Villas in Lake Garda

Families usually do best on the gentler southern shores, around Lazise, Peschiera and Manerba, close to Verona airport, beaches and Gardaland. Malcesine and Limone suit walkers and mountain views, and Riva del Garda and Arco are the base for windsurfing, cycling and climbing. It is a freshwater lake, not the sea, and the busy lakeside road is slow in summer.

Where

Villas: 658
From, per week: £158
Cheapest month: October
Nearest airports: Verona Villafranca is closest to the south and east shores, and Milan Bergamo suits the south-west. Both have direct flights from London taking around two hours. Riva, Limone and Malcesine are an hour or more from Verona. Desenzano and Peschiera also have railway stations.

Where to stay in Lake Garda

Manerba, Moniga, San Felice and Salò (the Valtènesi, south-west shore)

This gently rolling stretch of the Brescia shore has more of our Garda villas than anywhere else. Manerba has the ruined Rocca di Manerba on its headland and long pebble and sand beaches, and you can wade out to the tiny Isola San Biagio from Punta Belvedere. Salò has an elegant lakefront promenade. Verona airport is around 45 minutes to an hour away; Bergamo is a little over an hour.

Best for: Families wanting beaches, vineyards and a choice of villas

Not for you if: You want a big resort town on the doorstep: these are small villages spread among vineyards.

Lazise, Bardolino, Peschiera and Colà (south-east shore)

The Veneto shore has easy lakeside walks between walled Lazise and Bardolino, known for its light red wine. Peschiera del Garda is a fortified town on the lake's southern tip with a railway station, and Gardaland is just outside it. Colà and Salionze are a few minutes inland, quieter and close to the river Mincio. Verona airport is around 20 to 30 minutes away.

Best for: Families who want Gardaland and a short airport transfer

Not for you if: You want peace in August: this is the liveliest, most built-up side of the lake.

Desenzano and Sirmione (southern shore)

Desenzano is the lake's biggest town, with a busy harbour, shops and a station on the Milan to Venice line. Sirmione stretches out on a narrow peninsula, with a moated castle at its entrance and the Roman ruins of the Grotte di Catullo at its tip. Both get very busy on summer weekends. Verona airport is around 30 to 40 minutes away and Bergamo about an hour.

Best for: Couples and families who want towns, restaurants and trains

Not for you if: You want to drive into the old town: Sirmione's centre is closed to most traffic.

Malcesine, Brenzone, Torri del Benaco and Garda (east shore)

Below Monte Baldo the shore becomes steeper and greener. Malcesine has a lakeside castle and a cable car that climbs to around 1,800 metres in about 20 minutes, open from spring to early November. Brenzone is a string of quiet hamlets, while Torri del Benaco has the year-round car ferry across to Maderno. Garda and Albisano sit at the gentler southern end. Verona airport is 40 minutes to an hour and a quarter away.

Best for: Walkers and anyone who wants mountain views from the water

Not for you if: You want sandy beaches: the shore here is mostly pebbles and narrow strips.

Riva del Garda, Arco and Dro (the northern tip)

The northern tip sits in Trentino, framed by mountains. Reliable winds, a northerly in the morning and the Ora from the south in the afternoon, make this one of Europe's best-known windsurfing and sailing spots. Arco is a hub for rock climbing, and Lake Ledro is around 20 minutes' drive from Riva. Verona airport is around an hour and a quarter away.

Best for: Active holidays: windsurfing, sailing, cycling, climbing and hiking

Not for you if: You want calm water all day: the wind picks up most afternoons.

Limone, Tremosine, Gargnano and Toscolano (north-west shore)

Here the mountains drop straight into the lake. Limone sul Garda is known for its old lemon houses, and the Strada della Forra climbs through a gorge from the lake to Tremosine's plateau villages. Gargnano and Bogliaco are quiet harbour villages, and Toscolano has the car ferry to Torri. Gardone Riviera has the Vittoriale, the poet D'Annunzio's estate. Verona airport is an hour and a half or more from Limone.

Best for: Couples and walkers who want dramatic scenery and quieter villages

Not for you if: You are nervous on mountain roads: the lakeside road runs through long tunnels and Tremosine sits high above it.

When to go to Lake Garda

June and September are ideal: the lake is warm enough to swim, the ferries are running and the towns are calmer than in high summer. July and August are hot and busy, peaking around Ferragosto on 15 August, when Italian, German and Dutch families fill the lake. Spring suits walking and cycling. From November to March many lakeside restaurants, campsites and attractions close, ferries run a reduced timetable and the Monte Baldo cable car shuts.