A midday arrival into Bolzano and check in to the beautiful La Brosia Hotel. Unpack your bags before a private guided tour of Ötzi the Iceman — Europe's oldest natural mummy, older than the Egyptian pyramids, discovered frozen in the Alps and now housed in his own cold cell in Bolzano's Museum of Archaeology. An evening stroll through the medieval arcades and pastel piazzas of the old city with our local guide — uncovering the stories, history and hidden corners of this elegant town where Italian warmth meets Tyrolean tradition. Dinner and drinks with views over the mountain skyline.

🍴︎  Dinner
🚶︎   ~3km
🛌︎  La Briosa

A short scenic drive from Bolzano brings us to Merano — a town of Belle Époque elegance, its promenades lined with palms, its air unmistakably softer, warmed by the Mediterranean microclimate that has drawn the aristocracy of Europe here for over a century. Once a favoured retreat of Empress Sisi of Austria, Merano remains a town of quiet grandeur — art nouveau facades, thermal spas, and the famous Tappeinerweg promenade curling above the rooftops, vineyards and orchards spreading below toward the mountains.

🍴︎  Dinner
🚶︎   ~6km
🛌︎  La Briosa

We leave Bolzano behind as our journey winds through sun-drenched apple orchards and vineyard-lined valleys, the landscape rising and shifting as the first great limestone walls of the Dolomites emerge above the treeline — raw, ancient and breathtaking. Ascending by cable car to the dramatic 2,519m ridge of Seceda, sweeping views unfold across jagged peaks and silent alpine meadows. Lunch high above the valley before descending into the secluded Val Casies and the warmth of your private mountain chalet. Relax and unwind at your alpine spa as the mountains settle into dusk. This evening, an intimate dinner prepared by Patrizia Simone.

🍴︎ Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
🚶︎  ~5–6km
🛌︎ Mountain Residence Montana - Alpine Spa Hotel

Stroll the elegant streets of Cortina d'Ampezzo before a long lunch at SanBrite, Michelin-starred farm-to-table restaurant — preceded by a languid stroll past the elegant shop facades and belle époque architecture of the Dolomites' most glamorous mountain town. An afternoon at the shimmering emerald waters of Lago di Braies. As evening falls, gather in the mountain chalet where Patrizia Simone takes to the kitchen — glass of wine in hand, participate or simply savour as one of Australia's most celebrated Italian-born chefs conjures an intimate alpine dinner from the finest valley produce.

🍴︎ Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
🚶︎ ~4km
🛌︎ Mountain Residence Montana - Alpine Spa Hotel

An early start as we make our way to Rifugio Auronzo in the pre-dawn stillness. Our private guide leads us into the silence as first light touches the ancient limestone towers of Drei Zinnen — the rock faces shifting from deep shadow into rose and gold. Those who wish may complete the full loop at their own pace. A morning that will not leave you. A scenic drive for lunch before stepping into the workshop of one of the last master weavers in South Tyrol — singular pieces in Alpaca, Vicuña and Cashmere, each one unique and made to last a lifetime. A quietly extraordinary encounter with a dying craft. Return to the chalet — spa, sauna or trails at your leisure. Dinner at one of the valley's most beautiful mountain huts.

🍴︎ Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
🚶︎ ~4–9km
🛌︎ Mountain Residence Montana - Alpine Spa Hotel

A morning at a 500-year-old family farm — baking bread in the same stone oven, milling wheat by hand. As the afternoon unfolds, the Almabtrieb Transhumance Festival comes to life around us — cattle adorned with flowers and bells descending from the high alpine pastures for winter, accompanied by music, traditional costume and the warm ceremony of a community celebrating its ancient rhythms. We stay local today, immersed in a tradition unchanged for centuries. Linger at the festival into the evening or return to the mountain chalet at your leisure — this afternoon is yours to savour freely. An intimate farewell dinner with Patrizia in Val Casies.

🍴︎ Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
🚶︎ ~4km
🛌︎ Mountain Residence Montana - Alpine Spa Hotel

We head into the Val Badia, our destination the extraordinary Fodara Vedla Rifugio — UNESCO-listed, perched at 2,100 metres above the valley floor with private ensuite rooms. The choice is yours: hike up through ancient larch and fir forest, or ride by private jeep through one of the most dramatic mountain landscapes in the Dolomites. Along the way, we pause at a Mussolini-era military bunker carved into the living rock — rare mountain cheeses ageing in the cool stone darkness, tasted in the quiet of history. A stop in the elegant town of Bruneck at one of South Tyrol's oldest herb and spice stores — more than 200 years of tradition, its shelves lined with mountain herbs and alpine botanicals, among the finest of their kind in the region. This evening, dinner by candlelight with your mountain hosts, Lorena and her family.

🍴︎ Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
🚶︎ ~6km
🛌︎  Rifugio Fodara Vedla

We descend from the rifugio as the towering peaks of the Lavinores range rise in every direction. A private guided tour awaits at Museum Ladin Ćiastel de Tor — a 13th century castle above San Martino in Badia, housing one of the oldest Rhaeto-Romance languages in Europe and the extraordinary history, archaeology and legends of the Ladin people. A scenic journey south through the valley towards Brixen and arrival at the celebrated Weingut Pacherhof — a winery estate with roots to 1142. We settle in before an intimate private tasting with Cellar Master Andreas Huber — Sylvaner from 48-year-old vines, Lagrein and Gewürztraminer. Dinner this evening hosted by Pacherhof.

🍴︎ Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
🚶︎ ~3km
🛌︎  Pacherhof Hotel & Winery

A morning in the stunning town of Brixen — one of South Tyrol's most elegant alpine centres. We explore the weekly produce market alongside Patrizia Simone, moving through stalls of alpine cheese, smoked meats, wild mushrooms and mountain honey, her expert eye selecting the finest the valley has to offer. From here, a visit to Abbazia di Novacella — founded in 1142 by the Augustinian Canons, one of the oldest continuously operating wineries in the world, its medieval cloisters, baroque library and ancient cellars among the most remarkable in the Alps. The Canons remain in residence to this day, tending their vines as they have for nearly nine centuries. We explore this extraordinary hamlet before a private tasting of the estate's celebrated Lagrein and Gewürztraminer — wines shaped by altitude, volcanic soil and centuries of monastic tradition. This evening, our final farewell dinner — a celebration of the journey, the friendships made and the extraordinary days shared in the Italian Dolomites.

🍴︎  Breakfast, Dinner
🚶︎   ~5km
🛌︎  Pacherhof Hotel & Winery

We lace up our boots for a short walk along the most beautiful section of the chestnut trail — dappled autumn light through the orchards, the mountains a final, generous backdrop. A traditional Törggelen lunch follows — the South Tyrolean harvest feast of new wine, roasted chestnuts and slow, convivial eating that has marked the end of the season in these valleys for centuries. We then wander into the fairytale village of Chiusa — its medieval towers and narrow stone lanes a quiet, unhurried farewell to this corner of Italy.

🍴︎  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
🚶︎ ~6km
🛌︎  Pacherhof Hotel & Winery

One last morning in the Dolomites. A scenic drive returns us to Bolzano, where the journey began. The mountains recede. The memories remain.

🍴︎ Breakfast
🚶︎ ~3km