12 Stunning Italian Alps Destinations for a Fairytale Vacation

From crystal clear lakes to snowy hilltop villages, Italy has the scenic vacation thing on lock.

No place on Earth has mastered the combination of world-class food, great wine, friendly people, and jaw-dropping natural beauty quite like Italy. It’s got stunning beaches. It’s got magical small towns. And everywhere you go there’s something delicious waiting to be inhaled and friendly faces waiting to chat you up. Yet while everybody spends their time gushing over the Amalfi Coast and the Riviera, the eye-popping Italian Alps somehow get lost in the conversation. It’s time to change that.

The incredibly vast mountain range, stretching through nearly 10 different countries including Austria, France, Germany, and Switzerland, leaves some of its prettiest footprints (and foothills!) smack dab in Italy. Whether you’re looking for fresh powder or fine wine, a relaxing chalet, or a thrilling adventure (or all those things), the Italian Alps have something for everybody.

From reflective glass lakes to snowy hilltop villages, here are a dozen jaw-dropping examples that prove the Italian Alps are hiding some of Europe’s most beautiful destinations.

tourists enjoying lake braies in prags, reflecting surrounding mountains
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Lake Braies, Prags

This lake is so ridiculously gorgeous it goes by multiple names, which can be pretty confusing. But the fact is, Lake Braies—a.k.a. Lago di Braies, a.k.a. Pragser Wildsee, a.k.a. Lake Prags—are all the same breathtaking body of water: the largest natural lake in the Dolomites and a stunner no matter what you call it.

snow-topped cottages in mount lussari village, tarvisio, italy
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Mount Lussari, Tarvisio

A fairytale village scattered with snow-topped cottages surrounded by jagged mountain peaks, plus secluded caves just big enough for a curmudgeonly green outcast and his dog to live in. Wait… is this Whoville?

man hiking amongst dolomites landscape
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The Dolomites

If you just happen to be scoping out some truly jaw-dropping peaks in the Southern Limestone Alps, they're almost certainly part of the Dolomites, considering the range makes up the majority of this mountainous region. In fact, they're so vast many consider them separate from the rest of the Alps. (Don't believe those people.)

turquoise waters of lago blu, surrounded by mountains
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Lago Blu (Blue Lake)

Located on the border of Italy and Switzerland, Lago Blu is fed by a network of springs that wind between the surrounding ancient larch trees. Its name isn't for show—this water is very, very blue. Blue enough for the famous 15,000-foot-high Mount Cervino (a.k.a. the Matterhorn) to vainly look upon its reflection on a daily basis.

panoramic view of alpine village lillianes in valle d'aosta
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Lillianes

Seemingly small provinces birth even smaller towns, so it should come as no surprise Lillianes is home to several riverside villages in Valle d'Aosta. Both sides of the town are pretty steep—it's in the Alps, after all—making this a sought-after region for skiing, hiking, snowshoeing, and mountain biking. Surrounding areas are worth exploring, too. There you’ll be rewarded with dense forests, roading waterfalls, numerous medieval castles including the famous Fort di Bard, and actual gold mines.

odle mountains separating the funes valley from the gardena valley
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Odle Mountains

Inarguably the most famous range of the Dolomites, the Odle Mountains are sandwiched between the Val di Funes and the Val Gardena in Puez-Odle Nature Park. And for climbers, they’re legendary.

aerial view of bellagio waterfront villas
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Lake Como

Perhaps the best-known location on this list thanks to George Clooney’s inability to stop talking about it (all that Nespresso and tequila will do that), Lake Como is located in the foothills of the Alps and has a reputation for being a playground for the wealthy. With good reason: The dramatic shorelines are peppered with private waterfront villas and exquisite villages like Como, filled with Renaissance architecture, and Bellagio, where glamorous crowds swarm the posh resorts.

santa maddalena village surrounded by dolomite mountains
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Santa Maddalena

This tiny town in the shadows of the Odle peaks is so pristine you almost expect a bunch of little wooden figurines to start belting out “Welcome to Duloc.” Aside from killer slopes (you can catch a ski lift directly from the village), a legendary medieval church, and horseback riding through snow-capped peaks, the valley is also famous for its bacon, of all things.

panoramic view from citta alta, columns of city gate and the wall of old castle covered with flowers
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Citta Alta

The fourth-largest city in Lombardy, this ancient village sits just south of the Bergamasque Alps. Although tiny, it's divided into two even smaller centers, including the medieval hilltop town of Citta Alta (Italian for “upper city”), that's completely surrounded by striking 16th-century cyclopic walls built for protection.

aerial view of fortified village of glorenza or glurns
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Glorenza/Glurns

Set deep in the alpine Venosta Valley, the smallest town in South Tyrol was once a bustling northern Italy trading hub. It’s near the Swiss and Austrian borders, but the German influence is so palpable in this walled city you half expect to see an Oktoberfest party spilling out of a biergarten while strolling the alleyways. You won’t, alas, but sipping wine while taking in the majestic architecture and vast countryside will more than make up for it.
 

aerial view of langhe country in autumn
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Piedmont

Stradling France and Switzerland, Piedmont is the perfect place to park should your to-do list include a bullet point dedicated to achieving sublime happiness. The idyllic town is famous for its food and wine—specifically, its Barolo wine—and the scenery is made up almost entirely of Baroque architectural landmarks alongside the lush, majestic valleys that engulf them.

vineyards along the road of prosecco e conegliano wines, treviso province
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Valdobbiadene

You’re in the foothills, sure, but sometimes great things happen at lower elevations. And here, that means prosecco. This wine-growing region is full of excellent tasting rooms to match the lush green mountain views, and the area is so famous for its artisan bubbly that some call it “Prosecco Road.” Saluti!

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Liz Newman is a contributing writer for Thrillist, and is fairly certain the next time she returns to Italy she will just stay there. Follow her wanderlust on Twitter and Instagram @lizn813.