Northern Italy/Alps
 

If one wanted to see the Italian side of the Alps on a trip to Northern Italy. How would one to this ? Stupid question, I realize, but when one has never been there it's daunting. I want a town a route, something ... Thanks

Try using the "search" box here and type in DOLOMITES.

The Dolomites are a range of mountains that are <i>part</i> of the Alps - - but to my mind, there are (at least)three distinctly different areas:

1) the Dolomites - - the major Venice-Klagenfurt highway runs through these; some of their best destinations are on roads that run perpendicular to this (i.e. parallel to the Austria-Italy border, within Italy)

2) Alto Adige/SudTyrol - - the BrennerPass highway from Verona to innsbruck runs through this area; I think it gets quite a bit less snow in winter (not sure) - - but this area of Italy is certainly very Alpine (&quot;Tyrolean&quot;) and &quot;Germanic&quot; in culture.

3. In the northwest corner of Italy, they are simply called the Alps, I think. This brushes up against France and Switzerland both - - and the stretch from Zermatt (Matterhorn) to Chamonix (Mont Blanc) has the highest mountains and the best known ski areas. I have crossed further east of here (Lugano to Menaggio) and further south than this (across Col du Larche, into the Queyras where Hannibal and his elephants crossed, according to legend). I think the most scenic train routes (the Cisalpino? sp?) go in this general area, passing though Simplon for example.

You have a lot of possibilities to choose from.

Best wishes,

Rex

That is a big question. Tell us when, for how long, and what else are you doing???

Hi Marcielee.... as bobthenavigator says, it's hard without knowing what else you are doing, and which part of northern Italy you will be in..... but if it fits your itinerary, I would suggest visiting the Aosta area. http://www.initaly.com/regions/valdsta/valdsta.htm In addition to being surrounded by beautiful mountain scenery, there are many remnants of the old Roman roads, walls, arches, and many castles - a very interesting area. You can take a relatively short bus trip to Courmayeur, and a series of three (increasingly tiny) cable cars takes you over glaciers to what seems like the top of the world, or you can continue your travel through the Mont Blanc tunnel to France, and visit Chamonix and the Aiguille du Midi.

I have not been to the Dolomites, but from what I hear that area is also very scenic and worth the trip.

Good luck and enjoy your travels.

Re: Valle d'Aosta. For me, the sight of the Matterhorn (Mt Cervino) from the Italian side - the sunny southern face and from up-close - was thrilling.

John Hermann's &quot;Motorcycle Journeys through the Alps&quot; is a very complete, single source, guide to all alpine areas in Europe.
M

As other have said, northern Italy covers a lot of area and it's necessary to know where you're headed. That said, if you're thinking Dolomites, one of the classic routes is the Great Dolomites Road from Bolzano to Cortina. We drove it a few years ago and the scenery is fantastic.

Tuck - you must be the only person who likes the Matterhorn from the Italian side! I spent a week skiing in Cervinia two years ago and could hardly distinguish it from the other peaks in the area We kept skiing over to Zermatt so we could get the &quot;classic&quot; view.