Trentino-South Tyrol, Italy

State guide with cities, regions, and key information.

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Introduction
Trentino-Alto Adige is Italy's northernmost, alpine region — an autonomous, bilingual land of soaring Dolomite peaks, vineyards and apple orchards where Italian and Austrian cultures meet. For travellers it is one of Europe's great mountain destinations: the pink-tinged spires of the UNESCO Dolomites for skiing and hiking, the handsome cities of Bolzano (home of Ötzi the Iceman) and Trento, the alpine wine and apple roads, and a cuisine and language that shift from Italian in the south to Germanic Tyrolean in the north.

Discover Trentino-South Tyrol

The Dolomites are the soul of the region and one of the most spectacular mountain landscapes on earth — pale limestone peaks rising in sheer towers, pinnacles and walls above green valleys and high pastures, a UNESCO World Heritage Site for their beauty and geology. Their distinctive rock turns shades of pink and orange at sunrise and sunset, the glow the locals call enrosadira. Icons abound: the three Torri del Vajolet, the great prow of the Sassolungo and Sella massifs, the Catinaccio (Rosengarten) above Bolzano, and — just over into the Veneto but reached from here — the Tre Cime di Lavaredo. In winter this is world-class ski country: the Dolomiti Superski pass links twelve resorts and more than 1,200 kilometres of pistes, including the famous Sellaronda circuit around the Sella massif, the slopes of Val Gardena (which hosts a men's World Cup downhill), Alta Badia, Madonna di Campiglio and the Val di Fassa and Fiemme. In summer the cable cars keep turning for hikers, and the mountains fill with walkers, climbers on the via ferrata iron-rope routes, mountain-bikers and families exploring the rifugio mountain huts, alpine lakes and flower meadows. Whatever the season, the Great Dolomite Road and the high passes (Sella, Pordoi, Gardena) are among the most scenic drives in Europe.

Travel Types

The Dolomites — Ski & Hike

The UNESCO peaks — Dolomiti Superski and the Sellaronda in winter, hiking, via ferrata and the high passes in summer.

Bolzano & South Tyrol

Germanic Alto Adige — arcaded Bolzano and Ötzi the Iceman, spa-town Merano, Tyrolean castles, towns and the South Tyrol wine road.

Trento, Valleys & Lake Garda

Renaissance Trento and the MUSE museum, the apple valleys and Brenta Dolomites, and the windsurfing tip of Lake Garda at Riva and Torbole.

Wine, Apples & Alpine Food

Gewürztraminer and Lagrein, Trentodoc sparkling wine, Val di Non apples, speck and canederli, and the Christmas markets.

Frequently asked questions

It is Italy's alpine north, famous above all for the Dolomites — the UNESCO-listed limestone peaks that are among Europe's top destinations for skiing and summer hiking. The region also stands out for its dual Italian-and-Austrian culture: the German-speaking province of South Tyrol (Alto Adige), with arcaded Bolzano and Ötzi the Iceman, and the Italian province of Trentino, with Renaissance Trento and the northern tip of Lake Garda. It is celebrated too for its wines, apples, speck and Tyrolean cuisine.

The northern province, South Tyrol (Alto Adige / Südtirol), was part of Austria-Hungary until it passed to Italy after the First World War, and it remains majority German-speaking, with German and Italian both official and Ladin still spoken in some Dolomite valleys. The southern province, Trentino, is Italian-speaking. As a traveller you'll see bilingual (sometimes trilingual) signs, and the food, architecture and place names shift from Tyrolean in the north to Italian in the south — part of the region's distinctive appeal.

Both are superb, for different reasons. Winter (roughly December to April) is the ski season, with the vast Dolomiti Superski network and resorts like Val Gardena, Alta Badia and Madonna di Campiglio; the Christmas markets of Bolzano, Merano and Trento are a highlight of December. Summer (June to September) is ideal for hiking, via ferrata, cycling and the high passes, with cable cars running and mountain huts open. Spring brings apple blossom in the valleys, and autumn the grape and Törggelen harvest season.