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00 Torri Del Benaco
Stemma di Torri del Benaco

Veneto · Verona

Torri del Benaco

Lake Garda's east-shore castle town, with a ferry to Toscolano-Maderno and olive groves up to Albisano.

Best time
Apr–Oct
By car
46 min from Verona
Population
2,927

Known for

  • CASTELLO SCALIGERO

    Lakeside fortress rebuilt in 1383 by Antonio della Scala, now an ethnographic museum on fishing, olive oil and local rock carvings.

  • GARDA DOP OLIVE OIL

    Olive groves along the hillside up to Albisano, producing one of the northernmost extra-virgin oils in Europe under the Garda DOP.

  • THE WINTER FERRY

    Direct car ferry to Toscolano-Maderno on the Brescian shore, the only Garda crossing that runs through the winter months.

  • BARDOLINO SUPERIORE

    The commune lies inside the Bardolino Superiore DOCG production zone.

When to visit

Best · Apr–Oct

  • J8°
  • F12°
  • M14°
  • A18°
  • M22°
  • J27°
  • J29°
  • A29°
  • S24°
  • O20°
  • N13°
  • D9°
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.

Why come

Torri del Benaco sits thirty kilometers northwest of Verona, opposite the Gulf of Salò. The name carries the old Roman name for the lake, Benacus, and the towers refer to the medieval fortifications still standing along the lakefront. The fortress there was rebuilt over a tenth-century structure and now houses rooms on local fishing, olive cultivation and the prehistoric rock carvings found above the town.

The harbor is enclosed by the old walls and towers that give the town its name, with the ferry pier and lakefront promenade running south toward Garda; the crossing to Toscolano-Maderno on the Brescian shore runs year-round, the only winter crossing on the upper lake. Above the harbor, the frazioni of Albisano, Pai and Crero hold the hillside, their olive groves supplying oil sold under the Garda DOP label. The harbor and the narrow lanes behind it form the working center of a commune that has lived on the lake since the Roman period, its geography read straight off the name: towers below, groves above, water in between.

The Sunday letter

Torri del Benaco 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 Torri del Benaco comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.

Read on

Torri del Benaco in our articles

How to get there

From Verona (VRN), about 54 minutes by car.

Milan (BGY) is about 1h 34m away.

By car from the centre of Trento 1h 9m or Brescia 1h 10m.

Driving in is restricted: there is a limited traffic zone here (Zona Traffico Limitato - Torri del Benaco Centro Storico). Check the signs and the times before you drive into the centre.

Coming by train into Verona Porta Nuova? Torri del Benaco is about 44 minutes away by road.

Every town within reach of Verona airport.

Torri del Benaco, photo 1
Torri del Benaco, photo 2

What to see

  • Castello Scaligero

    Castle rebuilt by Antonio della Scala in 1383 over a tenth-century fortress, now an ethnographic museum on fishing, olive oil and the Monte Luppia rock carvings.

  • Porto and Lungolago

    Medieval harbor enclosed by old walls and towers, with the ferry pier and the lakefront promenade running south toward Garda.

  • Albisano

    Hilltop frazione 250 meters above the lake, with a panoramic terrace over the basin and the parish church of San Martino.

  • Incisioni rupestri di Monte Luppia

    Prehistoric rock carvings above town, documented from the Bronze Age and explained in a dedicated room of the castle museum.

  • Chiesa della Santissima Trinità

    Fourteenth-century church with frescoes from the Verona school, on a small piazza one block back from the harbor.

The slow-trip planner

Building a trip? Find where Torri del Benaco 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.

Plan your trip

We recommend

Where to 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.

  • Cape of SensesHotel

    Cape of Senses has one Michelin Key to its name.

Living here

  • Population 2,927
  • Remotei
  • Pharmacy in town
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Nearest airport Verona, 54 min drive
  • Regional capital Venezia, 1 h 52 min drive

Common questions

What is Torri del Benaco known for?
Lake Garda's east-shore castle town at 67 meters, with a ferry to Toscolano-Maderno and olive groves up to Albisano.
Where is Torri del Benaco?
Torri del Benaco is a comune in the province of Verona, in Veneto.
What is the nearest airport to Torri del Benaco?
Verona (VRN), about 54 minutes by car.
How long is the drive from Trento to Torri del Benaco?
About 1h 9m by car.
When is the best time to visit Torri del Benaco?
Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 16 rain days.
Which other towns are like Torri del Benaco?
Brenzone sul Garda, Limone sul Garda and San Zeno di Montagna.
How many people live in Torri del Benaco?
2,927 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 67 m
  • Population: 2,927
  • Surface area: 46.3 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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