Things to do in Mantua
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Mantua
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Spring is joint best. Sigurtà opens, tulips and roses peak, the cycleway is at its best and mosquitoes are not yet in force.
Great evenings and punishing middays. Do palaces in the morning and dinner after 7pm, with lotus flowers in July and August.
Autumn is joint best and the cultural peak, with harvest food, Festivaletteratura in September and October the connoisseur's month.
Quietest and cheapest, cold and damp with famous fog. Sigurtà is closed and lake boats are reduced, but palaces are uncrowded.
What's on
- Trame Sonore late May / early June
Mantova Chamber Music Festival with short concerts in the Ducale, Bibiena and palazzo courtyards.
- Mantova Summer Festival July
Big Italian pop and rock concerts on the Palazzo Te grounds.
- Fiera delle Grazie mid-August, culminating 15 August
Ferragosto fair in Grazie di Curtatone, when madonnari chalk artists cover the churchyard overnight.
- Festivaletteratura Early September each year, five days
Italy's great literature festival, about 200 events over five days, the city transformed and completely booked.
- Segni d'Infanzia late October / early November
International children's theatre and arts festival, wonderful for families.
- Mercatini di Natale December
Pleasant small scale Christmas markets in the centre.
Best things to do in Mantua
Palazzo Te
Giulio Romano's frescoed villa of illusions, horses and falling giants, the most joyful palace visit in Mantua.
Palazzo Ducale di Mantova
The vast Gonzaga court complex of 500 rooms, best done in sections on its own morning rather than in a marathon.
Camera degli Sposi
Mantegna's small bridal chamber with the famous ceiling oculus, the room most visitors come to Mantua to see.
Basilica di Sant'Andrea
Alberti's vast free Renaissance church with a barrel vaulted nave, Mantegna's tomb and the Sacri Vasi crypt.
Teatro Scientifico Bibiena
Tiny jewel box theatre where the 13 year old Mozart played in 1770, a short visit that surprises everyone.
Rotonda di San Lorenzo
Mantua's oldest church, a round 11th century Romanesque rotunda sunk below Piazza delle Erbe, free to enter.
Piazza delle Erbe
Mantua's market square under the porticoes, with the Palazzo della Ragione and astronomical clock tower.
Piazza Sordello
The grander, quieter square by the cathedral and Ducale entrance, at its best when the stone is lit at night.
Where to stay in Mantua
Centro Storico
first trip, all-round base
Between the Ducale and Sant'Andrea on flat porticoed streets, everything except Palazzo Te within a 10 minute walk.
Cittadella / San Giorgio edge
drivers and skyline views
Across Lago di Mezzo you sleep looking at the postcard, with easier parking and a 10 to 15 minute walk into Sordello.
Station / Viale Risorgimento corridor
early trains, cars and value
Practical rather than charming, 10 minutes to the Erbe edge, with the larger conventional hotels on this axis.
Countryside agriturismo belt
families with a car, summer
Farm stays among rice fields near Curtatone and Rivalta with pools and home cooking, but every town trip needs a drive.
Think twice about
- Station area at night
The least appealing walk in Mantua, with underpasses, sparse foot traffic and occasional rough sleeping. The station hotels themselves are fine.
- Valletta Paiolo and the modern suburbs
Dormitory sprawl on the Verona and Cremona roads with poor evening buses and a trip spent crossing the lakes.
- Sabbioneta or Suzzara listings marketed as Mantua
Not in Mantua for a walker despite the listing title. Check the map, not the title.
Best restaurants in Mantua
Il Cigno
Mantua's classic fine dining address in a 16th century building, Gonzaga era dishes done with ceremony.
Lo Scalco Grasso
Small creative tasting menu restaurant running Mantuan ingredients through a modern seasonal lens.
Sucar Brusc
The highest rated all rounder in the centre, careful Mantuan rooted cooking and warm service at fair prices.
Alla Buca della Gabbia
Tiny historic vaulted trattoria near the Pescherie with a short traditional menu and honest prices.
Piccola Osteria Andes
Warm unpretentious osteria and the most reviewed restaurant in Mantua, a forgiving first night dinner.
Osteria della Fragoletta
The traditional trattoria locals defend, with tortelli di zucca, risotto and sbrisolona at honest prices.
Antica Osteria dell'Oca
Family run osteria known for tortelli and risotto alla Mantovana, noisy with tables close together.
Da Giannino
Generous Italian cooking near the Palazzo della Ragione, part of the dependable central trattoria bench.
Outdoor things to do in Mantua
Pista Ciclabile del Fiume Mincio
Flat paved cycleway along the Mincio from Mantua through Borghetto to Peschiera, the classic local ride.
Motonavi Andes Negrini
Boat circuits from San Giorgio for the skyline from the water, lotus flowers and the Vallazza wetland.
Valli del Mincio Nature Reserve
Rich wetland of reed channels with herons and kingfishers, explored by kayak, flat boat or on foot.
Grazie di Curtatone
Mincio fishing village reached by a short flat bike ride, dominated by its ex-voto filled sanctuary church.
Parco Giardino Sigurtà
Sixty hectares of lawns, ponds, maze and roses walked, cycled or golf carted, open March to November.
Sabbioneta
Vespasiano Gonzaga's ideal Renaissance city, walked end to end inside its star walls in half a day.
Mantova Golf Club
Friendly 9 hole farm origins course 15 minutes south, ideal for a relaxed holiday round or practice.
Golf Club Paradiso del Garda
Resort style 18 hole course near Lake Garda, one of the two serious rounds within 45 minutes of Mantua.
Best hotels in Mantua
Palazzo Arrivabene
Frescoed palazzo suites in the heart of the old town, the sleep inside the Gonzaga city option.
Palazzo Castiglioni Luxury Suites
Luxury suites in a historic palazzo, among the highest rated stays surfaced in Mantua.
Grand Hotel San Lorenzo
Mantua's closest thing to a grand hotel, with spa, panoramic terrace and a private garage in the ZTL centre.
Hotel Casa Poli
Design minimal four star in a historic palazzo, the polished calm choice on the station axis.
Scaravelli Residenza
Apartment style residenza with historic character, repeatedly rated above the conventional hotels.
Casa San Domenico
Small quiet hotel in a historic building, the classic mid range recommendation in the centre.
Hotel Broletto
Conventional central three star with fair value, a straightforward base between the two main squares.
Hotel Leon D'Oro
Central three star whose argument is location, 0.2 km from the centre in booking aggregations.
Is Mantua expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €85 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €170 a person |
| Splurge | €380 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Palazzo Te: a few days ahead
- Camera degli Sposi: weeks ahead
- Casa Museo Palazzo Valenti Gonzaga: a few days ahead
- Sabbioneta: a few days ahead
- Golf Club Paradiso del Garda: a few days ahead
- Golf Club Verona: a few days ahead
- Il Cigno: a few days ahead
- Lo Scalco Grasso: weeks ahead
- Camera degli Sposi is timed and capped. Book the Ducale ticket with the Camera slot as soon as dates are fixed.
- Palazzo Te online in holidays and Festivaletteratura week to avoid the ticket desk queue.
- Book Friday and Saturday dinners even in trattorias. First seatings are typically 7.30pm.
- Hotels for Festivaletteratura and Trame Sonore need booking months ahead for the centre.
- Sigurtà spring tulip weekends, Sabbioneta guided slots and Garda area tee times on spring and autumn weekends.
Is Mantua safe?
- Safe and low crime by European standards. Watch bags in market crowds and lock bikes properly, as bike theft is the most plausible visitor crime.
- Summer risks are heat, humidity and lakeside mosquitoes. Confirm air conditioning in historic bed and breakfast rooms.
- Winter fog can cut visibility to metres and makes the lakeside bitterly damp. Emergency number 112.
Mantua travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Ducale, Palazzo Te and everything in one day trip, remembering only fatigue. Sleep in Mantua instead.
- The short midday lake boat loop. The skyline is better from the San Giorgio bridge and nature better on the Vallazza route.
- Terrace restaurants directly on Erbe and Sordello. Food one street back is better reviewed at the same or lower price.
- Any Gonzaga tour spending more time on a bus than in a palace, and Sabbioneta by public transport without checking the return bus.
Getting around Mantua: public transport and more
- Walk the flat compact porticoed centre. The station is 10 minutes to Piazza delle Erbe and 15 to 20 to the Ducale.
- Cycling is the local second language. City and hotel bikes are common and the Mincio Cycleway starts at the lakes.
- Do not drive into the Centro Storico without a plan. It is a camera enforced ZTL and hotels must register your plate for garage access.
- Taxis are not hailed on the street. Book by phone or use the station and Sordello ranks.
Who Mantua suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Mantua your trip
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