Lake Garda Western Shore
A 311 km loop
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Why this ride
A rider’s loop: clean exit, memorable middle, calm return. 311 km round from Milan - plan on about 5 h 40 of riding. The plan has 1 food stop marked.
Roadbook
- Milan
start
Milan does not try to charm you, and that is part of its charm. It is Italy's business capital, a city of fashion, finance and design that works hard and dresses well. At the centre stands the Duomo, a Gothic cathedral begun in 1386 and not finished for about five centuries, a forest of white marble spires and statues, and you can climb onto the roof among them. Beside it, the glass-roofed Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is a nineteenth-century shopping arcade, and beyond it La Scala opera house.
In the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Leonardo da Vinci painted The Last Supper in the 1490s, and booking is essential if you want to see it. In the south, the Navigli canals, partly designed by Leonardo's era engineers, now line with bars and restaurants, and the city's aperitivo tradition, a drink with a spread of snacks, is at its best here. The yellow trams of the old city rattle along rails that are treacherous for motorbike wheels, especially in the wet.
South of the city lies the abbey of Chiaravalle, a Cistercian foundation from the twelfth century with a tall tower, standing in the fields at the edge of the suburbs, a peaceful contrast. The ride to the Venetian walls of Bergamo, built in the sixteenth century, leads north-east across the Lombard plain, where fog can hang thick in autumn and winter, then up into the foothills of the Alps. The roads are busy, so go early on a weekday, and be ready for a mix of motorway and small country roads.
Fuel is easy across the region, with plenty of stations on the ring roads, and bike parking is common in the centre, though the old core has traffic limits that you need to check. Try risotto alla milanese, golden with saffron, and ossobuco, braised veal shank, and finish with a slice of panettone, which comes from here. The city is quietest in August, when many locals leave for the sea, and liveliest in spring and autumn.
- Garda
food
Garda is the town that gave the lake its name, and it sits on the eastern shore, on a gentle bay sheltered by the headland of Punta San Vigilio and the hill of the Rocca, where a castle once stood. It is worth saying straight away that if your ride is a western shore ride, you are on the opposite side here; the lake is long and narrow, and the car ferry between Torri del Benaco, just north of Garda, and Toscolano Maderno on the western shore is the quickest way to get across. The crossing itself, with the mountains rising on both sides, is a lovely break.
The town is charming, with a long lakeside promenade lined with palm trees, cafés and restaurants, and a small old centre of narrow lanes and Venetian-style palazzi. The eastern shore is known as the Riviera degli Olivi, for its olive groves, and the area produces excellent olive oil, as well as Bardolino wine, a light red made in the hills just to the south. Lunch on the lakefront, with a glass of Bardolino and fish from the lake, is an easy pleasure.
The western shore, across the water, is more dramatic. The Gardesana Occidentale, the road along the western shore, runs through dozens of tunnels carved into the cliffs, with views over the lake. Above Campione del Garda, the Strada della Forra, which climbs through a narrow gorge to Tremosine, is often described as one of the most spectacular roads in the world, and it featured in the opening chase of the James Bond film Quantum of Solace. It is narrow, twisty and spectacular, with overhanging rock walls.
On the eastern shore, the road above Garda climbs onto the slopes of Monte Baldo, with fine views over the lake. Traffic around the lake can be very heavy in summer, especially on weekends, and the lakeside roads are slow, so plan to ride early in the morning or in the evening. Fuel and services are available in Garda and the surrounding towns. Come in May or late September if you can, when it is mild and far less crowded.
- Milan finish