Our trip this time started in Italy with yet another typical long flight from Australia, but this time, we made a transit via Dubai. After landing in Milano, we had a quick afternoon and overnight stop to explore the city, since we’d been here before.
Our main goal for this trip was to experience Italy’s stunning scenery rather than its most crowded cities, even though it was the shoulder season, but we soon learned others had similar ideas.
Our first stop was a scenic train ride from Milano to the charming town of Varenna, located right on the shores of Lake Como. Rob had visited Como last year and was excited to visit it again with me and explore other areas of its beauty.
Next, we rented a car and headed to the breathtaking Dolomites, a mountain range famous for its stunning landscapes. We’ll tell you more about our Dolomites exploration later!
Here’s a the locations/areas in Italy we visited in 2025.
 |
| We spent all our time in the northern parts of Italy in 2025 |
Milano
After arriving mid-afternoon and being a bit jet-lagged, but determined to stay awake, we hopped on a clackety old tram into the heart of the city and visited the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Italy’s oldest active shopping centre, strolling under its high glass ceiling before making our way to the Duomo di Milano, Europe’s oldest gothic cathedral. It took 600 years to complete it eventually in 1965 and can accommodate up to 40,000 people.
 |
| These old trams certainly rattled their way through town |
 |
| The Galleria Vittorio was impressive and full of people |
 |
| Duomo di Milano is incredibly ornate on the outside. Tickets were needed to go inside & with long queues waiting we decided against |
Lake Como
The train journey next morning from Milano to Varenna took just over an hour, even though it was a Monday and not a public holiday, the train was surprisingly quite full. We were greeted by Gabriele, who took us to our accommodation for the next three nights.
 |
| Rob admiring the autumn colours just outside the Varenna accomodation |
Varenna is a small town in the province of Lombardy, with a population of less than 1,000. But it’s hard to believe this with the number of people strolling through its streets. Varenna has a serene and picturesque charm, like an old-fashioned Italian village. It’s unpretentious and nestled next to the lake, offering delightful winding walks along the shore.
 |
| Families enjoying the lake and sun in Varenna |
Ferries glide between the charming villages along the stunning shores of Lake Como, and you always knew when one had visited by the steady stream of people the ferry has disgorged, following the same picturesque lake-side walk through Varenna afterwards.
 |
| Ferry arrivals are frequent as is the surge of people walking through Varenna after each visit |
 |
| More of the coastal walkway around Lake Como |
 |
| aperitif anyone! |
 |
| Varenna as seen from a ferry heading to Bellagio |
Bellagio, we’d call it the glamorous big sister of Varenna, has been a tourist hotspot for centuries. It was a breeze of a 15-minute ferry ride across the lake, and we were soon surrounded by a lively crowd. We checked out the fancy shops, sipped lattes, and watched throngs of people strolling the stunning promenade along the lake, with its fancy hotels in the background.
 |
| Arriving into Bellagio by ferry |
To explore Bellagio, we ventured up the stone stairs of narrow lanes lined with original buildings, leading to more shop-filled lanes higher up.
Above the town is a large square where the Romanesque-style San Giacomo Church stands, built around 1100 AD, with a fountain complementing the scene.
 |
| More upmarket eating venues in Bellagio |
 |
| Some of the many laneways leading up from the lake in Bellagio |
 |
| The Romanesque Church atop Bellagio |
As we walked back to catch a ferry, we spotted a waiter serving steaming hot pasta to two people. It seemed like a small thing, but the pasta was being served directly from a massive and solid ‘cheese bowl’, the same ‘bowl’ being used progressively for other patrons’ meals. Being served directly from the cheese must have added some delightful but progressive flavours to subsequent meals.
 |
| The solid 'bowl' of cheese the pasta meal served from directly at the table |
Menaggio, another charming little village just a short ferry ride away, was once a walled city with a current population of around 3,500. Our initial impressions weren’t too impressive, but as we wandered further into the town, including some climbing up cobblestone paved lanes, it transformed into a delightful place.
The heart of the city is centred around the Church of San Giacomo, and there’s a cute little mall that lead us back towards the lake. Along the way, we discovered more narrow charming laneways, shops, and cozy restaurants.
 |
| The church and start of mall in Menaggio |
 |
| Looking down the mall in Menaggio |
The walk back around the lake towards the ferry terminal was absolutely stunning. The vibrant flowers in the pots and planter beds made it even more beautiful. It was another lovely little village to visit on Lake Como, there are so many to choose from!
 |
| The walk back along the shore to the ferry terminal in Menaggio was delightful |
 |
| The small harbour of Menaggio |
 |
| Ferry and walking trails throughout Varenna, Bellagio & Menaggio |
Verona was reached by train and our main reason for coming here was to collect a rental car for our next destination in Italy. So, we didn’t have too many expectations for this city, but it was yet another great surprise! The weather was perfect, there was a lively atmosphere, and it was probably because of a 3-day wine and food festival starting the next day. The place was buzzing with people!
 |
| Crowds of people everywhere! |
 |
| Looking back over the city of Verona and the Adige River |
How little did we know! Verona’s old town is UNESCO listed, founded in the 1st century BC, has a long and rich Roman history and influence, including a colosseum and bridges over the Adige River.
 |
| The Roman colosseum in Verona lit by a setting sun |
There are so many churches in Verona, and we actually paid to visit the Duomo di Verona. It’s simply stunning and was consecrated in 1187.
 |
| Small part of Duomo di Verona |
Over 3-4 hours, we walked about 10 kilometres in this lovely city, and ended our day with yet another famous location, Juliet’s home and balcony, famous for Romeo and Juliet. It’s all fictional, though. Shakespeare never visited Verona, and it was created in the 1930s to boost tourism. And it worked! The place was packed!
 |
| Small section of crowd wanting to see or go up onto Juliet's balcony |
There’s a tradition here of either going up onto the balcony or rubbing the right breast of the bronze Juliet statue. It’s easy to spot because of its distinctive colour. Oh well, a person has to follow tradition, right?
 |
| There are no words! |
The Dolomites were at the top of our list of must-visit destinations in Italy. We had spent weeks planning what to do there. It’s UNESCO listed, consisting of 18 primary peaks at altitudes of over 3,000 meters and covers an area of 141,903 hectares.
So, we had this adventure planned for October, but here’s the catch: most of the cable cars were out of action since the summer season had ended and the area was gearing up for winter. This meant we had to hike up to many of the famous photo spots, and let me tell you, it was a real workout!
However, there was also a benefit of being in the Dolomites in autumn… larch trees. We had learned and were hoping we were here at the right time of the year and the larch trees had not shed the ‘leaves’ and looked like tree skeletons and were brighter yellow rather than their green colour for most of the year.
We were in luck and it didn’t take too long to find out!
Now, Italy is a big country, and driving there can be quite an experience. It’s been 22 years since our last road trip here, and the driving rules still seem only to be a guide for locals as they are generally very ‘lively’ on the road.
We made a detour on our drive towards the Dolomites by visiting Sanctuary of Madonna della Corona, a church located on the side of a massif and one of the highest pilgrimage sites in Italy. In the second half of the 13th century, a chapel dedicated to Santa Maria of Monte Baldo was established and in 1437, the chapel came into the possession of the Knights of the Order of Saint John, also known as the Knights of Rhodes. It was quite a walk and climb to reach it.
 |
| The churches inside wall is solid rock |
Upon arriving in Ortisei, a charming town, our first mission was to hop on the local cable car thankfully still operating, to reach Secada, a jagged mountain peak. At 2,500 meters, we felt a bit out of breath, but it was still an amazing sight! It was our first glimpse into the stunning mountains that the Dolomites are famous for.
 |
| It took 2 cable car rides to reach the final terminus just visible at the top of the mountain |
 |
| The view after reaching the top of cable car ride - Seceda is to the left |
 |
| Seceda |
The Dolomites are a bit of a planning challenge because there are so many places to visit, and many of them involve hiking on uneven terrain. We did our best to research and enjoy the photography opportunities in this beautiful region of Italy.
There’s this small, now very famous church called St. Magdalene dating back to the 1300s. It’s photographed because of its location with a massive range of mountains behind it. Unfortunately, when we arrived, the sun was directly behind the mountains, shining right at us! Not the best lighting for photography, but we still enjoyed the church itself and the peaceful valley in the mountains.
 |
| The church is to the bottom left of the photo |
 |
| Walking to the church of St. Magdalene |
 |
| The church is beautifully located with the mountains behind it |
So, you can see that things are big in the Dolomites and the Alpe di Suisse is another one of them, the largest mountain plateau in Europe. The meadows have around 440 kilometres of hiking trails, so there’s plenty to explore.
Our first way to reach it was by taking the Mont Sëuc Cable Car in the heart of Ortisei. It took us up to 2,000 meters above sea level, and when we stepped out of the cabin, wow! The view was breathtaking!
 |
| The cable car from the heart of Ortisei to view a small section of Alpe di Suisse |
 |
| The Alpe di Suisse has breathtaking mountain backdrops and very large areas in which to hike |
The next morning, we woke up early, the weather had taken a turn for the colder, and we headed to a different location in the Alpe di Suisse and then continued driving through the Sella Joch Pass. The roads were narrow and winding, climbing up into the mountains.
 |
| Different mountains during the climb through Sella Joch Pass |
The Alpe di Suisse meadows were more visible in this location, so we went walking along some trails, finding cabins people were staying in, these cabins are scattered all across the meadows.
 |
| Part of the meadows of Alpe di Suisse |
 |
| A typical cabin people stay in so they can hike or ride bycycles through Alpe di Suisse |
In the Dolomites, key mountains have their own names without the word “mountain” after them. In this case, we finally reached Sassolungo, a large jutting shape with other large peaks, some of which had snow, acting as its cousins.
 |
| Sassolungo standing proud |
 |
| Reflection of Sassolungo |
After reaching the top of the pass, we stopped where the road we were on dropped sharply down the other side to a village way down in the valley to take photos of just how high into the mountains the road through this pass had taken us.
 |
| We stopped at the top of this pass as the road descended back down into the valley |
 |
| Still some snow on the mountains |
On our way back to our accommodation, we decided to look for another famous and much photographed church, hoping the light would be better. And it was! The little St. John Church sat alone in a large green paddock, with more towering mountains behind it.
 |
| St John Church |
Now moving on to stay in another part of the Dolomites, further to the east, at Cortina d’Ampezzo and one of the locations for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Many locations in the Dolomites have multiple names, mostly between Italian and German. In fact, the locals speak both Italian and German, plus a third language, Ladin, an ancient Rhaeto-Romance or French-ish language. They tend to speak more Italian in the southern Dolomites, German in the north, and Ladin maybe in the middle.
To reach Cortina d’Ampezzo, we had to drive through the Gardena, Falzarego & Porto passes through the mountains, and the roads were narrow and winding, with many, many switchbacks, some with 20 back to back. It’s only 77 kilometres from Ortisei, but it took us 6 hours to travel it.
 |
| Small section of road through Gardena Pass |
Why? Well, it was just so beautiful, and we were lucky with the weather. There was no rain, a fair bit of cloud, and the sun peeked out at the right times. We kept stopping to take photos, and even took a few detours to see a small lake high in the mountains and to visit one of the Dolomites’ star attractions, the Cinque Torri.
 |
| The lake we detoured to where we sat to enjoy lunch and the view |
 |
| During the drive we passed through multiple small villages |
 |
| There was a consistency of large vistas |
After a while of hiking along a gravel path, we reached a spot that showed off the face of the Cinque Torri. It’s a massive mountain, as you can see in the photo below. It certainly juts out of the landscape!
 |
| Cinque Torri is on the right and the other mountains on the left are on the other side of a deep valley |
 |
| Cinque Torri but also note the people standingto the left to appreciate the mountains size |
Across the valley where numerous other mountains spread out across the horizon behind a deep valley. A cable car takes people from the valley floor to a Refugio nearby where we were admiring the views.
 |
| Teh Refugio to the left of Cinque Torri runs the cable car to the valley below, also has a restaurant and tourists can stat in many Refugios. This one was closed. |
With the next winter Olympics pending, Cortina d’Ampezzo was busy preparing for it, with masses of roadworks and construction underway, making it a bit of a chaotic place to drive around.
 |
| Our car during the drive to Cortina d'Ampezzo |
We had two main goals in Cortina: Tre Cime, another very dominant mountain, and Lago Braise, a popular lake because it’s easy to get to and there’s plenty of parking nearby.
We chose not to walk around Tre Cime, so instead of doing the full 12 km hike, we opted for a shorter 7 km return hike to some small lakes below the mountain.
 |
| Part of the track we walked to reach Tre Cime (3 peaks) |
 |
| Some of the scenery during our hike to Tre Cime |
The scenery was amazing on the hike, and then we rounded a corner and there were the three sharp, jagged peaks giving this location its name.
 |
| Tre Cime becoming more visible the further we walked |
 |
| Semi frozen lake below Tre Cime |
 |
| Standing quite a few kilometres from the massive Tre Cime |
The weather was a bit moody, with low clouds and fog constantly moving in. It gave the mountains a ‘moody’ look, and it was definitely impressive.
Next up was Lago Braise, a very popular lake where people can rent rowboats at the boathouse to explore the lake, but we decided to walk around it instead. The scenery was still spectacular, and the water was a beautiful shade of blue. The Dolomite mountains in the background made it all the more special.
 |
| The boathouse and rowers on Lago Brais |
 |
| The reflections on the lake were beautiful |
 |
| This view was as we reached the end of walking completely around the lake |
 |
| This small quaint church is near the boat shed |
 |
| Our route through the stunningly beautiful Dolomites |
 |
| This is the Castelvecchio Bridge in Verona, a fortified bridge built around 1354 |
Lake Como and the Dolomites were absolutely incredible! If you’re ever thinking of visiting these stunning places, do your research because there’s so much to see and do. The weather can vary depending on the season, so it’s important to plan your trip accordingly.
CLICK HERE if you want more photos of Italy
There is a lot more to follow as this trip progresses!
