What is Riva del Garda known for?

Where Italy's largest lake meets the Trentino mountains, with the Pelèr blowing south in the morning and the Ora blowing north in the afternoon. Twelfth-century moated fortress in the centre of town, contested for seven centuries between Trento, Venice and Austria, now the MAG Museo Alto Garda. Two reliable thermal winds and two harbours make Riva one of the principal sailing and windsurfing centres in Europe, hosting world championship circuits.

Where is Riva del Garda?

Riva del Garda is a comune in the province of Trento, Trentino-South Tyrol region of Italy, about 45 kilometers from Trento.

Trentino-South Tyrol · Trento

Riva del Garda

The north tip of Lake Garda, where the Trentino mountains close in on the water and a Habsburg port town stayed bilingual into the twentieth century.

45 km / 28 mi

Nearest hub (Trento)

17,787

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Riva del Garda sits at the northern tip of Lake Garda, where the lake narrows between the Brescian shore and the cliffs of Monte Rocchetta. The town belonged to the Scaligeri of Verona in the twelfth century, then to Venice, then to the Prince-Bishops of Trento, then to Austria-Hungary from 1815 until 1918. The Habsburg century left it the Mitteleuropean spa town where Kafka, Nietzsche and Thomas Mann came to write and recover. The Rocca, a moated medieval fortress in the centre, holds the MAG Museo Alto Garda with the town's archaeology and picture collection. The Torre Apponale, raised to thirty-four metres in 1555, anchors Piazza III Novembre between the harbour and the old town. Above the lake, the Bastione clings to Monte Rocchetta and is reached by a panoramic lift in three minutes. The thermal Ora wind blows north up the lake in the afternoon and the cooler Pelèr blows south in the morning, which is why the town is one of Europe's main windsurfing and sailing centres.

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Gallery

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Known for

Rocca di Riva
Twelfth-century moated fortress in the heart of the old town, contested between Trento, Venice and Austria, now home to the MAG Museo Alto Garda.
Torre Apponale
Thirteenth-century civic tower first documented in 1273, raised to thirty-four metres in 1555, with 165 steps to a panoramic terrace over the lake and the Anzolim weather vane on top.
Chiesa dell'Inviolata
Octagonal baroque church built in 1603, with altarpieces by Palma il Giovane and a frescoed dome, commissioned by Gaudenzio Madruzzo as a pilgrimage shrine.
Bastione
Early sixteenth-century stone tower on Monte Rocchetta above the town, built after the end of Venetian rule, reached by a panoramic lift in three minutes.
Cascata del Varone
Ninety-metre waterfall in a narrow gorge three kilometres from Riva on the territory of Tenno, with two viewing grottoes; the public park has been open since 1874.
Lake Garda waterfront
North tip of Italy's largest lake, with two harbours and the Brescian and Veronese shores in view, a centre for sailing, windsurfing and the morning-and-afternoon wind cycle.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through October is the working season on the north Garda. April and May open with cycling and via ferrata on the cliffs above the lake, the water still cool. June and September are the cleanest months, with the wind reliable for sailing and the temperature in the mid-twenties. July and August hit thirty-plus and fill the lakefront with German, Dutch and Italian families; the morning Pelèr and afternoon Ora keep the harbours busy. October closes out with the olive harvest on the surrounding slopes and the chestnut festivals up in Tenno. November through March is quiet but rarely cold by Trentino standards; the lake moderates temperature and many hotels stay open.