Centrale Idroelettrica di Riva del Garda
Centrale Idroelettrica di Riva del Garda
Centrale Idroelettrica di Riva del Garda
4.5
Wednesday
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
3:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Friday
3:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Saturday
3:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
3:00 PM - 7:00 PM
About
This imposing structure was built in the 1920s to generate power from Lake Ledro which is channelled through a pressurized tunnel in the rock. The architect behind the project was Giancarlo Maroni. The numen aquarum on the facade was the work of the sculptor Silvio Zaniboni.
Duration: 1-2 hours
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listingTours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
Full view
Top ways to experience Centrale Idroelettrica di Riva del Garda and nearby attractions
The area
Address
Reach out directly
Best nearby
Restaurants
280 within 5 kms
Attractions
151 within 10 kms
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.5
187 reviews
Excellent
94
Very good
63
Average
26
Poor
2
Terrible
2
Ledjutlad
King's Lynn, United Kingdom59 contributions
Aug 2023 • Solo
Being in Riva for a break I decided to visit this great piece of architecture, sadly the only English speaking tour was late Friday and couldn’t make it as I had an early flight next morning.
Luckily I had a tour three years earlier and can confirm it is well worth it!
Will definitely visit next time .
Luckily I had a tour three years earlier and can confirm it is well worth it!
Will definitely visit next time .
Written September 22, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Chris S
Felixstowe, UK487 contributions
May 2017 • Couples
On the face of it this seems a most unlikely tourist attraction. But for ‘him’ and ‘her’ it combines stunning 1930s architecture on a grand scale, moments of wonder in the huge blasted-out caverns and tunnels inside the foot of the mountain, and excellent interactive exhibits. It’s a most unusual experience.
Note that you can’t free-wheel around the place – guided tours only. We are an English speaking couple with only the most rudimentary grasp of Italian, so it was unfortunate we weren’t able to take the English language guided tour on the one day in the week it’s scheduled. There were only six of us on the two-hour tour (the other four were Italians) so we weren’t very impressed by the guide’s failure to acknowledge our lack of comprehension and deliver bits in English for our benefit.
She had a huge amount of knowledge, demonstrated by the fact that she didn’t stop talking for two hours and responded to and answered very few questions. I had a headache at the end of it.
We had 20-minutes at the beginning to play with the wonderfully thought out and engaging interactive exhibits explaining the mechanics of hydroelectric power generation. As a result we understood perfectly well the simple principles on which it works (compared, say, with a nuclear reactor). However, our guide proceeded to waste 45 minutes of our time by demonstrating all of the exhibits herself, including showing off her physical fitness by pedalling a bike connected to a generator to light up a light bulb. I am a volunteer tour guide back in the UK, so I’m sensitive to how well or badly these are done. It was tedious and unnecessary and not especially audience focused. The tour could have been done in one hour maximum with nothing important left out. For some unfathomable reason, photography is not allowed inside the building.
So please do visit it and be prepared to be awe-inspired. Make sure the tour is one in your native language (they do tours in German too) and maybe take along a bar of chocolate and a drink as well.
5 stars for the attraction, 0 stars for the tour.
Note that you can’t free-wheel around the place – guided tours only. We are an English speaking couple with only the most rudimentary grasp of Italian, so it was unfortunate we weren’t able to take the English language guided tour on the one day in the week it’s scheduled. There were only six of us on the two-hour tour (the other four were Italians) so we weren’t very impressed by the guide’s failure to acknowledge our lack of comprehension and deliver bits in English for our benefit.
She had a huge amount of knowledge, demonstrated by the fact that she didn’t stop talking for two hours and responded to and answered very few questions. I had a headache at the end of it.
We had 20-minutes at the beginning to play with the wonderfully thought out and engaging interactive exhibits explaining the mechanics of hydroelectric power generation. As a result we understood perfectly well the simple principles on which it works (compared, say, with a nuclear reactor). However, our guide proceeded to waste 45 minutes of our time by demonstrating all of the exhibits herself, including showing off her physical fitness by pedalling a bike connected to a generator to light up a light bulb. I am a volunteer tour guide back in the UK, so I’m sensitive to how well or badly these are done. It was tedious and unnecessary and not especially audience focused. The tour could have been done in one hour maximum with nothing important left out. For some unfathomable reason, photography is not allowed inside the building.
So please do visit it and be prepared to be awe-inspired. Make sure the tour is one in your native language (they do tours in German too) and maybe take along a bar of chocolate and a drink as well.
5 stars for the attraction, 0 stars for the tour.
Written May 19, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Terry B
Bishopsteignton, UK77 contributions
May 2013 • Couples
I was drawn to go to see this because of the huge pipeline which runs down the mountain, from the other side of the lake it looks like a funicular railway. The buildings are of a 1920s style and the station is still working. The water is expelled into the lake by spray under the jetty making an interesting noise. If you are into engineering heritage this is worth a look.
Written May 10, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bryony H
Cheshire, UK103 contributions
Jul 2023 • Couples
Found this tour mentioned online so thought we’d give it a go as my partner enjoy all things technical.
One of the only options for an English tour was a dual language Italian/English tour so booked onto that. Most of the tour was spent with the guide predictably saying the same things in each language. This meant a lot of time waiting for the guide to switch to English. It definitely felt a lot more time and effort went into the Italian explanations compared to the English with certain parts feeling they didn’t get an English repetition, or if questions were asked and answered in Italian they weren’t repeated in English.
The tour is fairly short and includes a good amount of stairs with the lift being described as “unreliable”. For a short while you enter the tunnels which aren’t too cold but take a jacket if you think you’ll need it.
The tour definitely feels expensive for what it is and we’ve done better things for less money in Riva. It has also put me off doing a dual language tour again.
One of the only options for an English tour was a dual language Italian/English tour so booked onto that. Most of the tour was spent with the guide predictably saying the same things in each language. This meant a lot of time waiting for the guide to switch to English. It definitely felt a lot more time and effort went into the Italian explanations compared to the English with certain parts feeling they didn’t get an English repetition, or if questions were asked and answered in Italian they weren’t repeated in English.
The tour is fairly short and includes a good amount of stairs with the lift being described as “unreliable”. For a short while you enter the tunnels which aren’t too cold but take a jacket if you think you’ll need it.
The tour definitely feels expensive for what it is and we’ve done better things for less money in Riva. It has also put me off doing a dual language tour again.
Written July 7, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Josef B
Weiningen, Switzerland1,011 contributions
Apr 2019 • Couples
Impressive and instructive
The hydraulic power plant of Riva del Garda is one of the three power plants in Trentino. The imposing building is well closed to the banks of the Garda Lake and less than 50 yards from the Piazza Catena. The “Centrale Idroelettrica” offers to the visitors guided tour through the power plant for about two hours. Make sure to select the right date for the guided language you require. You can select between Italian, English and German. The senior citizens, students and children profit from a reduced entrance fee. The tour is not only interesting to the technically minded visitors; the interest about production of electricity is omnipresent today.
The hydraulic power plant of Riva del Garda is one of the three power plants in Trentino. The imposing building is well closed to the banks of the Garda Lake and less than 50 yards from the Piazza Catena. The “Centrale Idroelettrica” offers to the visitors guided tour through the power plant for about two hours. Make sure to select the right date for the guided language you require. You can select between Italian, English and German. The senior citizens, students and children profit from a reduced entrance fee. The tour is not only interesting to the technically minded visitors; the interest about production of electricity is omnipresent today.
Written April 22, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ronnie M
Inverness, UK175 contributions
Sept 2016 • Couples
This is a free attraction . Some time ago Riva got its electricity from here buy it pumping water from Lake Garda up to a lake above in the morning and back down in the evening supplying the town with electricity . It is interesting to see the actual internal workings .
Written September 17, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Awayagain2014
Essex, UK152 contributions
Jun 2014 • Friends
Alongside the ferry ticket office so worth a stare while you await the boat. It maybe an industrial building but someone woke up one morning and decided that this would be the location of a memorable building on a super grand scale and their inspiration is our benefit.
Written June 10, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
beuleu
paris110 contributions
Jul 2017 • Couples
We went for the night guided tour in English ( small gang of 8 ).
Impressive equipment ( old and new) in a very nice building ( 1929-30 ) with at the end a view on Riva from the terrace.
Thank you again to our super energetic guide who made the visit so interesting !
This is a nice initiative from Dolomitti electicity.
Impressive equipment ( old and new) in a very nice building ( 1929-30 ) with at the end a view on Riva from the terrace.
Thank you again to our super energetic guide who made the visit so interesting !
This is a nice initiative from Dolomitti electicity.
Written July 28, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
sunnyjersey2014
Jersey, UK3 contributions
Sept 2016 • Solo
Firstly it is not free ,15 euro for adult ,8 euro for over 65 . You will be required to leave passport/I'd in exchange for headset. Visit can only be booked/ paid on the actual day of visit.
English speaking guide very informative in giving history of plant which is backed up by videos and posters but don't expect to see any activity as such. Poet is taken from plant for around 3 or 4 hours a day and is all computer controlled from 30 kms away.
It is a great achievement but don't expect to see any water anywhere and quite pleased I didn't take my wife on the visit which at least killed 1 1/2 hrs on a Sunday morning.
English speaking guide very informative in giving history of plant which is backed up by videos and posters but don't expect to see any activity as such. Poet is taken from plant for around 3 or 4 hours a day and is all computer controlled from 30 kms away.
It is a great achievement but don't expect to see any water anywhere and quite pleased I didn't take my wife on the visit which at least killed 1 1/2 hrs on a Sunday morning.
Written September 18, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Alan F
Farnborough, UK18 contributions
May 2016 • Solo
This is a working hydro generating station on the edge of town. Quite a lot of walking and climbing stairs but very informative. Its a guided tour only, so may be in Italian.
Main attractions are the huge pipes bringing water down the mountain and the turbines. Good, but not worth 15 Euros fee.
Main attractions are the huge pipes bringing water down the mountain and the turbines. Good, but not worth 15 Euros fee.
Written May 23, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Do I need a ticket to get into this place I have seen it many times that I have been to Riva, as I am going in the next few weeks it would be interesting to visit.
Written July 9, 2017
I giorni e gli orari per poterla visitare
Written August 27, 2016
La centrale è aperta tutti i giorni alle visite guidate. Gli orari di visita sono consultabili sul sito oppure telefonando allo 0461-032486. E' consigliabile la prenotazione della visita allo stesso numero.
Written August 30, 2016
Showing results 1-3 of 3
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing