The Parco Giardino Sigurtà is a spectacular natural park located in Valeggio sul Mincio, a few kilometers from the Verona’s shore of Lake Garda, near Peschiera del Garda and the famous Borghetto sul Mincio.

It won the prize for the most beautiful park in Italy in 2013 and for the second most beautiful park in Europe in 2015 and with Tulipanomania he won the prize for Best Tulip Festival 2022 in the World.

On the official website of the park you will find all the historical, cultural and botanical information that have distinguished it since 1978, the year in which Carlo Sigurtà decided to open it to the public after having become the owner in 1941.

What are the curiosities that not everyone knows and that make the Sigurtà Garden Park truly unique?

In addition to its undeniable beauty from a botanical point of view and artistic-architectural richness, below we have collected the most curious information that will help you understand the importance of this site:

• it covers 60 hectares which correspond to 80 football fields;
• its oldest tree is a 400-year-old oak whose crown corresponds in size to the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican;
• it has a 1 km long avenue planted with thousands roses;
• 1 million tulips with daffodils, muscari and hyacinths bloom every spring;
• there is a 2500 square meter maze with 1500 yew plants designed in collaboration with the legendary Adrian Fisher;
• there is the largest collection of Boxwood plants in the world, which amounts to 40,000 specimens. The park has also collaborated with the University of Bologna to commercialize an antidote against the borer, a moth that in 2013 put the prized collection at serious risk;
• underground there are 100 km of irrigation pipes. 2 people, called “water workers”, are dedicated exclusively to this activity. Curious to observe them while they practice sliding irrigation. This methodology makes it possible to block the manholes placed in large grassy meadows to overflow the water which is directed by hand with drifts to water the entire surface;
• is cared for and the grass is cut every other day by a team of 15 full time gardeners hired by the park;
• at km 5.5 there is the most panoramic point to observe the underlying valley of the Mincio river (emissary of Lake Garda);
• it is possible to have a picnic with packed lunch on a blanket or towel (no grill – no fires – no tables and chairs).

How to get there and when is Parco Giardino Sigurtà open?

The park is located in Valeggio sul Mincio (VR) in Via Cavour 1 and can be easily reached by any means, including bikes. Click here for all the info.

It is open every day (including holidays) from March to November from 9.00 to 19.00. We recommend that you always consult the official website in advance for timetables and prices by clicking here.

What is the best time to visit Parco Giardino Sigurtà?

From March to November you will always find it in bloom, thanks to the painstaking work of gardeners and designers who plan the various plantings according to the season. Certainly noteworthy is the “Tulipanomania” which during the spring hosts the flowering of 1 million tulips. But there is no less summer, with the bright colors of Lagerstroemie, Dahlias and Water Lilies, and autumn with the brushstrokes of foliage of over 300 maples, and fossil trees such as Metasequoia and Gingko.

What are the activities dedicated to children in the Sigurtà Garden Park?

The entire park is a great adventure for young and old. For children, a beautiful farm with poultry animals (including goats and donkeys), a herd of 20 fallow deer immersed in the quiet, a vegetable garden of medicinal plants that attract many butterflies to observe and photograph, and small groves attracts attention. of banana trees to feel like explorers in the jungle. Every year in September, Italy’s largest Cosplay gathering is held, in which hundreds of people parade dressed like characters from comics, cartoons and fantasy. In addition, it is certainly fun for children to tour the estate by train or golf cart.

Activities dedicated to social media enthusiasts, influencers and photographers.

Inside the park there is a beautiful white bench called the “lovers’ bench“. All those who take a picture of themselves on this bench using the hashtag of the same name are republished on the social pages of the park.

Not only that, every season there are challenges on Instagram dedicated to various topics (eg particular blooms). Weekly, among all the posts with the designated photographs, 3 are chosen which are reposted on the feed of the park’s official page and the author wins a free admission.

This park has plenty of secrets to reveal and corners to discover. Not to mention everything that our eye and our soul personalize as an emotion.

If you let yourself be guided by curiosity and the desire to explore, you will immerse yourself in its green heart and you will feel how much love and passion are behind the care, maintenance and growth of this “corner” of Paradise.

See you next time dear Outdoors!

Silvia Turazza – Garda Outdoors editorial staff