Join my community

Subscribe to my newsletter to get updates!

Close

Subscribe to my newsletter
logo
  • Destinations
    • Europe
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Croatia
      • Czech Republic
      • Denmark
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Greece
      • Hungary
      • Iceland
      • Ireland
      • Italy
      • Malta
      • Monaco
      • Netherlands
      • Norway
      • Poland
      • Portugal
      • Slovakia
      • Slovenia
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • United Kingdom
    • North America
      • Canada
      • Cuba
      • United States
    • South America
      • Brazil
      • Mexico
    • Asia
      • China
      • India
      • Japan
      • Russia
      • Singapore
      • Turkey
      • United Arab Emirates
    • Africa
      • Egypt
      • Morocco
      • South Africa
    • Oceania
      • Australia
      • New Zealand
  • Tips
  • About
    • About me
    • Work with me
  • Shop my presets

Home > Italy > One Day in Sirmione: The Perfect Day Trip to Sirmione

One Day in Sirmione: The Perfect Day Trip to Sirmione

By Dymphe / June 16, 2022

Spending one day in Sirmione is a lovely experience. You can have a lot of fun during a day trip to Sirmione!

Sirmione is a lovely town in Lombardy in Italy. You can find it on Lake Garda. The town has an amazing historic center. Besides that, it looks gorgeous and there are great sights. So there are many reasons to go there for a day!

If you're spending one day in Sirmione, you have enough time to get a great experience of the town. You can see all the sights, have great food, and relax.

For example, you should definitely see Scaligero Castle. This is a fortress that's very impressive to see. Another incredible sight you should see is Grotte di Catullo. This place is very interesting if you like history.

Besides that, you should definitely visit a spa during your day. This is a very relaxing experience and Sirmione has a lovely spa.

To make sure you'll get the best experience during your day trip to Sirmione, I made this itinerary!

Table of Contents

  • Getting to Sirmione
    • Bus
    • Car or Taxi
    • Ferry
  • One Day in Sirmione Itinerary
    • Enter via Scaligero Castle: Impressive Start of Your One Day in Sirmione
    • Have Breakfast at Caffe Grande Italia
    • Visit Scaligero Castle
    • Explore the Old Part of Sirmione and Visit the Market
    • Go to Piccolo Castello for Lunch
    • Take in Beautiful Views of Lake Garda While Walking to the Next Sight
    • Visit the Church of San Pietro in Mavino: A Must-See During Your One Day in Sirmione
    • Go to the Grotte di Catullo
    • Relax at a Spa in the Afternoon of Your One Day in Sirmione
    • Have Dinner at Ristorante Il Girasole
    • End Your One Day in Sirmione With the Sunset

Getting to Sirmione

You can find Sirmione on Lake Garda. To be more specific, you can find the historic town on a peninsula that extends into the lake.

If you want to reach this place, there are three options.

Flowers and windows in Sirmione

Bus

You can reach Sirmione from other places on Lake Garda by bus.

This is one of the most affordable ways to get there during one day in Sirmione.

For example, from Peschiera Del Garda there is a direct bus that takes you to the historic town.

Also, you can get from Desenzano del Garda to Sirmione by direct bus.

If you want to travel from a city further away from Lake Garda, such as Verona, you can go to those places by train first. Then, you can take the direct bus from those places. This makes it possible to do a day trip to Sirmione from many Italian cities.

Car or Taxi

Another way to reach Sirmione is by car.

You can drive to the historic town as there is a road on the peninsula.

Moreover, you can find parking spaces near the entrance of the town where you can park your car.

Ferry

Another one of the best ways to get to Sirmione is by ferry.

There are many ferries that connect the different towns on Lake Garda.

For example, you can go to Sirmione from Desenzano del Garda by ferry.

Also, what's great about this method of getting to Sirmione is that you can enjoy a wonderful view along the way! This makes your day trip to Sirmione even better.

One Day in Sirmione Itinerary

Let's start the itinerary! Today is going to be a lot of fun for sure.

Enter via Scaligero Castle: Impressive Start of Your One Day in Sirmione

After your arrival, you can start your day immediately in a wonderful way.

That's because there is a very unique way to enter the historic town of Sirmione.

For this, you have to walk across the drawbridge of the historic Scaligero Castle.

Girl in front of Scaligero Castle

It is amazing to see this castle, and it is one of the most iconic sights in the town.

You'll also visit this castle later this morning again!

Flowers and Scaligero Castle

Have Breakfast at Caffe Grande Italia

Let's start this day with a delicious breakfast.

There are several lovely cafes where you can have a cup of coffee and a pastry for breakfast.

One of the best places for breakfast in Sirmione is Caffe Grande Italia.

This is a historic bar that dates back to the 1920s, and you can find this place close to Scaligero Castle.

At this place, you can have delicious espresso and other types of coffee to start the day.

Also, you can get a delicious pastry, such as a fresh croissant at this place.

What's great as well is that the bar has an authentic and beautiful interior. And there is a large outdoor seating area where you can enjoy your breakfast.

Besides that, this place also serves a variety of ice cream that is also delicious.

That's why I recommend coming back here later during the day when you want to have ice cream!

Visit Scaligero Castle

After breakfast, it is time to explore the first sight of your day trip to Sirmione.

I recommend going to Scaligero Castle. This is the historic castle that you already saw when you entered the historic town.

Scaligero Castle in Sirmione

Scaligero Castle dates back to the 13th century, which is amazing.

The Della Scala family created the castle, which is why it has the name "Scaligero".

After that, the Republic of Venice controlled the castle.

Throughout the years, it served as a fortification to protect the town.

Scaligero Castle

Nowadays, you can still see almost the entire structure of the castle. This is very unique for castles that are as old as this one.

It is great to go for a walk and see the castle from the outside.

Besides that, there is an interesting museum inside the castle that you can visit.

Explore the Old Part of Sirmione and Visit the Market

Going for a walk in the old part of the Sirmione is a wonderful experience during one day in Sirmione.

There are quaint little streets with all kinds of shops and restaurants. It is great to check these out while walking here.

Girl in front of a building with flowers in Sirmione

Also, you can find lots of monuments in this part of the town.

Besides that, you can go to the weekly market during your day trip.

This is a market that takes place on Fridays.

Here, you can shop for all sorts of crafts, books, and many other products. And it is great to see this market while the beautiful town surrounds you.

Building with flowers in Sirmione

Go to Piccolo Castello for Lunch

After exploring the historic town of Sirmione, it is time to have lunch!

A great place for having lunch is Piccolo Castello.

This is a lovely restaurant that you can find close to Scaligero Castle.

Piccolo Castello

From the restaurant, you can enjoy a wonderful view of the castle and Lake Garda. This is wonderful for when you have lunch here.

Besides that, you can get delicious food at this place.

The restaurant serves pasta and pizza, and several other dishes, including local food.

Also, the interior of the restaurant is very cozy. This makes having lunch here during your day trip to Sirmione even better!

Take in Beautiful Views of Lake Garda While Walking to the Next Sight

After having lunch, it is time to explore even more of Sirmione.

For this, you have to walk a short distance to the north of the peninsula.

When you do so, you'll see various places that are beautiful.

Lake Garda

For example, you can walk along Spiaggia del Prete and enjoy a wonderful view of Lake Garda.

It is great to see the beautiful blue water.

Also, you might see a town on the opposite side of the lake, which is great to see as well.

Visit the Church of San Pietro in Mavino: A Must-See During Your One Day in Sirmione

The Church of San Pietro in Mavino is the next sight you are seeing during this day trip to Sirmione.

This is the oldest church in the town, which makes it a very special place to visit. The church is more than 1100 years old.

It features a beautiful architectural style and there are frescoes. These frescoes are very old as well and are amazing to see.

Besides that, the other parts of the interior of the church are also lovely to see.

Go to the Grotte di Catullo

Next on the list is the Grotte di Catullo. This is one of the best sights in the town and you should not miss out on this during your one day in Sirmione.

You can find the Grotte di Catullo in the north of the town.

View of Lake Garda from the Grotte di Catullo

You can find the ruins of an ancient Roman villa here. These ruins are more than 2000 years old, which is amazing and very interesting.

Moreover, you can get access to the site and see the ruins up close.

Pillar at the Grotte di Catullo

Also, you can find an archaeology museum at this site. Here, you can see findings from the site and learn more about them.

If you love history, going here is one of the best ideas during a day trip to Sirmione!

Also, you can get wonderful views of Lake Garda from the site.

View from the Grotte di Catullo

Relax at a Spa in the Afternoon of Your One Day in Sirmione

You can find wonderful spas in Sirmione.

For example, you can find the Aquaria Thermal SPA in Sirmione.

At this place, you can relax at the end of the afternoon.

There are thermal pools from where you can enjoy a view of Lake Garda.

Besides that, there are whirlpools, saunas, and many other relaxing places at the spa.

Also, you can do relaxing experiences here, including yoga experiences.

If you want to relax at the end of your day, going to a spa is definitely a great idea!

Have Dinner at Ristorante Il Girasole

Now, it is time to go for dinner.

For this, I recommend going to Ristorante Il Girasole. This is a wonderful restaurant that you can find close to the spa.

You can have delicious authentic local Italian food at this restaurant.

Also, there is a seasonal menu, which means there is often something new you can try at this place.

Besides that, there is a beautiful interior. And there is an outdoor seating area where you can have dinner as well.

End Your One Day in Sirmione With the Sunset

A great way to end your day trip to Sirmione is by watching the sunset.

You can do this on the west side of the town, where you can see the sun set into Lake Garda.

Sunset in Sirmione

This is a beautiful sight that you should not miss out on when you are in the town.

Also, when you leave the town by ferry, you can also see this beautiful sunset while you're on the ferry!

Save this post to Pinterest if you like it!

One day in Sirmione Pinterest image
One day in Sirmione second Pinterest image

Blog comments (0)

Write a comment

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

Categories:
  • Europe
  • Italy
Tags: GuidesSirmione
  • Hi there! I’m Dymphe, a travel blogger and content creator with a passion for exploring beautiful destinations and travel photography. I’ve been traveling for years and I decided to start this blog to help you do the same in Europe, the United States, and beyond. More about me.

  • Join my community

    Subscribe to my newsletter to get updates!

  • Related posts

    Join my community

    Subscribe to my newsletter to get updates!



    Destinations
    Tips
    About
    Work with me

    Privacy Policy
    © 2023 Dymabroad

    Contact

    hello@dymabroad.com