The Mincio by boat: Mantua seen from the water

Mantua does not sit near the water: it sits in it. Three lakes — Superiore, di Mezzo and Inferiore — have embraced the city for centuries, drawn in the Middle Ages by bending the course of the Mincio, and they give it that skyline that seems to float. Look at it only from land and you miss half the story.

Boat trips on the lakes give it back: boats leave from the city and circle that profile of towers and domes, while the Mincio Park slides past with its reed beds and herons. It is an outing that works at every age: children count the birds, adults never stop photographing the skyline.

The lotus flowers

The most famous moment comes in summer: on the Upper Lake, between July and August, a whole expanse of lotus flowers blooms — a floating island of pink and green, planted here almost a century ago and now one of the images Mantuans hold dearest. Seeing it up close, from the water, is a small spectacle you do not expect in the Po Valley.

The slow river

Above and below the city the Mincio stays in charge: river excursions drift between reeds and waterside villages, at the right pace for really looking. It is the perfect complement to the cycle path: same valley, another point of view — from the embankment or from the waterline.

From Beatilla

River visits and excursions are among the experiences we arrange on request: tell us when you arrive — or before, if you are coming on purpose — and we will fit the boat into your day, perhaps Mantua in the morning and the river in the afternoon.

Mantua from the water is another city: older, quieter, truer. And the Mincio, having carried you by boat, stays right there — ready to be pedalled the next day.