Discover the Veneto Alps and the Dolomites

Veneto is above all Venice ! This is the main reason for a visit to this region for most foreign tourists. However, on a beautiful, bright winter day, it is not unusual to see the Veneto Alps outlined against the backdrop of the bell towers of the Serenissima.

The Alps are really close by. But it is the Veneto Prealps that we will encounter first.

The Veneto Prealps

The approach to the Veneto Alps will begin with the Lessini Mountains which overlook the region of Verona, another cultural city that is absolutely worth a visit, as much for its arenas as for its medieval, romantic (and yes! Romeo and Juliet have something to do with it!) and refined city center.

Upstream Vicenza, a town known for its Palladian architecture, is another interesting site in the Veneto Prealps that awaits us. The Asiago plateau with its sumptuous coniferous forests, a kingdom for cycling in summer and cross-country skiing in winter. Twentieth-century history enthusiasts will follow in the footsteps of the Great War on the Monte Grappa on the slopes of which epic battles took place.

On the eastern bank of the Garda lake, to which AlpAddict has dedicated an entire page on this site, the mountains exceed 2000m in altitude and even house a ski resort on the slopes of Monte Baldo. You can admire the magnificent landscapes from the trails on the ridges of this massif erected as a Natural Park.

So much for the Pre-Alps... So far, we have hardly even really left the Po Valley.

The Dolomites, heart of the Veneto mountains

The interior of Veneto has some wonderful surprises in store.

You then have to go back up to the north of the city of Belluno in order to enter the region of dolomites. Several valleys cut into this mountain range, each with its own history and culture.

First of all, Agordino, whose capital is the village ofagordo, is the part in contact with Trentino and its valleys with the unique dialect, Ladin.

The landscape is typical of the Dolomites with mountains reaching 3000m above sea level. Ski and holiday resorts such as Arabba, falcade ou Alleghe are surrounded by the rocky towers characteristic of this region. Among the best known, the Marmolada and Monte Civetta,

Cortina d'Ampezzo, the Queen of the Italian Alps

A little further north, in contact with the nearby Südtirol, lies the most famous and luxurious of the Italian Alpine destinations: Cortina d'Ampezzo.

This large village, which looks like Megève in France by its reputation and its lifestyle, or in Gstaad and St Moritz in Switzerland, lies in a large sunny valley under imposing Dolomite massifs: Tofane, Cristallo, Sorapis… Let your gaze fly from summit to summit and marvel.

Skiing in winter on Olympic slopes, magnificent hikes or climbing in summer, the pleasures of the table after a day of effort. This is what awaits you.

There's no smoke without fire: Cortina d'Ampezzo is first and foremost a magnificent mountain destination. And what's more, from here you can explore the entire region: the valleys of the South Tyrol (Val Gardena, Val Badia, Val Pusteria), the Lake Misurina, the tour of the massif of SellaEtc. ...

In the far north, the Dolomites of Cadore and Val Comelico

Although geographically Cortina d'Ampezzo is part of it, but historically a little less, the last large mountainous region of Veneto is the Cadore, whose borders are less clear and cross several valleys. Here too the massifs are of the Dolomite type. Mount Pelmo is an icon. Antelao, another. Large deep valleys cut into these mountains, lakes reflect their peaks, and larch forests transform this region into a fairyland of red tones when the first cold weather arrives in autumn. Pieve di Cadore or di Cadore, both on the edge of a lake, are perfect sites for discovering this border region of Friuli.

The extreme north of Cadore is lost in the valley of Comelico which runs along the Austrian border and provides access, via a heavily wooded pass, to the Upper Pusteria Valley, in the South Tyrol (Monte Croce Comelico Pass).

It is difficult to summarize in a few lines the diversity of landscapes, habitats, and cultures that blend together in these mountains, which are sometimes difficult to access via winding roads that run alongside torrents or cross passes, but the mountains of Veneto, well known to Italians, are worth the trip, if only to complete the exploration of the Dolomites, whose massif does not care about regional administrative borders.

The Venetian Alps They are less easily accessible than other Italian mountains, which guarantees they have remained authentic and traditional. Apart from a few well-known tourist centers, the population density drops sharply as you gain altitude. The Venetian Alps are mountains that suggest letting go and finding serenity. You have to know how to appreciate a beautiful sunset, a jagged peak in the heart of the Dolomites, a winding road leading to a high mountain pass whose name you quickly forget but which gives access to another wonderful valley, and so on…

The most beautiful and highest peaks of the Dolomites are in Veneto: Marmolada, Tofane, Antelao, Pelmo, Cristallo, Sorapis, Civetta… All exceed 3000 meters in altitude.

Beautiful mountains, the lac de garde, dreamy historic cities, that's what Veneto is all about.

Veneto is a dream destination to combine cultural holidays and mountain stays: what about a trip to Venice, Verona, Lake Garda and Cortina d'Ampezzo? Nice, right?

 Activities not to be missed in Veneto

• Staying at Cortina d'Ampezzo and admire Italian luxury
• Admire the landscapes around Cortina by taking the Tofana or Faloria cable car accessible from the village.
• Admire the Lake Misurina, and on the road, at Passo Tre Croci, go up to Monte Cristallo by cable car
• Admire the Dolomite landscapes from the arrivals of the Cinque Torri or Lagazuoi cable cars (at the Falzarego pass)
• Photographing the famous Three Peaks (Drei Zinnen) from the surroundings of Lake Misurina.
• Observe the glacier of the Marmolada, accessible by cable car from Malga Ciapela in the upper valley of Agordo and Alleghe
• Discover the region of Cadore and its lakes, especially in autumn, in the east of Veneto.
• Take advantage of a cultural getaway to Verona, Vicenza and Venice!

Discover Veneto and the Dolomites in video

The best webcams in Veneto

(click on the name of the village)

• Cortina d'Ampezzo : the village and Monte Cristallo
• Cortina d'Ampezzo: the village at the foot of the Dolomites
• Cortina d'Ampezzo: view of the Antelao and the Cadore region
• San Vito di Cadore: the village and its typical architecture surmounted by the vertical peaks of the Cadore Dolomites.
• di Cadore: view from the lake surrounded by mountains
• di Cadore: discovery of a valley of Cadore, with its lake and its mountains
• Three peaks of Lavaredo: among the most famous peaks in the Dolomites region
• Lake Misurina : a beautiful lake in the Dolomites!

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