Walks around the Fenice

Continue towards Peschiera passing on the wooden piers, the first and longest one crossing a reed bed (look to the left and take a photo on sunny days!), the second and shorter one crossing a “Ganfo”, which is one of the water opening into the lake from inland.

At this point you will find a house entirely painted by some street artists, created thanks to a project in cooperation with the municipality of Sirmione. We continue along the walk dedicated to Margherita Hack (perhaps because in the evening, without street lights, from here you can enjoy a beautiful starry sky, crowned by small lights on the opposite coast of the lake). At the end of this avenue, which has a large green park on the right and the lake on the left, there is the fisherman’s house.

The fisherman’s house is a magical and little-known place in the municipality of Sirmione; recently inaugurated after a deep renovation, to make it a museum open to the public, the house can be visited in the morning and contains historical evidence of one of the most practiced activities in Sirmione in the last century: the fishing. Through the words of a fisherman we retrace the daily life of the house that actually belonged to a local fisherman.

Inside you can find more details for the visit. In addition to the historical interest, from here you can enjoy an exceptional view of the Sirmione peninsula: the colors of the lake and the nature of this corner of the world can provide the necessary relaxation after a long week of work. There is no shortage of benches for short breaks, all overlooking the lake.

If you want to continue further, you will find a public pier on the left that leads through the reed bed towards the lake, from here you can take beautiful photos or relax for a few minutes in the peace of nature.

The walk is approximately 2-3 kilometers long.

It is right here that you can make a first stop and read the curious panel that tells of the prehistoric stilt houses, a UNESCO heritage site, which were found on the lakebed of the Lugana Vecchia area and today still there protected lie.

Continuing along the lake you will reach Porto Galeazzi, a small port that connects the pedestrian street with the road for cars that leads directly to the peninsula in the direction of Sirmione. At this point the road towards the castle became the only one available but constantly equipped with a pavement enabling people to reach the historic center on foot.

Continuing in this direction you will find on the right a small clearing where you can relax for a few minutes with some benches overlooking the lake and a century-old plant recognized with a plaque from the municipality of Sirmione. From here the center is no longer far away and to enter the historicity of this place it is necessary to cross the ancient drawbridge of Sirmione scaliger castle and immerse yourself in a medieval atmosphere.

We recommend avoiding the central road of the town bordered by very touristic places and taking an immediate right going around the castle (which is still worth a visit, even if the interior is empty, for a photo up from above the main tower which shows the peninsula and the ancient dock). From here, Via Antiche Mura shows the first houses built in the village, fishermen’s houses near the castle dock, which date back to the Middle Ages.

Continuing slightly uphill you arrive at the church of Santa Maria della Neve, which we recommend visiting for the sixteenth-century frescoes it preserves, created by Lombard-Venetian painters. If you then pass behind the church, you will notice on the right a beautiful little lakeside garden of the parish, ideal for a souvenir photo. Continuing the road, it opens onto a small clearing with a particular signboard: obligation to give a kiss with truly breathtaking scenery!

Then, taking the stairs, you go down to “Spiaggia delle Muse” and from there a walk by the lake takes you to Lido delle Bionde, one of the most beautiful panoramic points of Sirmione. From here you can continue your walk climbing the hill towards the Grotte di Catullo.

You can then choose to visit this ancient Roman archaeological site with a 360° view of the lake and the century-old olive groves, or go down the main road which connects to the historic center along its main (and more touristic and chaotic) street. In this case the journey from the Fenice is quite long: to get to the castle it is about 3-4 kilometers one way, excluding the route within the village walls.