You can spend a long time exploring the narrow streets lined with 'palazzi' that make up the historic center. Some of the churches contain fine works of art, while the ruined Teatro Romano over the river has excellent views from the terraces where the ancients watched plays.

The beautiful lakeside towns around Lago di Garda have charmed foreign visitors for centuries. Even for the ancient Romans, the area was a luxury summer destination; in Sirmione and Desenzano you can visit ruins and mosaics that record their presence. Lake Garda is long and slim with a southern end that is low, rolling land, fairly built-up. In contrast, the northern end is surrounding by towering mountains.

Sirmione is on the southern shores of Lake Garda, a pretty town near the end of a long promontory. Sirmione's most striking feature is the moated castle, Rocca Scaligera. Sirmione's narrow medieval streets bustle with color and life; the tiny town is popular with holiday makers, and the summer months bring crowds.

The setting of the small town is beautiful; and was praised in earlier days by the Roman poet Catullus. At the very tip of the peninsula green lizards scuttle over the extensive remains of a grand Roman villa; visitors can wander through the ruined walls and admire archaeological finds - including a charming carving of rabbits - in the small museum.