Lake Garda - recommendations please

[PositiveDiscipline]

We are looking for recommendations for Lake Garda. We are a family of 4 including 2 very busy boys aged 10 and 13. We have had some amazing road trips and holidays with a base and think Lake Garda would be amazing. These are the kind of things we like:

Sports - biking, hiking, watersports
Sightseeing - history, scenery
Day trip to Venice, Milan
Great food and wine.
Very nice accommodation - prefer a rented house or villa or nice hotel because my DH is dead fussy and spoilt business traveller
We would love to do some Italian cooking courses. My boys are great chefs!
Beach, chill ,tan
Shopping (for Italian shoes brands, not global brands)
Great restaurants and cafes and most importantly Gelateria's. I would like to be able to walk into town and wander at night.

I know this sounds like all of Lake Garda but I would appreciate any recommendations for towns/ resorts and places to stay.

Finally. Is it possible to drive to Lake Garda? We usually drive to south Spain so don't mind the journey and we would stop off on the way. Would we be able to drive to Venice so we could stay a few nights? Obviously we would need to park away and shuttle in? Is that possible?

Plus - not massively touristy!
We would be planning on going either late July or Aug. Is that an OK time to go or does Italy shut down in Aug like Spain does?

If you want watersports you are better at the north end of the lake where the wind is stronger - Riva and Torbole both have sailing schools and the terrain that end is more rugged for walking. It is not as well connected by train though as the southerly end.

Very busy in August, as north Europeans drive down for their shutdowns and can be scorchio. July might be better.