THERE IS A PARTICULAR rhythm to a day in the town of Torri del Benaco on Lago di Garda, Italy's largest lake.

You rise to see the sun sparkling on the water, which appears Mediterranean in hue, with granite cliffs slicing into it on the north and flat wine country to the south. After a light breakfast of cappuccino and a brioche, you stroll along the town's medieval stone thoroughfares, so narrow that no cars can fit through them. Then, a dip in the lake and an al fresco pasta lunch in the port, looking out on bobbing masts and a 14th-century castle. Afterward, you head to the edge of town, where there's a playground with a wine bar (for you, not the children) and innumerable gelaterias. An afternoon Negroni is de rigeur.

All of which is to say, Lago di Garda is like many vacation spots in Italy: relaxed yet exquisitely indulgent. Still, it can feel like a revelation, especially for an American traveler.

Tourists from the U.S. gravitate to Lake Como, 60 miles to the west. Though Lago di Garda is just a half-hour drive from the airport in Verona and 2 hours from Milan, it is a destination that Europeans have managed to keep to themselves. Its shores are speckled with villages, each with a different feel and all reachable by ferry, bus or car, so a vacation can be not one trip but many. September, when the water is still warm and the traffic has thinned, is a wonderful time to go.

But where to start on a 32-mile-long lake? This itinerary offers a hub to stay in and trio of day trips to spots on the eastern and northern shores. As Ezra Pound wrote to James Joyce in the 1920s, Lago di Garda is "well worth the journey."