Lazise

Lazise is a walled harbour town on the southern Veneto shore, with a Scaliger castle at one end and a small enclosed port that is one of the most photographed things on the lake.

Its claim is constitutional rather than architectural. In 983 the emperor Otto III granted Lazise rights of fortification and fishing -- a diploma often cited as making it the first free comune in Italy, a thousand years before the country existed.

On the harbour stands the Dogana Veneta, the Venetian customs house, which was also where the Republic built and armed galleys for the lake.

Lazise is a small town carrying very large visitor numbers, concentrated on a harbour a couple of hundred metres across. Coming outside the middle of the day, or outside July and August, changes the experience completely and eases a genuine pressure.

Arrive by ferry or bus. Parking is the town's worst problem and the lake ferries land you at the harbour itself.

The castle is a private home. Photograph it from the public side and do not attempt to enter the grounds.

The medieval walls have houses built against them and gardens behind; treat them as part of a lived-in town rather than a monument.

Buying from the town's own shops rather than only the harbour-front bars spreads spending that is otherwise concentrated in about three streets.

The town, harbour and walls are free and always open. The castle is private and not open to visitors -- its gardens open occasionally for events.

Lazise is on the ferry network and about 10 minutes by road from Peschiera, which has the railway station.

Allow an hour or two for the harbour, the walls and the church.

The centre is flat and largely pedestrianised, and among the more accessible towns on the shore.

Parking is paid and fills early in summer; the ferry or the bus from Peschiera avoids the problem entirely.

Gardaland is ten minutes inland, which is why Lazise is busy with families in season.