Located on an extremely narrow peninsula that juts into the southern tip of Lake Garda, the resort town of Sirmione is undoubtedly best known for its castle on the water–but there are several cool things to do in Sirmione!
Bite-sized, walkable, and with a historic center lined on either side by lake views, Sirmione is enduringly popular for good reason.
We had Sirmione marked on our “places to eventually visit in Italy” list for years before we had a chance to go, and we had a wonderful visit–though not everything was exactly as we expected.
If you’re planning a trip to Sirmione, here’s everything you need to know before you go!
Table of Contents
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The Best Things to Do in Sirmione, Italy
- Visit the striking Castello Scaligero di Sirmione.
- Take a boat tour to appreciate Sirimione from the water.
- Wander through Grotte di Catullo, Sirmione’s Roman ruins.
- Relax on the beach.
- Stroll along the promenade.
- Pay a visit to the Church of San Pietro in Mavino.
- Soak in Sirimione’s thermal springs.
- Enjoy meandering through Sirmione’s historic center.
- Where to Stay in Sirmione
- Can you take a day trip to Sirmione?
- How Long to Stay in Sirmione
- Getting Around Sirmione + Lake Garda
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Tips for Visiting Sirmione
- Expect resort-town vibes when visiting Sirmione.
- Watch out for overly touristy gelato.
- If you want to avoid the worst of the crowds, spend the night!
- Don’t expect to drive into the historic center (and make parking plans in advance).
- If you’re driving to Sirmione for a day trip, arrive as early as possible!
- Read More About Visiting Northern Italy
The Best Things to Do in Sirmione, Italy
Visit the striking Castello Scaligero di Sirmione.
Who needs a normal moat when you have the entirety of Lake Garda to protect you?
You truly can’t miss the Castello Scaligero di Sirmione (sometimes called Sirmione Castle to keep things simple). It’s essentially the first thing you see as you cross the small drawbridge into the historic center!
Perched right on the shores of the lake, Sirmione Castle dates to the 14th century and was built by the powerful Della Scala family of Verona.
Today, the castle is best known for its striking appearance–a portion of the lake is walled off within its bounds–and its beautiful views.
The castle walls, which you can climb along during your visit, overlook the Sirmione Peninsula and offer the best viewpoint in town.
Visiting the castle is a must-do in Sirmione!
Take a boat tour to appreciate Sirimione from the water.
Inexpensive boat tours that circle the Sirmione Peninsula run constantly–and jumping on one is easily one of the best things to do in Sirmione.
With a low time commitment, you can admire the best of Sirmione from the water, while also appreciating the splendid setting of Lake Garda itself.
If you’re visiting Sirmione during a particularly crowded time or are tied to a specific schedule, you can book your boat tour in advance.
If your schedule is flexible, though, you can also just walk up and ask what the next boat available is (we waited less than 2 hours for ours).
Prefer something a bit more luxurious? This private sunset cruise is a memorable option!
Wander through Grotte di Catullo, Sirmione’s Roman ruins.
To step a whopping 2000+ years back in history, make your way to the very tip of the peninsula, where you’ll find the Grotte di Catullo (or “Grottoes of Catullus”).
As it turns out, this villa was neither a grotto nor had anything to do with the poet Catullus, but the ruins provide a memorable stop in Sirmione.
Originally an aristocrat’s villa, the building was later repurposed several times, eventually serving in a defensive capacity and now, a touristic one!
The views are just as remarkable as you might expect given that the location for the home was chosen by a wealthy aristocrat.
And, as a bonus, Grotte di Catullo is generally less crowded than Sirmione’s historic center, as it requires a bit of a walk to get to (20-25 minutes from the castle, depending on how much you stop along the way).
We visited near closing time at sunset, and had the place almost entirely to ourselves!
Relax on the beach.
Sirmione is lined with beaches and lidos (Italian beach clubs, a staple of Italian summers wherever there is water to enjoy), and no matter where you are on the peninsula, you’re never more than a short walk from a place to put your feet in the water.
Jamaica Beach, located at the end of the peninsula and featuring superb views over Lake Garda, is undoubtedly the most famous, and well worth visiting.
Spiaggia Lido del Bionde is also popular, and the smaller Spiaggia del Prete, located on the east side of town, is a laid-back stop.
Ultimately, Sirmione is such a small place that it’s hard to go wrong when choosing a beach… and it’s not much of a commitment to do so, as they’re all within walking distance of each other!
Stroll along the promenade.
Want to enjoy incredible Lake Garda views without committing to either a beach visit or a boat tour?
If so, strolling Sirmione’s promenade may be perfect for you!
And, while the promenade offers beautiful views during the day, it’s lovely after dinner with a cool evening breeze, too.
Pay a visit to the Church of San Pietro in Mavino.
Dating back to the 8th century and featuring frescoes that were painted as early as the 14th century, the quiet and peaceful Church of San Pietro in Mavino is a lovely escape from the bustle of Sirmione’s historic center.
Located on the northern part of the peninsula, not far from Grotte di Catullo, Sirmione’s oldest church is a quick and worthwhile stop when seeking out the best things to do in Sirmione.
Soak in Sirimione’s thermal springs.
Sirmione is famous for its spas, and especially for its thermal springs!
In the historic center, the Terme di Catullo and Aquaria Thermal Spa are among the most famous spas in town.
Several hotels in town, including Hotel Sirmione, also offer on-site thermal spas.
Enjoy meandering through Sirmione’s historic center.
Sirmione’s historic center is small, but lovely, offering a compact area of narrow streets packed with restaurants, shops, cafes, minor attractions like the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, and scenic spots like the view overlooking the lake at the edge of Piazza Porto Valentino.
The historic center–and its notable crowds–are densest right past the Castello Scaligero.
As you continue north, the historic center quickly ends, replaced by a (slightly) wider section of the peninsula that offers more spread-out hotels, beaches, and attractions.
The crowds thin out along with the buildings, so if you’re overwhelmed by the historic center, you won’t have to travel far to leave it!
Where to Stay in Sirmione
We loved our stay at Hotel Meridiana in Sirmione!
The room was lovely, the roof deck offered beautiful views, the service was excellent, and the breakfast leaned heavily toward homemade cakes, which is always a delight when on vacation in Italy.
Hotel Meridiana also offers on-site parking, which was very helpful as we were visiting as part of a road trip and, as you can see in other places in this post, parking in Sirmione can be a bit of a hassle.
Other popular options include Hotel Sirmione, which features an on-site thermal spa, and Hotel Casa Scaligeri, which offers recently renovated, modern rooms in the absolute heart of Sirmione.
All the hotels mentioned here get excellent reviews and are located within walking distance of the best things to do in Sirmione.
Check rates & book your stay in Sirmione today!
Can you take a day trip to Sirmione?
Yes, you absolutely can take a day trip to Sirmione!
Verona is by far the closest major Italian city to Sirmione, and you can reach the town in under an hour from there by car.
However, many cities in northern Italy, including Milan, Venice, Parma, Padua, Ferrara, Bologna, Brescia, and Bergamo, are close enough to Sirmione that a day trip is possible, especially if you travel by car and plan your day well (in other words, assuming you get started early in the morning).
Renting a car for the day will also allow you to enjoy other stops along the way, including potentially some beautiful views of Lake Garda, depending on your route.
While you can reach Sirmione by a combination of train and bus (more on that in a section below), there is no train station directly in Sirmione.
It’s still a doable day trip by public transportation from many destinations, but not the simplest one available.
Alternatively, guided tours are popular options for visiting Sirmione from Verona and Milan.
This well-reviewed day trip from Verona includes a boat cruise and additional scenic stops along Lake Garda, and this day trip from Milan includes a stop in Verona, as well as a boat cruise and a visit to Sirmione.
How Long to Stay in Sirmione
The top attractions in Sirmione itself can easily be enjoyed in a day to a day and a half, depending on how much time you want to spend on the beaches and/or in the thermal spas.
If you want to enjoy a more leisurely pace that includes plenty of time at the beaches and soaking in the thermal spas, plus possibly a day trip to another destination or two on Lake Garda (like beautiful Isola del Garda, for instance), you can easily fill 2-3 days sightseeing in Sirmione.
Getting Around Sirmione + Lake Garda
Sirmione itself is extremely walkable. Whether you’re visiting on a day trip or staying for a few days like we did, you’ll want to park your car upon arrival and not touch it again until you leave town.
(If you’re not staying at a hotel that offers parking, we recommend consulting the official Sirmione parking page before arriving–more on that below).
When it comes to getting around Lake Garda itself, you have a few options.
You can either drive, take the bus, take the bus to a bigger ferry station or a train station (there’s no train station in Sirmione itself, you’ll need to head to nearby Desenzano del Garda or Peschiera del Garda), or take the ferry.
If you’re hoping to visit more of the scenic towns along Lake Garda itself, like Limone sul Garda, Garda, Malcesine, and Riva del Garda, the ferry is undoubtedly the most scenic option–but driving is generally significantly faster, partially because most ferry routes connect through nearby towns like Desenzano del Garda.
Tips for Visiting Sirmione
Expect resort-town vibes when visiting Sirmione.
Sirmione is a beautiful place that is close to Milan and Verona, surrounded by a stunning landscape, and prominently features a historic castle right on the water.
… So it’s no surprise that it’s incredibly popular!
While we loved our visit to Sirmione, there’s no doubt that it feels a bit more like a resort that happens to be housed in an Italian town than an actual, real-life functioning town at times, especially in the heart of the historic center.
This is similar to places like Bellagio and Positano, which are two other waterfront towns in Italy that, like Sirmione, are certainly worth enjoying, but feel entirely consumed by their tourism industries.
Watch out for overly touristy gelato.
This goes a bit hand-in-hand with the advice above, but after visiting well over a hundred Italian cities, towns, and hamlets, I have to say that we have never seen as over-the-top gigantic portions of touristy gelato as we did in Sirmione, and it wasn’t exactly a bargain, either!
As a general rule, for delicious, authentic gelato, look for gelato enclosed in its metal tub (so nothing mounded over the top), with muted colors (pistachio should be brown-ish, not lime colored).
Now, if you just want to enjoy a frozen treat at the nearest spot, have at it–but if you’re a foodie looking for traditional Italian gelato, tread carefully in Sirmione.
If you want to avoid the worst of the crowds, spend the night!
Like many other popular day trip destinations with a small footprint, Sirmione gets positively overrun with day-trippers during the high season.
If you want to experience a more laid-back version of the town, though, you easily can by simply spending the night!
Once the day-trippers head back to their base cities, you’ll see a much more relaxed side of Sirmione.
We took full advantage of the lack of day-trippers in the early evenings during our visit and enjoyed plenty of benefits, including having the Grotte di Catullo almost entirely to ourselves at sunset.
Another option?
If you aren’t invested in actually swimming in Lake Garda during your trip, visiting Sirmione in the winter is a great way to make the most of the thermal spas and extra elbow room, though be prepared for some hotels and restaurants to be closed for the season.
Don’t expect to drive into the historic center (and make parking plans in advance).
Unless you’re staying in a hotel on the peninsula that offers parking (Hotel Meridiana is one of these, though I will say driving through Sirmione’s historic center was not exactly fun), you’ll need to park your car before crossing the drawbridge at Castello Scaligero that marks the entrance to the historic center.
There are many parking lots in the area designed to accommodate visitors, starting just past the drawbridge and edging steadily further away from the historic center.
We recommend consulting the official Sirmione parking page for the most up-to-date information and arriving prepared to both be flexible and to do a bit of walking as you start your visit.
If you’re driving to Sirmione for a day trip, arrive as early as possible!
This goes hand-in-hand with the advice above, but if you’re taking an independent day trip to Sirmione, arriving as early as possible will help your day go smoothly!
In a destination where parking is competitive and busloads of tourists are dropping off each morning, an early start is a big advantage.
Sirmione Castle opens at 8:30 AM most days (it’s closed on Mondays).
Read More About Visiting Northern Italy
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