—All day
Toscolano-Maderno
- On the lake
- Nearest train: Desenzano del Garda, 20 km
- Ferry stop
- 7,546 residents
Good for FamiliesBeachesCar ferryHistoryHiking
Toscolano-Maderno is two lakeside towns joined into one comune in 1928, divided by the Toscolano stream, whose delta pushes a broad, flat headland out into the lake.
Maderno is the resort half: a lakefront promenade, the twelfth-century Romanesque church of Sant'Andrea with its façade of polychrome stone and marble, and the pier where the car ferry leaves for Torri del Benaco on the Veronese shore. Toscolano, across the river mouth, grew on paper: in 1608 some 160 paper-mill wheels turned along the stream, and the Valle delle Cartiere still keeps old mills, trails and the Museo della Carta at Maina Inferiore.
The flat delta also gives the town some of the longest beaches on the Brescian shore, from the equipped Lido Azzurro to the grassy Spiaggia degli Ulivi. It suits families, walkers curious about industrial history, and anyone crossing between the two shores by car. Behind the town, Monte Pizzocolo is the goal for a longer hike.
Events in Toscolano-Maderno7
Filter →Today · Sunday 27 September1
Thursday 1 October1
08:00
Sunday 4 October1
10:00
Thursday 8 October1
08:00
Friday 9 October1
—All day
Saturday 10 October1
—All day
Sunday 11 October1
—All day
What to see
Valle delle Cartiere and Museo della Carta
The Toscolano gorge was a paper-making centre for centuries; the museum at Maina Inferiore and the old trails past ruined mills open daily from late March to mid-October.
Chiesa di Sant'Andrea (Maderno)
Twelfth-century Romanesque parish church on Maderno's lakefront, with a striped façade of coloured stone and marble and carved capitals inside.
Basilica dei Santi Pietro e Paolo (Toscolano)
The main church of Toscolano, whose patron saints Peter and Paul are celebrated on 29 June.
Villa romana dei Nonii Arrii
Remains of a first-century Roman lakeside villa of the Nonii family, excavated from 1967, with mosaic floors.
Santuario di Santa Maria del Benaco
A sanctuary church near the lakeshore in Toscolano, listed by the Garda Lombardia tourist board among the town's main sights.
Beaches
Lido Azzurro
Equipped, paid beach on Lungolago Zanardelli with sand and pebbles, loungers, lifeguard, volleyball and boat hire.
Spiaggia degli Ulivi
Pebble-and-sand beach with a lawn on Viale Marconi, with pedalo, canoe and surf rental and a bar.
Spiaggia Riva Granda
Free pebble beach by the paper-mill area (Zona Cartiera), with parking nearby.
Getting there and around
- By car
- By car, leave the A4 at Desenzano del Garda and follow the lake road north via Salò.
- Train and bus
- The nearest railway station is Desenzano del Garda; from there Arriva bus LN027 (Desenzano – Salò – Gargnano – Limone – Riva del Garda) runs along the Gardesana road through Maderno and Toscolano. From the Verona side, the Torri del Benaco – Maderno car ferry is the only road-vehicle crossing of the lake.
- By boat
- Maderno is a stop for Navigazione Laghi passenger boats and the terminal of the car ferry to Torri del Benaco: the crossing takes 30 minutes, and in the summer 2026 timetable departures from Maderno ran from 8:00 to 19:15, several per hour at peak.
Things to do in Toscolano-Maderno4
Garda Paragliding (ASD Parapendio Toscolano)
Paragliding
Tandem paragliding flights from Monte Pizzocolo, reached by jeep, landing on the lakeshore in Toscolano Maderno.
Season: Year-round (weather permitting)
Circolo Vela Toscolano Maderno
Sailing, For kids
Non-profit sailing club and school offering dinghy and keelboat courses for adults plus weekly summer sailing camps for children.
Golf Bogliaco
Golf
Historic 18-hole par-70 course founded in 1912 among olive and lemon trees above the lake, open to visitors on green fees.
Season: Year-round
OraBoats
Boat rental, Boat tours, Wakeboard & water-ski
West-shore boat rental with licence-free, licensed, sail and skippered boats, plus guided boat tours and wakeboard lessons.
Toscolano-Maderno climate by month
| Month | Day | Night | Rain days (≥1 mm) | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9° | 2° | 6 | 54 mm |
| February | 11° | 4° | 8 | 75 mm |
| March | 14° | 6° | 9 | 76 mm |
| April | 18° | 9° | 10 | 102 mm |
| May | 21° | 14° | 17 | 150 mm |
| June | 27° | 19° | 13 | 111 mm |
| July | 29° | 21° | 12 | 119 mm |
| August | 29° | 21° | 11 | 123 mm |
| September | 24° | 17° | 11 | 131 mm |
| October | 19° | 12° | 11 | 120 mm |
| November | 13° | 7° | 10 | 120 mm |
| December | 10° | 3° | 8 | 75 mm |
Averages 2016–2025 from reanalysis data (Open-Meteo); a single year can differ a lot.
Questions visitors ask
How does the Maderno–Torri del Benaco car ferry work?
Navigazione Laghi runs a car ferry between Maderno and Torri del Benaco; the crossing takes 30 minutes. Places are limited to the ship's capacity, and tickets bought on board carry a €1 surcharge per passenger or vehicle when the ticket office is open.
Can you visit the old paper mills in Toscolano?
Yes. The Museo della Carta at Maina Inferiore in the Valle delle Cartiere opens daily 10:00–18:00 from late March to mid-October (2026 season), with weekend opening into early November; trails lead up the valley past the mill ruins.
Does Toscolano-Maderno have sandy beaches?
Partly: Lido Azzurro and Spiaggia degli Ulivi mix sand with pebbles and have lawns, while Riva Granda is a free pebble beach.
Nearby
Researched from: gardalombardia.com, gardalombardia.com, gardalombardia.com, gardalombardia.com, gardalombardia.com, valledellecartiere.it · checked 2026-09-26.