When life gives you lemons... - Limone, Lago di Garda

A spontaneous long weekend trip to Limone?… I am in! Are you? Long weekends are just perfect to recharge you’re batteries and give you the opportunity to bring your life back to balance. Since I live in Munich one of the top destinations is the Garda lake in northern Italy. Why? There are three reasons for it: 1. Germans love Italian food (me too!); Spaghetti Bolognese is popular here as much as schnitzel; 2. Lago die Garda is reachable within 4 hours from Bayern’s capital via car; 3. The weather in Munich is usually very good but as soon as you reach Italy you ‘feel’ you have more of the guarantee that it will be even better :).

There are hundreds of small towns and villages located on the coast of the Garda lake. So hard to choose from, but… there are some favorites I have! And here we are: Limone, one of the most cosiest and romantic towns, visited by tourists all year long. The special atmosphere is created through narrow streets, numerous green and flowery spots, beautiful coast line with tiny boats and the fact that you can see the other side of the lake and its mountains shadows wrapping up the town.

Where to stay in Limone

If you want to visit Limone a great way would be to rent a flat in one of the houses located on the coast line. We were really lucky with our choice, a stylish and comfortable apartment, Bouganville situated in the center of Limone. Where you have restaurants, ice-cream cafes and shops close at hand. The absolute highlight of this place is a sweet balcony with a coast, lake and mountains view. We were able to enjoy the town atmosphere and the lake totally privately. Simply breathtaking! Take a look below at the view from our apartmen

Limone means “lime” in Italian, but the city does not thank its name to this juicy fruit. The name of this municipal district comes from the Latin “limes” and means border. However, a lime became a symbol of Limone and on each house you can see cute plates with limes with the house number written on it. You can also buy some souvenirs from lime liqueurs, and marmalades to dusters and clothes with lime print on them.

Limone has a charm of a fisher village with numerous little boats and its cosy harbor.

An inspiration

Many poets and artists have visited Limone and got inspired by this magical place. The famous German poet J. Wolfgang Goethe passed by the village by boat and described with this words its lemon gardens:

“We passed Limone, the mountain-gardens of which, laid out terrace-fashion, and planted with citron-trees, have a neat and rich appearance. The whole garden consists of rows of square white pillars placed at some distance from each other, and rising up the mountain in steps. On these pillars strong beams are laid, that the trees planted between them may be sheltered in the winter. The view of these pleasant objects was favored by a slow passage, and we had already passed Malcesine when the wind suddenly changed, took the direction usual in the day-time, and blew towards the north.”
(Italian Journey, J. Wolfgang Goethe, 1816–17)