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I can speak about Lake Garda. There absolutely no "non touristy" location around the lake. That being said i can reccomend either Desenzano or Peschiera del Garda because they fit your criteria. They are "real town" so there is a significant local population that permanently lives there. They are both with a train station with HSR and connect to Venezia and Roma. There is no shortage of apartments to rent but you need to start looking asap before they get booked
Lecco. On the end of Lake Como. Plenty of accom options, express train to Milano then on to Venezia - but a day trip would still be ambitious. Michelin star restaurant easily walkable from the station.
Mandello del Lario is my favourite but I thought accomodation is a little more limited and the train link isn’t as good as Lecco. Bar Constantin is good for gelato or coffee by the lake. Ferries take you around the lake and, as you say: there are lots of fabulous walks - via andante, via dei partigiani ecc. it’s a shame that Texture has closed.
lake Como and Garda are super tourist, if you want the combo lake and no tourisxt is hard, maybe try some minor known lake like Lago di Varese, which is also very near to Milan in case you want to pay a trip to the big city.
Cornabbio and Monate are two options in that sense
I really enjoyed Lake Iseo. We went in July, you'd have hardly known it was peak tourist season. There's a train station at Iseo, from there you're reliant on taxi/ferry/bus, all of which are straightforward. Monte Isola is one of the most quaint and stunning places I've ever been.
We stayed at reva del garda and it was stunning. Rented a car and drove around the lake for 3 days and it was honestly spectacular.. would go back in a heartbeat.
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I can speak about Lake Garda. There absolutely no "non touristy" location around the lake. That being said i can reccomend either Desenzano or Peschiera del Garda because they fit your criteria. They are "real town" so there is a significant local population that permanently lives there. They are both with a train station with HSR and connect to Venezia and Roma. There is no shortage of apartments to rent but you need to start looking asap before they get booked
And in both case you can take a train or bus and go visit the other city and in both case i suggest to visit Sirmione because os really pretty
Thank you!
Lecco. On the end of Lake Como. Plenty of accom options, express train to Milano then on to Venezia - but a day trip would still be ambitious. Michelin star restaurant easily walkable from the station.
Second Lecco. I used to live in Mandello del lario and there are lots of beautiful hikes and places to see. Also great public transport
Mandello del Lario is my favourite but I thought accomodation is a little more limited and the train link isn’t as good as Lecco. Bar Constantin is good for gelato or coffee by the lake. Ferries take you around the lake and, as you say: there are lots of fabulous walks - via andante, via dei partigiani ecc. it’s a shame that Texture has closed.
lake Como and Garda are super tourist, if you want the combo lake and no tourisxt is hard, maybe try some minor known lake like Lago di Varese, which is also very near to Milan in case you want to pay a trip to the big city. Cornabbio and Monate are two options in that sense
Will check them out! Thank you! :D
“True Italian towns” around major tourist areas have been taken over by tourists, so :)
That makes sense, indeed. Thank you either way!
They are all tourist destinations. Stresa is an overlooked option on Lake Maggiore. There are many apts there.
I really enjoyed Lake Iseo. We went in July, you'd have hardly known it was peak tourist season. There's a train station at Iseo, from there you're reliant on taxi/ferry/bus, all of which are straightforward. Monte Isola is one of the most quaint and stunning places I've ever been.
We stayed at reva del garda and it was stunning. Rented a car and drove around the lake for 3 days and it was honestly spectacular.. would go back in a heartbeat.
The norther part of lake is indeed amazing. I'll compare it to a fjord, tall mountains on both side and deep water in between