Winter

Winter on Lake Garda is a magnificence of lights, colours and decorations, especially during the Christmas celebrations thanks to the Christmas markets, the traditional nativity scenes in the villages or underwater and the amusing skating rinks. It is the right time to enjoy one of the beautiful Spas on the Lake, to relax and breathe in the open air staying in the warm water from 30° degrees upwards.

Lake Garda in winter is also the right destination for mountain lovers. The Monte Baldo gives the opportunity to enjoy this season far from the overcrowded big resorts, admiring the fascinating view while skiing, snowboarding or walking with snowshoes. On Monte Baldo there are various ski lifts, two main tracks, a red and a black one, and other easier tracks. You can also find many skiing schools that offer families and inexpert skiers the right fun. Not to forget the splendid view on the Lake, to admire during all your activities.

The Christmas markets add more magic to the winter period on the Lake.
“Natale dal Sei al Sei” (“Christmas from the sixth to the sixth”), the Christmas manifestation in Bardolino, comes every year with games, shows, meetings and concerts. During 44 days, the entire town centre turns into an amazing Christmas scene with magical lights, colours, and decorations and market stalls offering local produce. Along the lakeshore, many companies exhibit their products: traditional delicacies and wines, typical handicrafts and other handmade Christmas items. At the end of this long promenade, there is the heated igloo, a transparent construction from where you can have a look at the close skating rink. The streets in the centre are lighted up by the Christmas lights and decorations and guide the visitors to the traditional exhibitions of native scenes. Every year in Bardolino, you can see a big collection of these representations from all over the world. Starting in the San Severo church till the Sala della Disciplina, a room full of frescoes, in Garibaldi street (Via Garibaldi), you can get a good idea of the Christmas spirit. About 60 side events are organised during the Bardolino Christmas Event: guided tastings by the Consorzio del Radicchio di Verona IGP (the Radicchio of Verona consortium), funny meetings with Manny (the mascot of the Folgaria ski area), a chocolate market, concerts by the Bardolino philharmonic and much more.

Garda and the “Natale tra gli olivi” manifestation (“Christmas under Olive Trees”) feature a big marquee on the lakeshore hosting themed lunches and dinners. Furthermore, there are theatre representations, concerts and many other happenings for children, young people and elderlies. Here you can experience the unique atmosphere of an unusual and original winter surrounded by the lake and olive trees, both of them ancient symbols of Christmas.

Winter is also a good period to visit the museums around the Lake. On the shore of Lake Garda, in Bardolino’s Cisano district, is the Cisano oil factory (Oleificio Cisano) with an olive oil museum. The museum, inaugurated at the end of the 80s, registers 50.000 visitors per year. It takes visitors on an exploration of oleiculture in the Mediterranean from antiquity to this day and age, as well as of the machines for olive harvest and olive oil production from the 18th century. The museum includes a small shop where visitors can acquire products from the Cisano oil factory and Lake Garda: olive oil, vinegar, grappas, spirits, wine and cosmetics from natural extracts.

Another museum in Bardolino is the wine museum inside the Cantina Fratelli Zeni winery in Via Costabella. It is subdivided into various sections that each focus on a different aspect of the production chain – from winegrowing to the final bottling of the finished product.