Lake Garda or Como with a 2 year old

[Luckyelephant1]

Planning a trip around parts of North Italy in September, with the plan to spend a few days in either Lake Como or Garda. It will be me, my husband and 2 year old daughter. Before doing any research we thought we'd do Como (it just looks SO beautiful), but most things I've read say Garda is far better for families and young kids, whereas Como is more geared for couples and is a bit more upmarket?

Whichever one we go to we'd like to be able to walk around lots, explore new bits every day, find cute cafes and eateries and so on. But obv needs to be family friendly, we'd have a stroller with us as well. Little one absolutely loves nature, water, spotting things out and about etc.

Looking for advice from those that have been to both. Which Lake would you choose and why? And any particular areas you'd stay in?

We’re heading to Sirmione this summer. I visited Lake Garda (Desanzano del Garda) and spent a day in Sirmione 4 years ago and loved it - hence going back with my family now. From my recollection, there are few/ no cars on Sirmione itself, just lots of lovely paces to walk and swim.

We stayed at Desanzano last year, not far from Sirmione. It was a nice base with ferries to various towns around the lake and a railway station for trips to Milan and Verona. We hired bikes as there's a cycle path around the lake, we biked a couple of towns along then caught the ferry back. The scenery is stunning.

Place-marking!

Weve stayed in Desenzano too - lovely little town. Great for visiting the southern part of the lake by boat.