Trento
 

We're going to be driving from Austria to Italy and plan on stopping somewhere in N. Italy before heading to Florence then South. Any suggestions on where to stop for the night in the Dolomites? Trento?

Hi We traveled the Dolomites several years ago and stayed in a town called San Vito. It was very nice and had its own tourist ofice. The other choice though more expensive would be, to me Cortina. Wherever you stay it's beautiful <BR>alan

A great place to stay is Sermione, which is on a peninsula at the southern end of Lake Garda. Former Roman outpost, with some ruins and a castle to visit. In my opinion, Trento is too large a city and you can't get a very good feeling for the Alps there. If you want to stay in the foothills of the Alps, I would stay in the Bolazano region, which is before you get to Trento on A22. Another interesting and beautiful area is between Brunico and Dobbiaco on SS49, a little south and east of A22 after you go over the Brenner Pass. (I assume you will be driving). This area is right on the way if you are heading to Venice. <BR>Ciao, Chet

Hello Hoppy, <BR> <BR>Trento is fine if you want a city stop-over close to the autostrada. <BR> <BR>However, for more of a 'Dolomite' feel my choice would be the delightful village of ORTISEI in the VAL GARDENA. <BR> <BR>To get there, follow signs for Val Gardena from Bressanone. It's only a short detour from the autostrada, - but WELL worth it! (For fantastic Dolomite views, take time out for the cable-car ride up SECEDA from Ortisei village, - or take the 10 minute drive up the valley to Selva di Val Gardena. Fabulous views!) <BR> <BR>

Thanks for the tips..I appreciate the help..Hoppy

we stayed just outside Trento, at the villa Madruzzo. It`s just out of town and is above Trento. This is an old mansion that has been beautifully restored. You can sit out on the lawn and look at the Dolomites. The food was great, too. And it was reasonable.

Here are a few ideas. Merano, which is about 20 minutes off the autostrada at the Bolzano-sud exit, is a great town with lots to see and lots of hotels. Instead of returning directly to the autostrada at Bolzano, try driving south on the "strada del vino" which is a beautiful drive and then get back on the autostrada about 20 miles further south. There are a lot of Austrian-style hotels (suprisingly, most of the people in this area speak very little Italian) in the small towns along this road which would also be nice to stay in. If you want to stay in a hotel further south, get off the autostrada at Rovereto-sud and drive about 10 miles west to the north end of Lago di Garda. There are many places along the lake to stay (Riva del Garda at the north end, Limone which is about 5 miles further south or Sirmione at the southern end of the lake are some good choices). Driving south along the west side of the lake is magnificent. <BR> You could head east off the autostrada at Bressanone or Bolzano into the Dolimites and stop at Cortina. This is a good alternative if you don't mind driving slowly on roads with lots of hairpin turns. The kilometers will pass very slowly. Good luck. There are lots of good alternatives to choose from.

Hoppy, Either Ortisei or Riva del garda are your best bets---Trento is not what you want. I thought I had mentioned Ortisei to you before.

Last May I stayed at an agritouristo just outside of Trento. We enjoyed the area so much we stayed for a couple of extra days. We enjoyed relaxing in the piazza and watching the locals ride by on their antiqued bikes. Trento was one of the very few places on our month trip in Italy when we felt like we were the only tourists in town! We also did some hiking in the nearby mountains and had a cocktail at a castle located on a lake. In other word, if you're looking for leisure and want to be somewhere the tourists haven't all flocked to then enjoy Trento. We also spent a day in Bolzano-very picturesque and a little more cosmopolitan then Trento. Hope this helps!

Hoppy, Bob (not BTN) a couple of replies above mentioned the wine road area, and I can recommend Schloss Korb, http://www.highlight-hotels.com/korb/en/index.html, as a wonderful place, not too far a detour from the freeway. This part of Italy was Austria before WWI, thus the predominance of German rather than Italian language and cuisine. Really great country.

Thanks for all the info on the Trento area. Just got approval today for our vacation, so will be putting the suggestions to good use! Thankx, again. Hoppy