Iseo

Iseo is a town in Lombardy, in the northern part of Italy. It is not only the most known town by Lake Iseo, but it has many historical buildings such as the medieval Oldofredi Castle, the Parish Church and the first monument ever built to Giuseppe Garibaldi. Near the town centre there are also many vineyards where the well-known Franciacorta wine is produced.

Understand
Iseo is on the southeast shore of Lake Iseo. It is bounded by the communes of Provaglio d'Iseo, Sulzano, Polaveno and Paratico.

It is between Franciacorta, famous for its sparkling wine, and Val Camonica, an alpine valley famous for the Rock Drawings, UNESCO world heritage site.

Iseo has three hamlets:
 * Clusane - between Iseo and Paratico. It is called The village of the roasted tench (in Italian: Paese della Tinca al Forno);
 * Pilzone
 * Cremignane

The best season to go to Iseo is the summer, with beautiful sunny and hot days. Christmas time is also pleasant, as that's the season when there is a big street market (called Natale con Gusto) that sells many local products. During January/February it rarely snows.

History
Iseo was already important in Roman times and in the Middle Ages; it became a flourishing trade centre. In the 19th century, the textile industry developed (you can see the spinning mill to the side of bar “Papillon” or in Via Campo). At the beginning of the 20th century, the railway was extended to Pisogne and Edolo, so Iseo lost its importance. In the 1960s, Iseo's economy became stronger thanks to tourism.



By plane
The nearest airport is:

Other airports in the surrounding area are:
 * Milan-Malpensa: Milan main airport with intercontinental destinations;
 * Milan-Linate: Milan city airport with domestic and European flights;
 * Brescia-Montichiari: Very small airport used only for cargo;
 * Verona-Villa Franca;

You can reach Iseo from all of these airports by taxi. The only taxi company in Iseo is Iseo Taxi.

By train
You can reach Iseo by train from Brescia or Edolo. There is about one train per hour in both directions, but pay attention: some trains don't stop at every station, though always in Iseo, Brescia and Edolo. The price from Brescia to Iseo is €3.30 one way (November 2017). Other interesting towns on the railways are Pisogne, Darfo-Boario Terme, famous for its bath, and Capo di Ponte. Timetables and fares are available on the Trenord website.

A few times a day, from Iseo you can also reach Rovato (on the Milan-Venice line), but sometimes you have to change at Bornato-Calino.

By bus
Iseo's main bus station is located in Via Gorzoni. Lines passing by Iseo are:
 * "LS002" (Sarnico-Iseo) passing by the southern part of the lake: Cremignane, Clusane and Paratico;
 * "LS003" (Iseo-Palazzolo sull'Oglio-Chiari);
 * "LS021" (Iseo-Orzinuovi) in the summer this line is called H2O because it connects many outdoor swimming pools: in Iseo, Corte Franca and Rovato;
 * "LS022" (Iseo-Monterotondo-Chiari);
 * "LN030" (Gardone Val Trompia-Polaveno-Iseo);
 * "F27" (Brescia-Iseo-Edolo) very useful if you have to reach Iseo from towns and villages that are not served by the railways;
 * "L62" (Iseo-Provaglio d'Iseo-Brescia) if you have simply to go from Brescia to Iseo, the best solution is the railway;

You can buy tickets on board, but it is cheaper if you buy them before. In Iseo you can buy them at the tobacco shops and at some news-stands. Please note that there are no bus on Sunday and that some runs only on school days (from 12th September to 8th June from Monday to Saturday, except public holidays, Christmas and Easter time).

For more information you can go here.

By car

 * To reach Iseo by car from Brescia you have to take the national road SS510.
 * To reach Iseo by car from Ponte di Legno or other towns of Val Camonica you have to take the national road SS42, and after Rogno follow the directions to Brescia entering on SS510.

By boat
You can reach Iseo by boat from Monte Isola and the other towns by Lake Iseo (Predore, Clusane, Monte Isola, Sulzano, Sale Marasino, Tavernola Bergamasca, Sarnico, Marone, Vello, Riva di Solto, Castro, Pisogne and Lovere). Prices and timetables are available here.

Get around
Iseo is a small town and you can visit it walking in the town center or using a bike (there are many cycle tracks - you can rent a bike outside Campeggio del Sole).

You can also use a car, but during the weekend most of the streets in the town center are closed. The most central car parks are with fee, if you want a free car parks you have to check the area around the schools.

You have to use buses to reach Clusane (lines LS002, LS003 and LS021) and Cremignane (LS021) and train to reach Pilzone.

Do
In the summer it is possible to swim and to do canoeing in the following lidos: It is also possible to do trekking on the mountains around Iseo and Clusane. For more information you can go here (only in Italian).

Buy
In the town centre, many shops are open on Sunday but few on Monday. Every Tuesday and Friday a street market takes place in the town centre.

Drink
On the lakeside there are many bars and pubs. The main ones are:

Budget



 * Camping

Connect
Free Wi-Fi is available in Piazza Garibaldi, Piazza Gabriele Rosa and the library. To use this connection, you must register at this site.



Go next

 * Monte Isola &mdash; The highest European lake island, reachable by boat from Iseo;
 * Brescia &mdash; The biggest town in the province, it is quite famous for the roman temple Capitolium and for St. Giulia's Museum with Roman villas and Santa Giulia's Royal Lombard Monastery, a UNESCO site.
 * Capo di Ponte &mdash; In Val Camonica, it is famous for rock drawings and a UNESCO site.