Trentino-Alto Adige · Trento
Riva del Garda
The north tip of the lake, where the Trentino mountains close in on the water and a Habsburg port town stayed bilingual into the twentieth century.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Riva del Garda is on our list
It holds Città del Vino and Città dell'Olio.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 47 min from Trento
- Population
- 17,782
- J8°
- F12°
- M14°
- A18°
- M22°
- J27°
- J29°
- A29°
- S24°
- O20°
- N13°
- D8°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
The town sits where the lake narrows between the Brescian shore and the cliffs of Monte Rocchetta. It belonged to the Scaligeri of Verona in the fourteenth century, then to Venice, then to the Prince-Bishops of Trento, then to Austria from 1815 until 1918. The Habsburg century left it the Mitteleuropean spa town where Kafka, Nietzsche and Thomas Mann came to write and recover.
The old town and the harbor meet at Piazza III Novembre, anchored by the civic tower on one side and the water on the other, while above, the fortified tower clings to the mountain that closes the lake off to the north. Down the shore, the gorge at Varone cuts into the territory of Tenno, a short distance from the town but a different landscape entirely, narrow and wet where the lakefront is open. The thermal Ora blows north up the lake in the afternoon and the cooler Pelèr blows south in the morning, the cycle that has made the town one of Europe's main windsurfing and sailing centers. What holds the place together is the layering: a fortified lake port, fought over by three powers, turned into a rest cure for writers from across the continent, and now given over to wind.
How to get there
From Verona (VRN), about 1 h 24 min by car.
Milan Bergamo (BGY) is about 2 h 2 min away.
By car from the center of Trento 47 min or Bolzano 1 h 24 min.
Driving in is restricted: there is a limited traffic zone here (Zona Traffico Limitato Centro storico). Check the signs and the times before you drive into the center.
Coming by train into Trento? Riva del Garda is about 48 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 Riva
The moated fortress stands ringed by water in the center of the old town. Inside, the MAG Museo Alto Garda holds the archaeology and picture collection built up across the centuries the building itself lived through.
Torre Apponale
First documented in 1273, the tower carries 165 steps to a terrace over the lake, with the Anzolim weather vane turning on top.
Chiesa dell'Inviolata
Octagonal baroque church built in 1603, with altarpieces by Palma il Giovane and a frescoed dome, commissioned by Gaudenzio Madruzzo as a pilgrimage shrine.
Bastione
Stone tower above the town on Monte Rocchetta, built after the end of Venetian rule. A panoramic lift reaches it in three minutes.
Cascata del Varone
Ninety-metre waterfall in a narrow gorge three kilometers from Riva on the territory of Tenno, with two viewing grottoes. The public park has been open since 1874.
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.
Al VoltRistorante
Al Volt holds a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Antiche MuraRistorante
One Gambero Rosso fork (76/100), at Antiche Mura.
Villetta AnnessaRistorante
Villetta Annessa has a spot in the Michelin Guide to its name.
2 more places the guides name in Riva del Garda
Zefiro dell'Hotel Lido PalaceRistorante
Zefiro dell'Hotel Lido Palace carries two Gambero Rosso forks (85/100).
Lido PalaceHotel
One Michelin Key for Lido Palace, and a Leading Hotels of the World listing.
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?
Riva del Garda meets both of our rules for a small town.
- 17,782 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Trento, a city of 118,640, is 47 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.
- Population 17,782, up 5.2% since 2015
- Nearest city Trento, 47 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Arco, 7 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €2,400 to €3,300 per m² to buy, €7.60 to €10.50 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
- In-between
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 80% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Verona airport (VRN), 1 h 24 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Trento, 47 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
11% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Albania and Morocco, against 9% across Italy. 164 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. There are 194 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 30% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Trento province ranks 1st of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Arco, 7 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Trento, 29 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Trento, 29 km away. The nearest IB school is International School of Verona, 52 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
Trento has its own property tax, IMIS, in place of IMU. 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 Trentino-Alto Adige spends about €2,620 a month, €500 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €302 a year for water, on the Trentino-Alto Adige average. In Trento, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.41, a meal in a pizzeria €13.90 and a man's haircut €24.84.
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. 78% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate medium for floods. 3% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
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
NORTH TIP OF GARDA
Where Italy's largest lake meets the Trentino mountains, with the Pelèr blowing south in the morning and the Ora blowing north in the afternoon.
THE ROCCA
Twelfth-century moated fortress in the center of town, contested for seven centuries between Trento, Venice and Austria, now the MAG Museo Alto Garda.
WIND
Two reliable thermal winds and two harbors make Riva one of the principal sailing and windsurfing centers in Europe, hosting world championship circuits.
Common questions
- What is Riva del Garda known for?
- Riva del Garda is the north tip of the lake at 73 meters, where the Trentino mountains close in on the water and a Habsburg port town stayed bilingual into the twentieth century.
- Where is Riva del Garda?
- Riva del Garda is a comune in the province of Trento, in Trentino-Alto Adige.
- What is the nearest airport to Riva del Garda?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Verona (VRN), about 1 h 24 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Trento to Riva del Garda?
- About 47 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Riva del Garda?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 17 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Riva del Garda?
- Anguillara Sabazia, Salò and Lonato del Garda.
- How many people live in Riva del Garda?
- 17,782 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Riva del Garda a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Riva del Garda is a small town that meets both of our rules. The nearest city, Trento, is 47 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Arco, 7 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 80% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 73 m
- Population: 17,782
- Surface area: 40.73 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 Riva del Garda appears in
- The 8 best towns with a serious restaurant that eat well within 90 minutes of TrentoNear Trentowithin 90 minserious restauranteats well8 towns · smallest 820 residents · closest 30 min away
- The best towns with a serious restaurant in the province of TrentoTrento provinceserious restaurant8 towns · smallest 820 residents
- The best lake towns within 75 minutes of TrentoNear Trentolakewithin 75 min10 towns · smallest 1,103 residents · closest 47 min away
Featured on
Riva del Garda appears on this themed pick from our Collections:
Similar
Towns like Riva del Garda
What all six share with Riva del Garda: lake towns · near sea level
Anguillara Sabazia
Province: Roma
both over 10,000 people
Salò
Province: Brescia
both over 10,000 people
Lonato del Garda
Province: Brescia
both over 10,000 people
Peschiera del Garda
Province: Verona
both over 10,000 people
Lazise
Province: Verona
1 h 10 min apart by road
Bardolino
Province: Verona
1 h 6 min apart by road
The letter
Riva del Garda 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: the photo, what is worth eating, and when to turn up. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Riva del Garda comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Chioggia, 134 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.