Sirmione is on a peninsula – jutting into the southern end of Lake Garda – known for it’s castle and spas. We wanted to check it out, and knowing it would get busy on the weekend decided to go early morning on Saturday. On the way we stopped at Pasticceria e Panificio Scairato Sirmione for brioche with Nutella (shaped like croissant) and a creme pastry. We didn’t want to fight our way to the very closest parking lots, so we settled for the large Monte Baldo municipal lot that charged 2.50e / hr for parking and ate our pastries on the 8 minute walk to the old town entrance.

Unfortunately, the castle was undergoing repairs, so you can only see parts of it that aren’t covered in scaffolding. You also need to cross a fairly narrow bridge to get into the old town and the small square on the other side is chaotic, with large crowds of people milling about and cars trying to squeeze through as well.

We quickly left that section and started exploring some of the side streets. After a brief stop in an unassuming, but quaint, church we walked through a villa area about half a mile from the center of town onto a panoramic point along a rocky beach.

We noticed quite a few boats circling the point to give tourists a view from the lake. Continuing along a rocky beach for a mile we finally reached the northern tip of the peninsula, which ends in a small beach club. From there we turned around and made our way back through town.

We witnessed even more people (and cars) pouring in as we left – getting there early on Saturday is definitely a good idea. Honestly, the town was rather too crowded for my tastes, and I didn’t find it all that interesting.