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CASTIGLIONE DEL LAGO |
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CASTIGLIONE DEL LAGO is the most appealing town on the lake and cuts
a fine silhouette from other points around the shore, jutting out into
the water on a fortified promontory. In the event it doesn't really live
up to its distant promise, but is still a friendly, unpretentious place
with enough charm and action to hold anyone's interest for a couple of
days - longer if all you want to do is crash out on an (albeit modest)
beach. It's easy to reach by slow train either from Chiusi (heading
north) or Terontola if you're coming from Arezzo or Perugia. There are
also nine buses daily from Perugia.
There's a good tourist office in the main Piazza Mazzini (Mon
8am-1.30pm, Tues-Sat 8am-1.30pm & 3-7.30pm, Sun 9am-1pm; tel
075.965.2484 or 075.965.2738, info@iat.castiglione-del-lago.pg.it )
whose flashiness in such a small place gives a good idea of the town's
considerable appeal to tourists. They have a lot of reasonable but
characterless rooms on their books and apartments to rent on a weekly
basis, usually a cheaper option if you can get a party together. Among
the hotels , the top dog is the Duca della Corgna , Via B. Buozzi 143 (tel
075.953.238, fax 075.962.2446; L120,000-150,000/¬61.98-77.47), with the
Trasimeno , Via Roma 174 (tel 075.965.2494, fax 075.952.5258;
L90,000-120,000/¬46.48-61.98), hot on its heels; more atmospheric is the
Miralago , Piazza Mazzini 6 (tel 075.951.157 or 075.953.063, fax
075.951.924; L120,000-150,000/¬61.98-77.47), with views of the lake
behind. Most of the campsites are off the main road some way south of
the town. Lido Trasimeno (tel 075.965.9350; April-Sept) on the shore
north of the castle has good facilities (swimming, windsurfing school,
sailing etc). Aside from the summer-only restaurants on the promenade,
the place to eat game, fish fresh from the lake and other dishes is the
L'Acquario , Via Vittorio Emanuele II 69 (tel 075.965.2432; closed Fri,
also Tues in winter) on the old town's single main street. The best
swimming is at the public lido on the southern side of the promontory.
Regular boats make the trip out to the Isola Maggiore , one of the
lake's three islands, a fun ride if you don't mind the summer crowds.
There's a pretty walk round the edge of the island, and you should have
no problem discreetly pitching a tent once everyone else has packed up
and gone home. If not, there's one good, popular hotel , the three-star
Da Sauro , Via Guglielmi 1 (tel 075.826.168;
L120,000-150,000/¬61.98-77.47), which also doubles as a fine restaurant
that's especially known for its fish.
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