Isola del Garda

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It's not often you get to explore such a stunning private island, villa and grounds. Anchored just off Salò, this speck of land is crowned with impressive battlements, luxuriant formal gardens and a sumptuous neo-Gothic Venetian villa. Boats depart from towns including Salò, San Felice del Benaco, Gardone Riviera and Sirmione, but in typical Italian fashion they only leave each location one or two times a week, so plan ahead. See the website for the precise timetable.

The island is owned by the Contessa Cavazza, and she and her seven children still live on the island with their families; you may well see some of them strolling around. The tour price includes a small aperitivo. Visits to the island are by guided tour only (in Italian, English, French and German) and last one and a half to two hours.

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Nearby attractions

1. Santuario della Madonna del Carmine

2.16 MILES

The sanctuary of the Madonna del Carmine dates from 1452. Its simple Gothic-Romanesque exterior does little to prepare you for the technicolour frescoes…

3. Il Vittoriale degli Italiani

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4. Parco Archeologico Rocca di Manerba

2.52 MILES

Protected by Unesco, the gorgeous 'rock of Minerva' juts out scenically into the lake just north of Moniga del Garda. The park contains the remaining low…

5. Republic of Salò

3 MILES

In 1943 Salò was named the capital of the Social Republic of Italy as part of Mussolini and Hitler's last efforts to organise Italian Fascism in the face…

6. Museo di Salò

3.12 MILES

Opened in the mid-2010s and housed in an old monastery a block back from Salò’s ferry dock, Musa’s exhibits are split between a permanent collection that…

7. Museo della Carta

3.89 MILES

The Toscolano torrent upstream fed numerous paper mills in the Middle Ages and you can follow the riverside road up the wooded Valle delle Cartiere and…

8. Parco Baia delle Sirene

4.38 MILES

The privately owned Parco Baia delle Sirene rents sun loungers beneath the trees on Punta San Vigilio's beach. Entry is free at sunset.

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