Summer in the Alps
 

Looking for some suggestions/help here, since I've never been to this part of the world! My wife and I are looking at a ~2.5 week trip in late August/early September...the only constraint is that we want to spend 4 days in Paris at the end (yes...know that is not the Alps), and we definitely want to spend time hiking in the Dolomites. As such, we're likely to start out in VCE and spend a couple days there (I have heard from others who have visited that it's extremely touristy and not worth a long stay) before grabbing a car and heading out and driving into the mountains.

Questions are this...

1) Love the outdoors and absolutely love challenging hikes, but we also like seeing different scenery. Is there enough variation within the Dolomites to spend up to a full week (or even longer) in the mountains? We would not be looking to camp/do multi-day hikes.

2) If that is not the case - do folks have a strong view on whether continuing through the mountains to Innsbruck (or furthermore, Salzberg) is a good idea? Looks like there is some fantastic scenery there as well, and plenty of hiking trails to boot.

3) Not strictly in the Alps - but would anyone advise on spending 2-3 days in Vienna? Seems like INN-VIE or SZG-VIE via plane is easy to swing. Vienna is a city I have had on my list for a long time, but I have not gotten around to visiting - and I figure it would be great to take the chance on going during the summer (as opposed to wintertime or early spring, which would really only be the workable choices for me in the next couple of years). Or would Munich (which is also closer to western Austria) be a better choice?

Thanks!

I can't help much with the hiking/Alps/Dolomites, but in response to a couple of your other comments or questions.

Venice - whoever told you it is touristy and better for a short stay is a reliable friend :)

I've not spent much time in Munich, but I love Vienna. It's a great city with a lot to see and do. One of my favorites in Europe. I don't think you can make a bad choice between Munich and Vienna however. I've also become a cheerleader for Melk (a short train ride or longer boat ride) west of Vienna, after visiting there last summer. Beautiful town with a towering hilltop abbey overlooking the town, Danube, and surrounding countryside.

I think I probably need more time properly enjoy Vienna - it sounds like a place where 4-5 days is probably more in order, as opposed to 2-3...so not going to happen this year :(

I am revising my thinking and contemplating skipping visiting Venice entirely. Innsbruck seems charming and very scenic as well - albeit not as distinctive as the Dolomites, perhaps. Given how expensive the rental car drop fees for 1-ways are in Europe, I am now thinking of flying into INN (probably via FRA), doing 3 nights there, driving into the Dolomites and doing 6-8 nights, then Paris for 4 nights at the end (flying out of INN again). I might do 6 nights in the Dolomites and add a couple days in CPH (I really want to try the food out there, and I feel it's a small enough city where that amount of time can cover it), but my wife will probably want to spend the extra days in the outdoors...we shall see who persuades the other on that argument :D

Why? It's a really long trip from Paris.

- CPH for the food? :confused: Are you serious? You're in for a surprise!

- Skipping Venice? Two days in Venice may be too little and, moreover, Venice in August/September is really infested by both mosquitoes and tourists. Do visit it the next time you come back to Europe, but do that sometime in December or January (not during X'mas and January 1, though).

- No flights from Paris to Innsbruck and FRA-INN will be rather expensive. Tell us how you plan to arrive to (and leave from) Europe, you'll get more specific advice.

I think you have a good plan. You are probably aware that the Dolomites have unusual scenery for the Alps, so I think it does combine well with a trip into the more typical mountains. In my limited experience Switzerland (around Wengen) has the best typical Alpine scenery but that's quite a transfer from the Dolomites unless you like a train journey ... so I think Austria is a good choice and have had a good time staying in Kitzbuhel personally. (In summer I would ensure you stay in a nice traditional town rather than a purpose built resort.)

Salzburg is within easy reach for a bit of a break from the mountains; I wouldn't go all the way to Vienna for choice. And as has been suggested, I don't think INN has summer flights to PAR but SZG does. If you start and finish in SZG (or MUC) you can drive the Grossglockner one way to the Dolomites and return further west towards INN. Make sure your rental car is allowed into Italy - was a few years ago but I've seen restrictions!

Why? CPH is indeed a very popular destination for its food.

As I noted, one-way car rentals in Europe are ridiculous (like $2k+ one way)...so would prefer to fly in/out of same airport when visiting the Dolomites. That leaves VCE or INN; if I am not visiting Venice, I would rather go through INN (since I do want to visit Innsbruck).

Regarding flights - I was able to price out INN-FRA-CPH-CDG around $300...adding the CDG leg (which I would definitely be doing) actually lowers the price. I can likely burn miles if the cost gets higher (have a load of excess UA miles).

1) there is enough variation in the Dolomites to stay there a whole summer. You'll need to stay for a few days given that the weather is pretty unstable. I always base myself in Cortina. In my opinion the Dolomites are way more beautiful than anything in Austria and most places in Switzerland.

2)I love Innsbruck, don't like Salzburg. I love Venice too (i definitely don't agree you have to keep out during the summer as most tourists leave early) but for a mountain trip I'd fly to Innsbruck. Having said this, Innsbruck is so badly connected that we always fly to Venice, Milano or Zurich. Zurich is a bit far away for the Dolomites but we have relatives there and there are some wonderful roads taking you to the Dolomites. If you have time a stop in St.Moritz or the smaller villages could be very nice.

3) I love Vienna (relatives there too) but not during the summer as it can get terribly hot, worse than Venice that at least has a nice sea breeze and lots of shadow. Vienna-Dolomites-(Venice)-Innsbruck would make sense (no fee for dropping in INN). Cortina-Vienna by car is quite boring unless you take the Grossglockner road.

Copenhagen is nice, but I'd spend my time in the mountains (add Jungfrau?) or doing the castles outside Paris (Versailles, Chantilly, Vaux-le-Vicomte, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Fontainebleau...). Don't limit yourself to downtown Paris! But I prefer Swiss or Italian food. I like Danish bread though.

You can drive all cars into Italy except luxury cars.

Appreciate the commentary! In the end, we decided to drop Copenhagen...will spend 3 days in Innsbruck, 7 days in the Dolomites, and 3 days at the end in Paris. We are flying into Innsbruck...the connections aren't too bad, and I was able to score an upgrade to business with GPUs on the flight across the pond. For the Dolomites, we decided to stay in San Cassiano, which is about an hour west of Cortina...there were a lot of nice choices lodging-wise, and it seems to be a bit more centrally located with regards to a lot of the day hikes that are in the area. It also seemed to be right up against the mountains and a tad less crowded than Cortina did.

If you do have any food suggestions or particular hikes in the Dolomites you would recommend - love to hear them! Would also be interested in any tips for Innsbruck...found one really good hike nearby, but debating how much hiking we should do vs. seeing the town, which seems small enough that hitting the major sights should be doable.