Castello Scaligero

Lake Garda


This atmospheric museum packs a wealth of history into the rough stone walls of a 14th-century castle. The fortification was built in 1338 as part of the Della Scala family's attempts to fend off the Venetian Republic. Each of the castle's rooms explores a different traditional industry such as boat building, fishing, olive-oil production and citrus growing.

Most interesting is the limonaie (lemon glasshouse), the oldest on the lake, which dates from 1760 – it's crowded with fragrant citrus trees and windfalls litter the floor.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Lake Garda attractions

1. Chiesa dei Santi Pietro e Paolo

0.2 MILES

Looking out across Lake Garda, this large church is worth a look for its exquisitely painted ceilings, altars by Tomezzoli and Benedetti and an angel…

2. Parco Baia delle Sirene

2.36 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.

3. Punta San Vigilio

2.43 MILES

The leafy headland of Punta San Vigilio curls out into the lake 3km north of Garda. An avenue of cypress trees leads from the car park towards a gorgeous…

4. Market

2.44 MILES

It's worth timing a visit to Garda to coincide with its exuberant Friday market, one of the biggest on the lake's eastern bank. Look out for Lake Garda…

5. Pieve di San Zeno

4.55 MILES

There's old and there's...old. Hemmed in by houses and guarded by an agreeably shabby courtyard north of the main road, this tiny church, dating from the…

6. Museo della Carta

4.84 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…

7. Isola del Garda

4.86 MILES

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…

8. Museo del Vino

5.32 MILES

Just off the main lake road and walkable from town, the Museo del Vino is set within the Zeni Winery, and rarely has a museum smelt this good. Rich scents…