Location

Lake Louise is a glacier lake in Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. It is one of the major attractions of Alberta, which is in western Canada.

It is at a distance of about 905 kilometers from Seattle that is at approximately 10 and a half hour drive from there and at about 11 hours drive from Vancouver.

The name comes from the Princess Louise Caroline Alberta (1848-1939), Queen Victoria’s fourth daughter and wife of the Marquess of Lorne, the Governor General of Canada from 1878 to 1883.

The lake drains to the 3 kilometer long Louise Creek into the Bow River. On the eastern side of the lake is the Chateau Lake Louise, a luxury resort built by the Canadian Pacific Railway in the 20th century.

Climate

Winter is a popular time to visit the Lake, though it is very cold with temperatures dropping down to -7 degree Celsius. Skiing is popular in this season here because of snow.

Spring and summer are still cool here as temperatures do not scale more than 20 degree Celsius. Autumn brings its own charms to Lake Louise.

Reaching Lake Louise

The Calgary International Airport, at about 195 kilometers from Lake Louise is the closest airport. Major international air carriers provide their services here.  From the airport, you can rent a car to Lake Louise which takes about 3 hours and makes for a good drive with all its scenic beauty.

There are a number of shuttle services too that you can opt for.

The drive from Edmonton International Airport to Lake Louise takes about 6 hours.

There is no train service to Lake Louise, though places like Toronto, Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Edmonton are connected to Jasper from where you can either rent a car or get on a bus to reach Lake Louise.

Attractions at Lake Louise

Lake Louise has plenty to offer the tourists. There are hiking trails, amusement parks, cultural centers like art galleries and museums and many other source of entertainment.

In the winter season from November to May the centre of attraction is the Lake Louise Mountain Resort, the largest ski area in the country of Canada. The Bridal Veil Falls that is accessed at Lake Louis via Lake Agnes Trail is another popular attraction here. Its drop is about 100 feet. At a short distance is Cauldron falls, enclosed between mountains and then the Mistaya falls. In the Big Bend area is the 200 feet tall Nigel Creek falls. On the Icefield Parkway is another 200 feet high fall, the Panther Falls.

To the west of Lake Louise, bordering Alberta and berth Columbia is the Great Divide, the point from where all the water either flow to the Pacific Ocean in the west or to the Atlantic Ocean in the east.  The Mount Balfour is located here.

A number of mountain peaks around make for an apt background for the Lake Louise. In the Northeastern end of the Columbia Icefield are the Twins tower, 3,627 meters high and the North and South Twin peaks. In the upper Moraine Lake Valley are the Eiffel Tower standing 3, 080 meters high and the Eiffel peaks. Dolomite peak (2,782 meters) is another attraction close to the Icefield Parkway.

The Snow Dome, one of the two hydrological apexes in the world is on the Columbia Icefield’s Continental Divide. The water from the apex feeds the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Arctic Ocean. The 3,211 meter high Nigel Peak borders Jasper and the Bnaff National Parks. Mount Victoria is another attraction here.

The place is home to a number of glaciers, such as the Hector Glacier on Mount Hector, The Victoria Glacier at the base of Mt Victoria that feeds the Lake Louise, the Vulture Glacier, a part of Wapta Icefield on the Continental Divide is a site for backcountry skiing. Bow Glacier too is part of this Icefield. The Icefield parkways have more than 100 glaciers itself. The Columbia Icefield spread across 325 square kilometers on the Continental Divide has six major glaciers and feeds the Columbia, Mackenzie and Saskatchewan Rivers.

There are a number of other lakes around Lake Louise that are worth a visit such as the Hidden Lake, Katherine Lake, Mistaya Lake, Moraine Lake and the Valley of Ten Peaks, Lake Agnes that’s popular for hiking trails and the Peyto Lake.

Some other attractions at Lake Louise include the Bow Valley Parkway that has some waterfalls, hike trails and Ink Pots, with 6 cold water springs. The Icefields Parkway, 230 kilometers between Lake Louise and Jasper makes for a great mountain drive as well that includes highlights like the Columbia Icefields.

Nearby Lake Louise are some major tourist attractions like the town of Banff. The attractions here are the Bnaff Sulphur Mountain Gondola, Lake Minnewala and the hot springs, the naturally heated sulphur pools, white water rafting trips on Bow River and the Bnaff Park Museum, the oldest natural history museum in Canada. Calgary, another town not very far away attracts tourists to its Big Rock Brewery, The Calgary Chinese Cultural Centre, the Calgary Tower, the Calgary science centre and the Olympic Plaza. Jasper town with its National Park, Icefield center, Jasper Aquatic center and Canada’s highest tramway system –Jasper Tramway is an interesting town to visit. To the south east of Lake Louise is Canmore, within the Bow Valley that has many activities fro tourists like hiking, mountaineering etc, helicopter tours. It is famous for its annual Ice Climbing Festival held in January and other such annual events.

Around Lake Louise are couple of other historical sites like the Cave and Basin National Historic Site, the Luxton Museum with displays on Native arts among other things, the Walter Philips Gallery, a centre of contemporary art and the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies to name a few.

Besides, there are options for other activities like fishing, mountain biking, aero plane and helicopter tours, helicopter skiing and many more. There are many festivals held across the year around Lake Louise and the towns near by such as the Ice Magic, International Ice Sculpture Competition and exhibitions.

A trip to Lake Louise and to the areas around is definitely a great way to enjoy a relaxed vacation with your family or by yourself if want an alone time and if time allows, at your own leisure.

It is the largest Lake of Italy covering over 370 square kilometers. Lake Garda is also the most popular of all the lakes in this country. It was formed in the last Ice Age.

Lake Garda is perhaps the best way and also a romantic one to start your journey in this pretty European country of Italy. It is, in a way, an introduction to Italy.

Location

Lake Garda of Italy touches the foot of the Alps in Southern Europe. To its east is the Mont Baldo range with some of its highest peaks. It’s southern part, known as Sirmoine, houses hostels, thermal baths, shops and olive groves.

Best time to visit

The presence of large water bodies manages to balance the extreme condition of the weather in Italy. The ideal time to visit the Lake Garda is in the months from June to September, though there isn’t a bad time in an year when you should not visit this place.

How to reach Lake Garda

It is well placed and easily accessible by road, rail or air ways, 30 kilometers away from Verona, about 100 kilometers from Milan and at a distance of about 130 kilometers from Venice.

Just about 40 kilometers from the Lake Garda is the Begamo Airport. Hotels around can arrange for your pick up by direct bus services.

You can also avail many of the private buses that take you to the Brescia Airport from where you would need to get into a bus that goes to any of the villages that surround Lake Garda. Regular train services too connect Brescia and Hotel Desenzano del Garda and the journey time is less than 30 minutes.

Activities at Lake Garda

Lake Garda has lot to offer to its visitors. For couples, it offers a romantic ambience and fine accommodations around. For the children, there are amusement parks like the Gardaland and movies studios as well.

The wine and olive oil of Lake Garda are well known. In fact, an annual Wine Festival is held across a week in October. The celebrations is expressed through music, dance and of course, the festival’s highlight is free wine. This period is the peak time for tourists here.

If you are looking for some energizing activities, Lake Garda is the place to practice tennis, to paragliding, free-climbing, scuba diving, swimming, clay pigeon shooting, karting, sailing, surfing and mountain biking as well. Golf courses here too are becoming popular. There are amusement parks, gardens and shopping areas that include street markets to lavish shops, restaurants, discos and other night out venues that work as source of entertainment around Lake Garda.

Making it a good holiday spot are a number of good hotels and farm houses. You could also go for camping around the Lake.

A rich soil and mild climate creates a habitat around Lake Garda that’s suitable for flourishing of a rich flora and fauna.

A number of ferries operate in the Lake from one side to the other, which gives you a chance to immerse in the beautiful surroundings of Lake Garda.

Around the lake are a number of historical sites and towns that’s worth exploring. The town of Malcesine has a castle that is supposed to be dating back to the 14th century. There is a castle in Roman Villa in Sirmione as well that must be visited. The pretty lake town of Riva del Garda has a smooth pebble beach that spreads out as an arc towards Torbole. Windsurfers and sailing boats are a common site here.

An interesting thing to do here would be to take a cable car ride to the top of the Monte Baldo and experience a magnificent view of Lake Garda with the surrounding country sides, beaches, vineyards, olive groves and historical towns and villas near by from above the ground by 1,850 meters.

To the south of Lake Gardo is Sirmione with its thermal baths, hotels and medieval castles. There are beautiful Roman churches, gardens and Venetian style villas in Bardolino, which also has remains of the Scaliger walls. This makes for an artistic heritage.

It is enriched by its green hinterland with pastures and vineyards which produce wines known throughout the world such as Custoza and Bardolino.

Visit the old port of Torbole where you can enjoy some of the best windsurfing in Italy. There are many Surf rental shops for beginners and experts. If it’s just for a relaxing stroll the charming old streets of Limone and the castle a Roman Villa in Sirmione are two places you will want to add to your list of places to visit.

To the south of Lake Garda, in Sirmione, you can walk down the cobblestone streets, visit the thermal baths, and marvel at the medieval castles among other sites.

Other lake towns and villages worth a visit here include Lazise (which also has thermal baths), Torri del Benaco and Peschiera among others.  All these places have a plenty of choices when it comes to hotels, villas, shops and lakeside markets.

If time allows, there are ample of places around that make for good excursions. With Lake Garda as your base, you could explore the historical cities of Verona, Brescia, Mantua, Trent, Venice and Dolomites. The city of Verona especially shouldn’t be missed out during the Opera Season when there are performances in its arena.

Italy is a magnificent tourist destination. Amidst its’ diversified culture, brilliant architecture, varied landscape, monuments, cathedral and churches, are the many lakes along with the Lake of Garda that add to the somberness and tranquility of the city. Nature Lovers are sure to be happy with the way tourism in Italy is going. To cater to the tourists, the villages by the lakes have transformed themselves as beautiful resort towns.