The towns and villages around Lake Garda are easily explored by bicycle with routes to suit all experience levels. The novice cyclist can meander along the lake front paths taking in the wonderful scenery with plenty of options for refreshment breaks along the way. For the more experienced cyclist there are plenty of routes with steep climbs and sharp turns and drops which take in hillside villages and offer panoramic views of the lake and mountains.
This route, ideal for the intermediate cyclist, takes you from the bustling lakeside town of Bardolino on a 40km journey, ending at the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Frassino in Peschiera.
The itinerary partly runs along the lakeside promenade and then climbs up the hill. You will travel along roads, lanes, cycle paths (including the cycle path of the Sun and the Vineyards) as well as dirt and sand roads.
You will enjoy splendid views of the lake and the surrounding mountains and countryside, as you glide past vineyards, olive groves, fruit fields, and take in the quaint local life.
Along the route there are plenty of options for a refreshment stop, and as you arrive into the resort town of Peschiera, cycling through the 16th-century Porta Verona, one of the gateways in the old city walls, your reward awaits at one of the many bars or restaurants.
Highlight
The Sanctuary of the Madonna del Frassino
At the end of a wide avenue of cypresses, at the foot of the verdant Garda hills, is the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Frassino, built between 1511 and 1514 in the Renaissance style. The harmonious and elegant architectural structure of the church consists of a single nave, embellished with 8 side altars and 2 chapels – the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament and the Apparition.
Guarded by the Franciscan Friars Minor and the destination, every year, of thousands of pilgrims, the sanctuary stands on the place where the miraculous event took place on 11 May 1510, when the Madonna appeared to the farmer Bartolomeo Broglia.
