What to do in The Dolomites

The Dolomites are Italy's wild card, a UNESCO range of pale, jagged limestone peaks where you'll hear German, Italian and Ladin spoken in the same village, and the food owes as much to the Alps as it does to the Mediterranean. Hike out to the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, the three towers on every postcard, or up to Seceda to take in the magnificent ridgeline. Walk Lake Braies' turquoise shoreline, ride the cable car onto the Alpe di Siusi plateau, or take things further with a paragliding flight over Val Badia. For dinner, settle into a 16th-century maso for a private chef's take on South Tyrolean cuisine, or pair Ferrari spumante with mountain cheese at a working farm. And don't miss Ötzi the Iceman in Bolzano!