The Dolomites
One of the Alps’ oldest mountain huts, Rifugio Bolzano rests at 2457m, just under Monte Pez (2564m), the Sciliar’s summit. Take the Panorama chairlift from Compaccio to the Alpenhotel, then paths S, No 5 and No 1 to the rifugio. From here it’s an easy walk to Monte Pez (total walking time three hours from the Alpenhotel to Monte Pez).
Members of various Alpine clubs receive generous discounts.
Schloss Trauttmansdorff Gardens
21.35 MILES
You could give an entire day to these beautiful botanical gardens a little outside Merano (and they do suggest it). Exotic cacti and palms, fruit trees…
Museo Archeologico dell'Alto Adige
10.75 MILES
The star of the Museo Archeologico dell’Alto Adige is Ötzi, the Iceman, with almost the entire museum being given over to the Copper Age mummy. Kept in a…
19.33 MILES
Atmospherically set in a castle 15km south of Brunico and full of folk treasures, this is the best of three museums in this region devoted to Ladin…
LUMEN Museum of Mountain Photography
24.28 MILES
Anyone passionate about the mountains should make a beeline for this captivating museum, opened in 2018 at the summit of Kronplatz ski resort. The…
10.79 MILES
Bolzano's four-storey contemporary art space is housed in a huge multifaceted glass cube, a brave architectural surprise that beautifully vignettes the…
Chiesetta di San Giovanni in Ranui
11.35 MILES
Sitting alone in a meadow below the gargantuan spiky peaks of the Odle mountain group, this tiny and almost impossibly picturesque onion-steepled church …
28.23 MILES
This stunning Gothic castle, some of it dating to the 1250s, occupies a panoramic position and typifies the region's architectural style.
Messner Mountain Museum Kronplatz
24.07 MILES
Mountaineer Reinhold Messner's sixth and final mountain museum also sadly happened to be one of the final projects of star architect Zaha Hadid before her…
1. Parco Naturale Sciliar-Catinaccio
1.11 MILES
This 7291-hectare park takes in some of the Dolomites' most spectacular landscapes, including the Sciliar and Catinaccio massifs as well as pine forests,…
6.63 MILES
Ortisei's folky Museum de Gherdëina has a particularly exquisite collection of wooden toys and sculptures, along with other artefacts and exhibits related…
7.8 MILES
One of the Ladin valleys' fascinating cultural museums, this three-story structure in the village of Vigo di Fassa is packed with beautiful wood carvings…
10.3 MILES
This stunningly located castle was built in 1237 but is renowned for its vivid 14th-century frescoes. These are particularly rare, with themes that are…
5. Chiesa e Convento dei Francescani
10.53 MILES
The 14th-century Chiesa di Francescani features beautiful cloisters and a magnificent Gothic altarpiece, carved in 1500 by Hans Klocker.
10.55 MILES
This splendid Gothic cathedral is Bolzano's most emblematic building, its imposing spires and polychrome tiled roof backed by the equally Gothic peaks of…
7. Chiesa e Convento dei Domenicani
10.65 MILES
The chapel (Cappella di San Giovanni) and adjacent cloisters here feature touching, vibrant 14th-century frescoes by school-of-Giotto artists.
8. Museo Archeologico dell'Alto Adige
10.75 MILES
The star of the Museo Archeologico dell’Alto Adige is Ötzi, the Iceman, with almost the entire museum being given over to the Copper Age mummy. Kept in a…