The Mantua City Guides answer the questions every visitor brings here: how to fit Mantegna’s painted room and Giulio Romano’s palace into one trip without losing a day, where pumpkin tortelli and risotto alla pilota are still cooked the old way, where to stand for the classic view of the city rising from the water, and how to reach Lake Garda, Sabbioneta or Verona for a day. Each guide is a short, honest list that tells you why a place earns its spot, what to order or look for and one practical tip, and it opens in your browser as soon as you have paid.
About the Mantua City Guides
- 77 places
- 4 guides
- 6 languages
- Works offline
- Print or PDF
- Instant access
- Free updates
The four Mantua guides
Food guide
18 places
Pumpkin tortelli, risotto alla pilota and pike with polenta in old osterie, grand dinners and modern Mantuan cooking, wine bars and a deli, then sbrisolona, bread and coffee.
Things to do guide
20 places
The Gonzaga palaces and museums, Alberti’s churches and the medieval squares, the canal that runs through the centre, then the lakes and easy outings beyond the walls.
Day trips guide
20 places
Lake Garda, the Mincio valley and the 1859 battle hills, Sabbioneta and the Gonzaga towns towards the Po, then Verona, Cremona and more art cities by regional train.
Budget guide
19 places
Free churches, a baroque library and Mantegna’s house, the two great palaces at the right price, free lake walks and parks, and trattorias where a filling plate costs €10 to €15.
Why an interactive guide beats a list
Tick places off
Mark each place as done and watch your progress, so you always know what is left.
Your own notes
Write notes on any place and add your own finds. They stay on your phone.
One tap to Maps
Every place opens in Google Maps, and the day route puts your picks in a sensible order.
Open now, near me
Filter by what is open right now or what is closest to you.
Works offline
Open the guide once with a connection and it keeps working without data.
Print it or save as PDF
On a computer, print any guide or save it as a PDF to take with you.
Three places from the guides
Trattoria Ai Garibaldini
Via San Longino 7, behind Sant’Andrea
Ask for a table in the courtyard and eat under a pergola of vines, one of the loveliest outdoor settings in town. Order the tagliatelle with duck or the gnocchi with pumpkin and sausage; prices stay fair, and the kitchen will cook vegan if you phone first. From the food guide.
Rotonda di San Lorenzo
Piazza delle Erbe
Built in 1082 and now sitting below the level of the square, this round brick church is the oldest in Mantua. Houses swallowed it for centuries until it was freed again in the early 1900s. It costs nothing and ten minutes is plenty. From the things to do guide.
Ponte Visconteo
Borghetto, Valeggio sul Mincio, 35 min by car
A fortified dam-bridge from the 1300s, 650 metres long, stretches over the old mill hamlet of Borghetto on the Mincio. Stay for lunch: Valeggio is the home of the thin tortellini nodo d’amore, served by the river for about €12 a plate. From the lakes and day trips guide.
Plan your days in Mantua
Day one: start on Piazza Sordello and give the morning to Palazzo Ducale and the Camera degli Sposi (not on a Monday), then look into the cathedral next door. After a plate of tortelli di zucca at Al Portichetto, see Sant’Andrea and the round Rotonda di San Lorenzo, climb the clock tower above Piazza delle Erbe and walk out along Ponte di San Giorgio for the view back over the water. Day two: Palazzo Te and its Room of the Giants, Mantegna’s house with the round courtyard across the road, then a bike ride along the lake to the Grazie sanctuary, or a regional train to Verona. For a rainy or slow day, stay indoors with the Teatro Bibiena, the Teresiana library, Palazzo d’Arco and the Gonzaga armour at the Museo Diocesano, and finish with a glass of Lambrusco at Enoteca Enoclub.
Questions about the Mantua guides
What do the Mantua City Guides include?
Four guides covering 77 places: food, things to do, lakes and day trips, and budget. Every entry tells you why it is worth going, where it is, notes on opening and one tip you can actually use.
How do I get the guides after paying?
The links appear on your order confirmation page and in the email that follows. They open in the browser of any phone, tablet or laptop, with no app to install and no account to set up.
Can I use the Mantua guides without internet?
Yes. Open each guide once while you are online and it keeps working offline afterwards, ticks and notes included. Sending a place to maps needs mobile data.
Which languages are the Mantua guides available in?
The guides open in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish and Dutch. You can switch the language inside the guide at any time.
How much do the Mantua guides cost?
One guide is €4.99, two are €8.99 and the full set of four is €15.99.
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