Great cities to discover

Niagara falls

2008-07-17T18:15:00.005+02:00

General

Niagara Falls lies on the border between USA and Canada, in the state of Ontario. It is located around 130 km from the city of Toronto. The falls is visited by a numerous of tourist each year (around 20 million). We do understand why. The falls are really something.

Now to start with the surroundings. Depending on which road you are entering the falls - you might be disappointed if you are entering the falls via Clifton Hill. This is a disaster. They have virtually made this areal in to an amusement park. What a shame. Now if you bring your kids it might be a good compromise. They will find something to kill the time if they get bored. But, hey, would it not be possible to place this ugly park somewhere else? Anyway, just close your eyes when passing thru.

What to do

We arrived around 5 pm on a sunday. We chose to take a day trip from Toronto. The tour takes about between one and two hours depending on the traffic. There are plenty of hotels at the falls, and it might be a better choice to stay a night there. During the season (summer), on Saturday and sunday you can see firework at 10 pm. Also you will experience the falls in manny different color as they you heavy spotlights to light it up after the sun has set. Now I don't know was is the best, during sunshine or lights and fireworks. You should experience both. Then, on a sunny day, be there at 4 or 5 pm and stay at least until 11 pm.

On or day, the sun was still shining when arriving. What an amazing site this is. During summertime the falls is created by a 2.800 m3 of water - each second. Imagine that. There are two falls, the american falls and the canadian horseshoe falls. The latter is the biggest and most impressive. The water comes from Lake Eire and ends up in Ontario lake.

We had a pleasant dinner at a restaurant facing the falls. This was very nice - both good food and reasonably prices. We sat on a terrace overviewing the falls.

Where to stay

If you book online, don't expect to get a view of the falls from your room. Every hotel seem to state on their signs that they have views of the falls. Don't believe that. If you are in to that business, arrive early and ask for a room with a view. Ask to borrow the key before deciding to stay. Now I think a better option is to pay less and worry about getting parking with your stay. The distances are quite small at Niagara Falls so just leave the car and walk around.

Toronto

2008-07-12T06:27:00.006+02:00

(Toronto at wikipedia)

General

Toronto means that we are almost at the end of our journey, but it's still four days to go. Now we also plan to visit Niagara Falls on sunday. This will only be as a day trip. I have been in the falls before and was quite disiponted about the surrondings. It look almost as a giant casino. But even so, the falls was magnificent, a must if you visit the region. It is a 130 km drive from Toronto. You may go on a guided tour at a cost of CAD 60-70 person, or as we do by car. We enjoy the flexibility of using the car.

Now, back to Toronto. At time it is a city which is partly under construction. There are projects going on everywhere, building offices or residents. I guess that at about 2015 there will be end of this caos. Still, it is a charming city.

Toronto, on the north shore of Lake Ontario, is the largest of Canada's vibrant urban centres. It is the hub of the nation's commercial, financial, industrial, and cultural life, and is the capital of the Province of Ontario. People have lived here since shortly after the last ice age, although the urban community only dates to 1793 when British colonial officials founded the 'Town of York' on what then was the Upper Canadian frontier. That backwoods village grew to become the 'City of Toronto' in 1834, and through its subsequent evolution and expansion Toronto has emerged as one of the most liveable and multicultural urban places in the world today. More history.

Where to stay

We chose to stay at Raddison at the harbor. If I should pick hotel once again, I would pick one further up in the city. Look for a hotel in: Front street, King street or Queen street. Check your hotel location on www.map24.com to see. There is a Holliday Inn located at a good area. Now, even to stay at harbor area has some advanteges - it's more sillent. We have a lakeview from our room, which is not so bad, and there is a an outdoor swimmingpool at floor 6 with a lovely view.

What to do

Toronto has many things to offer. Among the most popular sites for tourist are:

CN Tower (Among worlds tallest building)
Casa Loma (Lovely castle)
The Toronto Theater area
Toronto Zoo
Hall of Fame (Hockey)
Harbor Cruise
A lot of museums e.g. covering art, shoe museum, history

Toronto is a city both for dinning and party. During the weekend there are many places for people to meet the locals. Many people live downtown in Toronto (about 2,5 million) which makes is a city filled with life. You se people everywhere, anytime. Now the best dinning we located at Queens street (crossroad University Avenue). Also in Front Street you will find many good restaurants. There are many theaters in Toronto. We was told that there is a kiosk where you may buy affordable tickets for same day show. At the time we was in the city, a couple of musicals where running.

Beaches and swimming

From the harbor area there are boats running all day to the island located just outside the harbor. Here you may go biking or rent a canoe for a relaxed day. There are also nice beaches on the island. Now we was told that there was no point to bring the swimsuit as the water temperature seldom reach over 16 Celsius.

Shopping

As a pleasant to all who likes to go shopping. A mall inside the city called Eaton Center is your best choice.

Kingston

2008-07-11T03:59:00.005+02:00

On 10th of july we entered the city of Kingston. It has a population of 110.000. First of all this city seems to be a magnet to tourists, located along the waterfront and with it's many historic building. The most popular attraction is the cities old fort, Fort Henry.

Kingston has the distinction of being the oldest community in Canada. The history of Kingston begins back in 1673 when Robert Cavelier de La Salle, on the behalf of the Governor of Nouvelle-France, chose Cataraqui for the building of a fortified trading post of the same name. Soon Fort Cataraqui would be renamed Fort Frontenac.

War erupted between the French and the Iroquois in 1687. Two years later the fort would be abandoned to the Iroquois and destroyed. It wasn’t until 1695 after peaceful relations between the two sides that the fort was reoccupied and rebuilt by the French. The fort remained under French rule for many years.

During these years it was used as a key point in attacks against Iroquois and British forces on various occasions. The fort was captured and destroyed by the British in the Battle of Fort Frontenac near the end of the Seven Years' War in 1758. A receiving centre for fleeing refugees from the American Revolution, it became the primary community of south-eastern Upper Canada.

During the War of 1812, Kingston was the base for the Lake Ontario division of the Great Lakes British naval fleet, which engaged in a vigorous arms race with the American fleet, based at Sackett's Harbor, New York for control of Lake Ontario. After the war, Britain built Fort Henry and a series of distinctive Martello towers to guard the entrance to the Rideau Canal. Fort Henry still stands and is a popular tourist destination.

Now thats enough history. The city offers a wide specter of restaurants, shops (many quite special) and a lot of people in the street during summer time. You may also take a cruise on the lake - a dinner cruise is one of the possibilities.

We stayed in the city during "Buskers Rendezvous" which last from 10th to 13th, at least in 2008. It was held for the 20th time in the city. Professional from all of american seem to join this event. There were competition among the different artist to make the best show. We really enjoyed it.

1000 Island area - on the lake

2008-07-11T00:11:00.006+02:00

Starting the cruise at 11 am, we joined a 2 hour cruise from Rockport harbor. The main attraction on the cruise is the Bold Castle. You will also see numerous of lovely spots on the cruise.

You may chose a cruise were you are allowed to enter the island where Boldt Castle is located, but then you are entering US territory. You should bring passport and fill out the visa form. We didn't. To much work for us, so we joined the 2 hour cruise.

Boldt Castle was constructed by George C. Boldt, who was a Prussian immigrant who made his fortune in the hotel industry, managing luxurious hotels like the New York Waldorf-Astoria. (He invented many modern hotel concepts, and his chef originated the Thousand Islands salad dressing.) He was building the castle for his wife, but when she died suddenly, he halted all work on the castle and never returned to the island. The 120-room castle was derelict from 1904 to 1977, when it was acquired by the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority and opened to tourists. The castle and the area is beautiful. I think it is best for the picture to tell it's own story.

1000 Islands area - Gananoque

2008-07-10T23:41:00.007+02:00

What a wonderful area this is. This part of Ontario lake is located in the border area between New York State and Ontario. You follow Interstate 81 and when you cross the border of Canada your are in 1000 Island area. Even before you cross the border you see this magnificent area. We follow the interstate 81 to Watertown and then took of highway 12E to Cape Vincent to spot the lake from the US side - forget that. Just stay on 81 and get yourself to the Canadian side.

"The 1000 Islands Region is an international tourism destination, encompassing communities on both sides of the US and Canada border along the St. Lawrence River and the eastern shores of Lake Ontario. The region takes its name from the more than 1000 islands that dot the lake and river along this international waterway. The region extends from Kingson to Cornwall on the Canadian side, and from Oswego to Massena on the US side, reaching inland to the foothills of the Adirondack mountains to embrace the communities that are west and north of the Adirondack Park, and the four NY Counties of Oswego, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence" (Quote: http://www.1000islands.com/)

First night back in Canada, we spent in Gananoque. A small city populated with only 5200. This was manily because we wanted to go on cruise on the lake the day after. I think the best cruise line runs from Rockport, which are located about 20 km east of Gananoque. Now staying in Gananoque is not a main attraction, but it is good choice if you plan to join the cruise and to drive 1000 Island parkway. I think a drive along this highway is a must, even if you don't plan to stay in the area. If driving from Toronto on 401 eastbound, you should note the signs of 1000 Island driveway. It is a great alternative to 401.

Boston

2008-07-09T04:54:00.009+02:00

Boston on wikitravel

Finally, Boston - one of our major destination. This city was a pleasant experience to both of us. We really enjoy or stay in this historic city. Boston is the city where the revolution started back in the 17th century were the new nation started its hard struggle to get rid of their connection to the royal crown. Now history may be read in much better sources, such as Boston history.

Our main interest in the city was:

The North end with its more than 100 italian restaurants
USS Constituion - the "Old Ironside" from 1797 and USS Cassin Young (modern destroyer)
The lovely parks of Boston - Boston public Garden
Harbor cruise
The Boston Harbor area
The freedom trail (walk among the sites of revolution activities)

What we did, and would recommend to do is to by a ticket for one of the trolley tours that covers all the major attraction in the city. There are about 7 companies doing tours in the city. Our hotel recommended "Old Town Trolley Tours" - where you can jump on and of as you like among the total 17 stops. We also upgraded our to ticket to include a cruise in the harbor region of Boston - a decision we really enjoyed. The harbor cruise was really magnificent. Plenty of opportunities to take skyline pictures of the city.

Where to stay

When going to Boston we thought it was best to stay within the city. This is more expensive, but you benefit to my point of view. We stayed at a hotel called "Omni Parker Hotel", located in School street. This is supposed to be the oldest hotel in the entire country. It is to some extend and expensive hotel, and everything you do cost more dollars. Even to get at WIFI in your room cost you more money and tip is expected everywhere. But hey, thats the way it works in the big cities. What is very special about the hotel is its magnificent interior. This is really something. Both in the lobby and the restaurant are beautiful carvings in the ceiling and parts of the wall. It also has some small exhibition of the hotels history. The restaurant is the place where John F. Kennedy proposed to his Jacoline before being president of United States.

Now, of course, there are numerous of good hotels downtown. We use a lot of time choosing a nice location and this time we were lucky. A good advice is to pick a hotel that is located near to a trolley stop, then you may use this as a part of your system of getting around. Or hotel was located near Massachusetts state house (stop number 13 on Old town trolley). When staying in the city for only a few days, you don't have the time to learn the system of the tube.

What to do

In the North End you have little Italy, which offers more than 100 italian restaurants. It was really strange walking in this area, finding nothing but italian food. Now, to eat other cuisine you must visit other parts of the city. I only spot a single chinese restaurant among all the italians.

The best spot to eat other kind of food (late dinner) is along the street called Newbury street, which start from Boston Public Garden. Of course this advise is a second hand as we asked people around of alternative dinning.

Of course, Boston is a major historic city. They called it the cradle of the revolution, and taking the freedom trail (got marked walking trail) you may se why.

Don't spend time doing shopping in the city, it is to much to explore in the city.

Entering the USA

2008-07-06T05:03:00.003+02:00

We started or day at 7:45 today. An early breakfast to have some time to visit some new part of Quebec. We walked to the castle and took the elevator down to the harbor area, where you also find many shops and restaurants. This is indeed a nice spot in the city.

We left the city at 11:15, equipped with or new GPS, heading for the USA. After some 300 km we enter the states. On the border we use over half an hour, because their system could not machine read the passport. Anyway, after entering the US we decided to drive along Interstate 91 and then Interstate 93 until we arrived at or destination for the night - a city called Tilton. This is where on of the factory outlet is located, some 50 stores. We really made some good bargains there. Now the city of Tilton is not so much of and experience, but it's a nice area to stay for a couple of days a guess. The best is that we will have a short trip to Boston tomorrow - only about 150 km. This means that we drove around 500 km today.....

We still have very nice weather here and the forecast doesn't seem so bad.

For those who are especially interested in old trains, you may like to visit Conway Scenic Railroad.

Quebec - 3. day

2008-07-04T23:41:00.005+02:00

We decided to go on a bicycle trip. Starting of at 11:00 along to Boulevard along the lakeshore was amassing. We had sunshine from the clear sky. After a relaxing trip covering 25 km we finish up with heavy rain just before entering the city at 17:30. Quite strange how fast the weather is changing in this area.

Now the plan for tonight is to finishing exploring to city nightlife for the final time, because tomorrow we are leaving this beautiful city. Or next destination is Boston in the US. But of course we will be back in Canada after some days.

Quebec - 2. day

2008-07-04T23:25:00.006+02:00

Quebeck on wikitravel

Not a nice start on this day, heavy rain falling down from the sky. This was a pity because there was a major parade showing the cities history. What else to do than to spend the day at East-Canada's biggest shopping mall. There are three major shopping malls in Quebec - the largest is LAURIER, which covers some 350 shops and restaurants.

To our surprise, the weather eased up during the day any we had our chance to explore more of the city. At 23:30 is was magnificent firework celebrating the cities 400 years.

Quebec - 1. day

2008-07-03T01:16:00.009+02:00

Quebec on wikitravel

Installed in our room at 18:30 at Hotel Manoir d´Auteuil, link. The hotel is located inside the old city walls, witch seems to be a luck. They also offer good parking abilities as you can rent a parking card with in/out facilities (parking house). We was ready to explore the city of Quebec. A walk inside the old city really confirm or point of view - a magnificent city indeed. These magnificent building ranging from 1700 century up until 1900 century.

We were so lucky to be here at the city 400 anniversary. There was numerous of activities during or stay. There are concert, parades, exhibitions and so on. Today there has been nothing but sunshine the whole day. We had a pleasant walk in the city, before or late dinner near the castle.

Now entering the Quebec was not so easy, at least we had some trouble finding the right track. This really made our plan come through of buying a TomTom GPS for the rest of the trip. At the price of only $179 with maps of whole North-America, thats a bargin. So no more hustling finding the right track.

It's a luck we shall stay here for 3 nights. Quebec is indeed a charming city that we looking forward to explore more deeply. Our plan is to let the car rest a we use or time in or near the city.

To arrive in Canda - 1. day of trip

2008-07-02T06:34:00.005+02:00

The first day of the trip, we didn't have high expectation. We simply plan to find or hotel, get some food and prepare next day trip to Montreal. We arrived yesterday at 19:00 and got our rental, a Chrysler 300 limited. This is indeed a nice car, but a little to big for an european I'll say. We had a reservation at Radisson SAS Airport hotel, near the airport. This hotel was really a pleasant surprise. We got a lovely suite in this modern hotell. I think every room in the hotel has the same high standard. Anyway, we had a lovely dinner before we made a plan to make a trip in the car whithout any map. The map in my head was by no means correct, and we had to go back to the hotel after some fussel.

Today we started up quite early, around 07:00. After a quick shower and some breakfast we were ready for our long journey between Toronto and Montreal. The trip is about 520 km, and last for up to 6 hours.

Now, we leaved Toronto by 08:00 and reach or destination at 14:30. Of course we had to make a long coffe break at half trip.

So fare we do enjoy Montreal. After check in at the hotel, we had a 4 hour trip in the city. Later on, we had a nice meal at Ruben's at 1116 St. Catherine at 23:00 hour so it's a kind of long day. Now it is time to go for sleep as the time is 01:00 on the 2. july.

Tomorrow, we will provide some pictures.

North America - Canada and North-east US

2008-06-29T19:34:00.010+02:00

Tomorrow we are leaving - for Canada. We have a flight from Oslo to Toronto with Icelandair at 14:45. When living in the Scandinavian countries, this is the most practical airline when traveling to the northern part of America. Only one-two hour stop in Iceland before the final 5-6 hour flight. The total flight time is approx 9-10 hours from Oslo.

Now why do we start our journey in Toronto? Well, I have actually been there, back in the last century (1999) and did find the city very nice. I also find Canadians very nice and open to people from Scandinavia. It is the first time in the the city for my wife so lets hope she feels the same way.

Our journey will include:

30. june - 1. july: Toronto (See pictures)
1. july - 2. july: Montreal (See pictures)
2. july - 5. july: Quebec (See pictures)
5. july - 6. july: Tilton (See pictures)
6. july - 9. july: Boston (See pictures)
11. july - 14. july: Toronto
13. july: Niagara Falls (See pictures)

The total travel time by car for this journey is about 31 hour driving (3000 km). Our total time on the trip is 15 days, which is a little bit to short. Anyway, we will use 2-3 days in our main destination.

Charleston - South Carolina - USA

2007-07-30T19:51:00.000+02:00

For general information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charleston,_South_Carolina

General

South Carolina reflects a part of the darkhistory of the United States. The southern states build theire wealth, huge farms and local emipres on using slaves as a cheap labour. I assume you may said that every nations has their skeleton in their closet.This dark history should not prevent you from visiting the charming southerns states. They has a lot to offer, and we would like to bring you presentation of one of the most beautyfull city in the region - Charleston. This beatyfull city is located on seaside. It has many historical buildings from 1700- and 1800 centurie.

The reason why we pick Charleston as or favorit is the combination of location, atmosphere, the markeds, the historic buildings and the surrounding area. You may spend several days here, make daytrips to nearby attractions. When we was visiting the southern states, Charleston was not a planed destination. We arrived there as a stroke of luck. Now for you it might be different.

Now rember that the US history is not as old as the european, so this area reflect an important monument of their history. Of course when visiting the southern east coast, you should also visit Williamsburg (http://www.history.org/), a villages that is like a live museum. If you are interestet in the US independent history, Williamsburg is a natural choice. Now, just a small detail - Williamsburg is located in the neighbouring state Virgina.

Now back to Charleston. Its location in beatyfull surruondings by the seaside, whith beatyfull parks, historic south state buildings and many interesting sites to visit in a few kilometer drive.

What to do
The main part of your stay should be to feel the atmosphere of the city. Take a walk in the beatyfull parks, view the old historical buildings, sit down on to pirs that runs far out in the ocean. Their is also local marked that sell lots of local art, item, juvellry, clothes an so on.

You should also visit sorrunding atrraction like an historic like Fort Moultrie (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Moultrie) and many other sites. Please take a look at the following link that should provide you whith a weeklong "to do" list. http://www.sciway.net/tourism/chashistoric.html

Where to stay

To find accommodation is not a problem in the US as there are a lot of roadside motels. To put it simple - you get what you pay for. If you are a member of a car owners club (like AAA) you normally get discount on every motel. Remeber to bring at card that has an AAA freindship logo. Some of the houses in Charleston offers B&B. It is quite expensive, but if you can afford it a stay in the city would be recommendable.

Usefull links:

http://www.celebratecharleston.com/
http://www.charleston.com/

Füssen - Germany

2007-07-30T17:05:00.001+02:00

For general information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Füssen

General

Füssen is located just at the end of the route called "Romantishe Strasse" that runs from Würtzburg to Füssen. The distance on the whole route is about 300 kilometers. During the summer of 2007 we was looking forward to drive this route with such a beautyfull name. The highlight of this route was Rothenburg am then Tauber and Füssen. Now it may be others will have chosen other places, but this villages was amazing. We would chose Füssen as or number one.

What to do in Füssen

We think the most important attraction in the area is Neuschwanstein, the castle of King of Bavaria - King Ludwig II (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuschwanstein). It is to most beautyfull Castle their is. It is said to be the model of Walt Disney castle in Disneyland. You will understand why, when visiting the castle. Now remember that this is a main attraction in the region so be early. Then you can choose your own time for guide tour. The lake in the valley closed to the castle is also beatyfull. Bring your swimsout as well during the summer time. You can also rent boats for a romantic ride on the lake.

There are also a quite smaller castle near Neuschwanstein, and many lovely and special buildings. You should allow one day here. The Castle is not for disabled persons.

In the village of Füssen there ar many beatyfull historic buildings. On the hill top there is a Barrack and a castle, in the main area of the villages many beautyfull and old building. Also the river that flowes thrue the city, in it's light green colour - whith the beatyfull alps in view.

Füssen is located near the border of Austria.

Where to stay?

We stayed in a lovely four star hotell called "Hotell Hirhs". This is a hotel we would like to recommend. It is located in the center of Füssen, with beatyfull interior (Antique) and exterior. The rooms are by all means nice. Lovely staff as well and great breakfast.

Verona - Italy

2007-07-29T19:52:00.000+02:00

For general information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verona

General
Verona has everything for a romantic weekend. We would recommend to visit the city in july or august.

What to do
The reason for going in summer periode is that you should se an opera in The Arena. Now, i don't like opera - but this is different. The Arena is an outdoor arena, like Coloseum in Rome. The only difference is that The Arena is in fact in use...! This is not a ruin. We did see "Aida" in this facility and was amaced. We ordered or ticket at: http://shop.cosi.it/tol4arena/cosi.asp. The ticket was prepaid and we just picked up the ticket at The Arena. If you are not an opera lover, just chose the cheapest ticket. You will have a nice view form the top of stonesteps in The Arena. Remember to bring a pillow to sit on, something to drink and maby a pair of binocullars. Many people also bring in food and wine inside, but we would recommend to eat in the restaurant outside The Arena before the show.

Know about Shakespares Romeo and Juliette? Well, discover the balcony of Juliette in Verona. Write your a romantic message to your Romeo or Juliette on the walls of balcony. It is said to bring luck to your marriage.

The streets of Verona brings you many lovely sites. You can really feel history and the importance of this city when you walk around. Take a rest at one of the many outdoor restaurant, grab a lovely italian icecream in one of the many icecream bars.

One thing is for sure, you will not be be hungry in Verona. My first wish would be a reset button for the stomack, and then start over agian. If you visit the city during July, you will probably have great opportunities to buy many items on sale.

Verona is not a small city, in fact it is one of the largest in Nothern Italy. At least during summer season, you should expect people everywhere, anytime. One reason is the main magnet in the city: The Arena.

Just half and hour by car from the city you can take a bath in Lake Garda.

Where to stay?
We would recommend to stay in the city center of Verona. To grab a taxi is not so easy when thousens of other is thinking about the same. We stayed in a hotel 2 km outside the city, but this hotel had actually free shuttlebus to/from the city during the evening. See: http://www.hotelleopardi.it/. It is a nice hotell and was recommended by many people on our booking site http://www.hrs.com/.

Useful links
http://www.world66.com/europe/italy/veneto/verona

Strasbourg - France

2007-07-29T18:44:00.000+02:00

For information about history and general informaton about the city please use: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strasbourg.

General
This over 2000 year old city with many interested historic site is on of my favorit cities in France. Its population of about 650 000 makes it not to big, nor to crowdy. It should serve both people who has interest in hitory and shopping, as there is a few large shopping center whitin city center. I have been to Strasbourg several time, and always enjoy my stay here.

What to do
First, the city it self is very charming, whith many restaurants, pubs, museums and of course the beautiful "Petit France". "Petit France" is the old part of city. You can easily see that there is a great german influence in when walk around in the city.

Now, to stay in the city I would recommend a couple of days. You should be abel to walk to main attractions whitin the city itself, but i do recommend to also use the tram system. Purchase a 24 hours ticket, an use the modern and efficient system as you like.

In strasbourg you should at least see:
- The Chatedral (you must see the atronomic watch)
- "The petit france"

And tast "Flambre Tarte" when you are in Strasbourg. This is a kind of local pizza that locals eat a lot of. I did learn how to make this i Strasbourg and have great success at home with the dish.

Strasbourg is also a good spot for making day trips. Near attraction are:
-Alsace wine vally (car ride, http://www.tourisme-alsace.com/index.php?lg=en)
-Europe amousment park (car ride, German side, http://www.europa-park.de/lang-de/c87/default.html)

Sirmione - Garda

2007-07-29T18:03:00.000+02:00

For general information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirmione

General
Sirmione must be one of the most charming villiages in North Italy. The main reason is of course its location whith Lake Garda on all sides. I have been to most of the cities sorrounding Lake Garda, but none is like Sirmione. We stayed at a four start hotell for about 120 euros (2007) whitin the city walls (http://www.hrs.com/). The prices for eating and dinning are to some extend more expensive than the normal prices in Italy, but thats pretty normal in such a popular sites. First, let me show you some from Sirmione:

What to do

Sirmione is located on south end of Garda Lake. It is a beatyfull small little village on a natural pir or half iceland. The most charming part is that the village is located whitin a castle or city walls. It has small narrow streest which only allow limited trafic. As we did stay on a hotell whitin the villiage - we was allowed to enter by car. There are also a small beach and cliffs where you can sunbath or go swimming. I do recommend to stay at a hotel whitin city walls.

During the day, nomerous of tourists enter the city by ferries from other villagers sorrounding Lake Garda. Some stay here only for a couple of hours, others return to stay for days. You should allow at least to nights here. Then you can experience the romantic and charming villages in dim light.

Now, the most natural thing to do around Lake Garda is of course to stay in the sun, and to enter the lake itself from tim to time. Also during afternons and in the evning it is great just to walk in the small village or on the cliffs at end of the pir. The view is very nice. Also you may visit the marked, shops or walk by the promonade.

Where to stay?

You should stay within city walls. We stayed at a nice hotel called hotel Eden (http://www.gardalake.it/hotel-eden/). This four star hotell is located just onshore, has sunbed and steps for those who want to take a swim. The rooms are not perfectly up to date, but the location is perfect. Also good breakfast that you may enjoy outside. The hotel has parking facilities.