Riva del Garda, at the northern tip of the lake where the mountains crowd most tightly, is one of the most beautifully situated towns in Italy. The setting is almost vertiginous: peaks rise thousands of metres directly behind the town, the lake stretches south for 52 kilometres, and the persistent winds that funnel down from the Alps make it one of the best windsurfing and kitesurfing spots in Europe.
The old town is compact and appealing, with the medieval Rocca on the water, Piazza III Novembre opening to the harbour, and lanes that still feel more Alpine than Mediterranean. Riva spent much of its history under Austrian rule and passed to Italy only after World War I; the arcades, yellow Habsburg-era facades, and orderly lakefront gardens still show that borderland past.
The town is also a very practical base. You can walk up to the Bastione, follow the old Ponale road above the lake, or ride a few kilometres inland to Varone Waterfall. Day-trippers from the southern lake and from Trento fill the streets in summer, but Riva has enough mountain and water around it to reward more than a quick ferry stop.