Malcesine castle above the water

Malcesine sits on the steep eastern shore where the lake narrows and the mountains come right down to the water. The castle occupies a rock outcrop that juts into the lake, so from the small harbour below it stands against sky and water rather than against the town — a rare thing for a castle.

The two working positions are the harbour and the terrace on the north side of the old town. From the harbour, the white walls and the tower rise directly out of the rocks with fishing boats in the foreground; from the terrace, the castle is side-on with the lake behind and, on clear days, the whole western shore. The eastern shore loses the sun early behind Monte Baldo, so plan around a late afternoon rather than a true sunset: the light goes off the walls well before the sun reaches the horizon.

The old town lanes below the castle are narrow, stepped and full of restaurant tables from midday. Early morning is calm and the harbour is working. If the session includes the Monte Baldo cable car, check its running times and the wind — it stops in strong gusts, and the summit is often ten degrees colder than the shore.