July 27, 2026, 11:15 am | Read time: 3 minutes
Mirror, mirror on the wall, which is the fairest park of all? In Italy, it’s the award-winning Parco Giardino Sigurtà in Valleggio sul Mincio, located near Lake Garda. TRAVELBOOK author Alexandra Cavelius visited it.
Throughout Europe, this artfully designed garden is considered one of the most beautiful. It’s no wonder this unique plant paradise has attracted millions of visitors. Those who aren’t keen on walking or want to enjoy themselves in a relaxed manner can take the little train or rent a bicycle at the ticket office to explore the 60-hectare grounds. Or, like our author, an e-golf cart.
Let’s embark on a journey into a blooming world that constantly changes. Through the entrance gate, next to a private Renaissance villa, the golf cart quietly rolls along wide paths into a park with a history spanning over 600 years. The Sigurtà industrial family transformed the formerly agricultural land into a public park in 1941, in the style of English landscape gardens. A monument commemorates the count–with a sundial set for 26,000 years, symbolizing time and vision.
A Park with Ever-Changing Worlds
A pleasant breeze brushes your face at the wheel as the golf cart overtakes sweating pedestrians on the hill. Passing bubbling fountains, wells, and monumental tree walls, the park reveals ever-new worlds. Shaded paths open to wide, sunlit meadows where pines rise like columns. Gardeners are constantly bustling about, artfully trimming boxwood with shears in hand. “With more than 40,000 cataloged boxwood specimens,” one of the “largest collections of its kind worldwide,” the electronic voice on the display automatically informs riders about the attractions.
Wherever you look, visitors are amazed anew by the numerous and imaginatively designed details. Here a small castle, there winding secret paths in the forest, and between gentle hills, sparkling ponds with koi carp and water lilies in all colors. Children especially enjoy a petting zoo with grazing goats or deer.
A Huge Maze
Around the corner, a maze where some desperately ask for help: “Which way do I go?” Guests on the platform above, who have an overview, find it amusing. It’s not easy to find your way out of the 2,500-square-meter maze, between tall yew hedges.
Those who want to take a break during their ride will find small park bays, benches, and cafes. The undisputed highlight, however, is the famous Rose Avenue, lined on both sides with over 30,000 magnificently blooming roses. Enthusiastic exclamations like “Wow!” can be heard from behind the next hill. Visitors are captivated by the view of the medieval Castello Scaligero, which you approach for almost a kilometer. The perspective is so cleverly chosen that the Scaliger Castle seems like part of the park.
From up here on the hill, you also have a wide view of Borghetto, the picturesque valley of the watermills. Below, the Mincio winds, crossed by the imposing and famous Visconti Bridge from the 14th century.
My conclusion: Parco Giardino Sigurtà is a wonderful park where nature, history, and art seamlessly blend. Those seeking tranquility, beauty, or inspiration are in the right place. After about a two-hour tour, the voice on the display wishes “Goodbye,” because “each season brings new colors and emotions!”