46 Best Sights in The Dolomites, Italy

Fine historic and contemporary examples of local woodworking are on display here, as well as a retrospective on the life of local film director Luis Trenker.

The Bishop's Palace houses an abundance of local medieval art, in particular Gothic wood carvings—statues and liturgical objects collected from the cathedral treasury. During the Christmas season, curators arrange the museum's large collection of antique Nativity scenes; look for the shepherds wearing Tyrolean hats.

Located inside the Palazzo Pretorio, the Museo Diocesano Tridentino is where you can see paintings and other objects that come from the treasury of the adjoining Cathedral of San Vigilio. This includes many carved wood altars and statues; an 11th-century sacramentary, or book of services; the seating plan of the prelates during the Council of Trent; and early-16th-century tapestries by Pieter van Aelst (1502–56), the Belgian artist who carried out Raphael's 15th-century designs for the Vatican tapestries. The palazzo itself was built in the 13th century and designed to seem like a wing of the Duomo; it became the fortified residence of the prince-bishops, who enjoyed considerable power and autonomy within the medieval hierarchy. The remarkable palazzo has lost none of its original splendor. Accessible through the museum, a subterranean archaeological area beneath the adjacent cathedral reveals remnants of the Early Christian Basilica of San Vigilio.

This museum was founded after World War I to commemorate the conflict—and to warn against repeating its atrocities. An authoritative exhibition of military artifacts is displayed in the medieval castle perched above Rovereto; the views alone warrant a visit. From May through October you can also see a collection of artillery from the Great War housed in a former air-raid shelter.

The Alps' (and Italy's) biggest national park is spread over 1,350 square km (520 square miles) and four provinces. Opened in 1935 to preserve flora and protect fauna, today it has more than 1,200 types of plants, 600 different mushrooms, and more than 160 species of animals, including the chamois, ibex, and roe deer. There are many entrances to the park and 11 visitor centers. Bormio makes a good base for exploring—the closest entrance to town is the year-round gateway at Torre Alberti.

An 8-km (5-mile) botanical promenade dating from 1892 ends with a panoramic view of Bolzano. Recent updates include signposting for various species of plants and trees, as well as benches and picnic tables. You can choose to return to town along the same path, or you can walk along the River Fago and end up back in the center of Bolzano.

At more than 9,000 feet, the Passo dello Stelvio is the second-highest pass in Europe, connecting the Valtellina in Lombardy with the Val Venosta in Alto Adige. The view from the top is well worth the drive; looking north you can see Switzerland. The pass is open from May or June to October, depending on weather conditions. Stelvio itself is a year-round skiing center, with many of its runs open in summer.

At 7,346 feet, Passo Pordoi is the highest surface-road pass in the Dolomites. It connects Arabba, in Val Cordevole (Province of Belluno), with Canazei, in Val di Fossa (Province of Trento). Views from the top include the Sassolungo and Sella group of mountains, and even the Marmolada Glacier. There are several hotels and a ski school located at the pass, as well as some souvenir shops, restaurants, and snack carts. While the hotels are not glamorous, some do offer half-board packages at reasonable rates. The road up to the pass from Canazei has a few scenic and picnic pull-offs, plus 28 hairpin turns.

Skiing is available year-round. The most popular winter skiing areas are Belvedere and Sella Ronda, and much of the area is part of the Dolomiti Superski package. Even if the road for the pass is closed, many of the cable cars in neighboring valley towns will be running to various summits.

From Passo Pordoi you can get a cable car (May through October) to the Sass Pordoi, often called the Terrazza delle Dolomiti (Terrace of the Dolomites). At more than 9,100 feet, it offers myriad hiking trails and vie ferrate with varying degrees of difficulty (none of which are easy), leading to rifugi and the region's other peaks and passes.

A bronze statue of Neptune, which dates from 1745, presides over this square's bountiful fruit and vegetable market. Stalls spill over with colorful displays of local produce; bakeries and grocery stores showcase hot breads, pastries, cheeses, and delicatessen meats—a complete picnic. Try the speck tirolese (cured and lightly smoked ham from Tyrol, Austria) and the apple strudel.

This pedestrians-only square is Bolzano's heart; in warmer weather it serves as an open-air living room where locals and tourists can be found at all hours sipping a drink (such as a glass of chilled Riesling). The piazza's namesake was the 12th-century German wandering minstrel Walther von der Vogelweide, whose songs lampooned the papacy and praised the Holy Roman Emperor. In the center of the piazza stands Heinrich Natter's white-marble, neo-Romanesque Monument to Walther, built in 1889.

Many sessions of the Council of Trent met in this Renaissance church. Limited light enters through the simple rose window over the main door, so you have to strain to see the magnificent ceiling, an intricate combination of frescoes and stuccowork. The church is off the northwest side of the Piazza del Duomo, about 200 yards down Via Cavour.

A re-creation of a medieval rural village, including farmhouses, craft workshops, and bread bakers, is built around a 300-year-old mansion. The wood-carving displays are especially interesting.

Frescoes here are some of the oldest in the German-speaking world, dating from the 8th century. A small, modern museum offers multimedia installations (in Italian or German only) presenting four epochs in the region's history: ancient, medieval, Gothic, and the era of the Great Plague of 1636 (which claimed a quarter of Naturno's population, some of whom are buried in the church's cemetery). There are leaflets and other information in English on request.

The ancient Roman city of Tridentum lies beneath much of Trento's city center. Centuries of Adige River flooding buried ruins that only recently have been unearthed on public and private land. Beneath this piazza lies the largest of the archaeological sites, which reveals some marvels of Roman technology, such as underfloor heating and subterranean sewers complete with manhole covers. The Romans also used lead pipes for four centuries before recognizing it was hazardous to health.

Visit this church, said to have been built in 1141, to see two medieval treasures: an 11th-century Romanesque crucifix and an elaborate 15th-century wooden altar, carved by Michael Pacher and a masterpiece of the Gothic style.

Locals refer to this street as Trento's outdoor gallery because of the frescoed facades of the hallmark Renaissance palazzi. It's an easy 50-yard walk up the lane behind the church of Santa Maria Maggiore.