My stay in the Dolomites was short, just 3 nights but it is just as beautiful as I remember from a quick visit with my sister in law in 2016.
From Edinburgh I flew to Venice and caught an express bus at the airport that went to Cortena de Ampezo. We stayed at Bellevue Hotel and Spa located in the town center. It’s a posh ski town in winter but was a bit quiet by late September. I met some friends there who had been doing some serious hiking before my arrival.
The next day was very rainy and chilly. LB and I stayed in town while the other two embarked on a 10 mile hike they didn’t really enjoy. LB and I explored the town of Cortena, had pizza for lunch, did laundry and took a short hike.
The next day the sun came out for our departure for Bolzano. We took The Great Dolomite Road with gorgeous views passing many small resorts each with their own cable car and ski lifts. Linda did a great job as the driver.
We stopped to take a hike that started at the Cyprianerhof resort. We didn’t really find the hike that Linda planned for but we did have drinks at the posh resort. The apertif of choice was an aperol spritz.
We got to Bolzano in evening and had some time to walk the old town at night and dine at wine store that was also a restaurant right across from the main church and square. I think that Bolzano is a better town to base out of than Cortena. There is more to do and it has just as lovely views and hikes. The Dolomites are just beautiful and I’d go back again.
