Trentino-South Tyrol · 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.
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 centre of town, contested for seven centuries between Trento, Venice and Austria, now the MAG Museo Alto Garda.
WIND
Two reliable thermal winds and two harbours make Riva one of the principal sailing and windsurfing centres in Europe, hosting world championship circuits.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
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 twelfth century, then to Venice, then to the Prince-Bishops of Trento, then to Austria-Hungary 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 harbour 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 centres. 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.
The Sunday letter
We haven’t written Riva del Garda’s letter yet.
One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.
What to see
Rocca di Riva
The moated fortress stands ringed by water in the centre 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 kilometres from Riva on the territory of Tenno, with two viewing grottoes. The public park has been open since 1874.
Lake Garda waterfront
North tip of Italy's largest lake, with two harbours and the Brescian and Veronese shores in view, a centre for sailing, windsurfing and the morning-and-afternoon wind cycle.
The slow-trip planner
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We recommend
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.
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.
Living here
- Population 17,787
- In-betweeni
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Nearest airport Verona, 1 h 24 min drive
- Regional capital Trento, 47 min drive
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 73 m
- Population: 17,787
- Surface area: 40.73 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
Close by
More towns near Riva del Garda
Tenno
Province: Trento
A hillside commune above Lake Garda where a medieval stone hamlet, a turquoise lake and the northernmost olive groves in Europe sit within reach of each other.
Limone sul Garda
Province: Brescia
The northernmost lemon-growing town in the world, at 46 degrees north on the western shore of Lake Garda, reached by road only in 1932.
Bleggio Superiore
Province: Trento
A scattered Giudicarie commune whose hilltop hamlet of Rango holds the Christmas markets, with a Slow Food walnut grown on the terraces below.
Rovereto
Province: Trento
The Vallagarina city at 204 metres where a Venetian-Austrian castle holds the Italian war museum and a domed contemporary art museum holds Italy's largest collection of its kind in the Alps.
Brentonico
Province: Trento
The Monte Baldo plateau town between Lake Garda and the Vallagarina, with chestnut groves, war trenches and a botanical garden.
🍷 Città del Vino
