The Dolomites: Italy's Most Dramatic Mountains, in Winter and Summer

No mountain range in Europe looks quite like the Dolomites. Where the western Alps build to their summits gradually, these pale limestone towers erupt vertically from green or white valleys, glowing pink at dusk in the phenomenon locals call enrosadira. The drama is matched by a cultural distinctiveness: this is Italy, but an Italy layered with Austrian history and the ancient Ladin language, where a mountain lunch might move from speck and canederli to a perfect espresso within a single sitting. The result is an alpine destination that feels genuinely unlike anywhere else in the mountains.

Choosing a valley

The Dolomites are a constellation of valleys rather than a single resort, and each has a distinct character. Alta Badia combines superb intermediate skiing with the range's most concentrated food culture, its slopes ringed by mountain huts of genuine gastronomic ambition. Val Gardena offers bigger ski mileage and a strong wood-carving and mountaineering heritage. Cortina d'Ampezzo, on the eastern side, is the most glamorous address — Italian in spirit, promenade-led, framed by some of the range's most photogenic peaks. San Cassiano and Corvara suit travellers who want refinement at a quieter register.

Winter: skiing the Sellaronda

Winter in the Dolomites is organised around one of skiing's great set pieces: the Sellaronda, a circular route around the Sella massif that links four valleys in a single day on skis, entirely on pistes. It is a journey rather than a workout — the point is the constantly changing scenery and the strategic placement of lunch. Beyond the circuit, the area rewards skiers who value atmosphere and cuisine over extreme terrain; the grooming is fastidious, the lift infrastructure modern, and the mountain restaurants are, by broad consent, the best of any ski region in the world.

In most ski regions, lunch interrupts the skiing. In the Dolomites, the skiing connects the lunches.

Summer: the hiking season

From late June to September the range converts into arguably Europe's finest hiking territory. The infrastructure that serves skiers in winter — lifts, refuges, marked routes — makes high-altitude walking unusually accessible: cable cars deliver you to the balcony trails, and rifugios provide lunch, beds and sunset terraces at altitudes that would demand serious effort elsewhere. Icons such as the Tre Cime di Lavaredo circuit and the Alpe di Siusi plateau justify their fame, though the quieter Puez-Odle nature park delivers equal drama with a fraction of the foot traffic.

Practical notes

• The nearest major airports are Venice, Verona and Innsbruck, each roughly two to three hours by road from the central valleys
• December to March is the reliable ski window; late January offers the best balance of snow and space
• For hiking, mid-June to late September; many lifts and refuges close outside these months
• Book mountain-hut lunches in high season — the best tables go days ahead
• Shoulder months (April-May, October-November) see many hotels close entirely; plan around them

Whichever season you choose, build in at least one day with no plan beyond a lift pass and an appetite. The Dolomites' particular luxury is the ease with which grandeur and comfort coexist — a wilderness of rock towers above, a plate of pasta and a glass of Lagrein below, and a cable car connecting the two.

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