The city, thanks to its strategic position and its fortress, the Rocca di Garda, was the perfect place for defense and military observations, especially during the period of the barbarian invasions and, over time, its importance became such that it gave its own name to the entire lake, until then called "Lacus Benacus" as decided in Roman times.

Instead the origins of the name Garda come from the German word warte, which means guard, fortress, in reference precisely to the use of the fortress in the Lombard period.

Throughout history, the city of Garda has managed to maintain the original appearance of the fishing village, despite the fact that it has become one of the main tourist centers on the east coast of the lake. From the medieval period, the village preserves ancient buildings, arches, vaulted passages, narrow alleys and sudden squares among which it is pleasant to get lost.

Interesting to see are the elegant Capitani Palace of the XIV - XV century, in Gothic-Venetian style, which for many years was the seat of the highest civic institutions. Among the surviving ancient city gates, the most important is the Clock Gate, so called because of the clock, it is still today the main excess in the historic center of the city.

The Church of Santa Maria Maggiore is among the oldest on the lake, it contains 15th-century frescoes, such as the canvas of the Holy Family by Francesco Paglia and the altarpiece of San Biagio di Palma il Giovane, as well as a beautiful fifteenth-century cloister. Continuing on the lakefront, at the end of the town, we find a panoramic path that leads to Punta San Vigilio, a suggestive three-kilometer route that can also be traveled by mountain bike.

It is the pearl of Lake Garda, where poetry and nature intertwine, enhancing a magical environment, which at sunset makes the bay a golden mirror, where the tall cypress trees trace their profiles. To welcome the most curious there is the sixteenth-century villa Guarienti in Brenzone, commissioned by the humanist Agostino Brenzoni to benefit from this place of peace and literary idleness, surrounded by a wonderful Italian garden with statues and a viewpoint over the lake.