Network of stone alleys around the castle and harbor, with Venetian merchant houses, the parish church of Santo Stefano and the small square at Porto Vecchio.
Val di Sogno
Small lake inlet south of the centro, with a wooded peninsula, two islands and a sailing harbor used by windsurf schools that exploit the daily Ora and Pelèr winds.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Malcesine fits in a slow Italy circuit.
Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.
We recommend
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.
Vecchia MalcesineRistorante
Vecchia Malcesine has one Michelin star and two Gambero Rosso forks (84/100).
Living here
- Population 3,603
- In-betweeni
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Nearest airport Verona, 1 h 31 min drive
- Regional capital Venezia, 2 h 30 min drive
Common questions
- What is Malcesine known for?
- Malcesine is the northernmost Veneto town on Lake Garda, where Goethe was nearly arrested for sketching the Castello Scaligero in September 1786.
- Where is Malcesine?
- Malcesine is a comune in the province of Verona, in Veneto, at 89 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Malcesine?
- Verona (VRN), about 1h 31m by car.
- How long is the drive from Trento to Malcesine?
- About 1 hour by car.
- When is the best time to visit Malcesine?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 28 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 18 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Malcesine?
- Lazise, Bardolino and Trevignano Romano.
- How many people live in Malcesine?
- 3,603 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 89 m
- Population: 3,603
- Surface area: 69.29 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.
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