What's on in Bolzano (Dolomites), Italy through the year

Peak crowds — Christkindlmarkt, Christmas holidays in Italy

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Christkindlmarkt (26 Nov – 6 Jan), Dolomite ski season (5 Dec – 6 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Dolomite ski season (5 Dec – 6 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Dolomite ski season (5 Dec – 6 Apr (usually))

Busy — Easter holidays in Italy, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Nature

  Apple blossom in the valley

  1–30 Apr · usuallyWildflowers & blooms

  The orchards on the Adige floor flower for about a fortnight in April, white on the valley and still snow on the Dolomite skyline behind them.

Still on: Dolomite ski season (5 Dec – 6 Apr (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in May.

Busy — Summer holidays in Italy, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Dolomite huts open

  15 Jun – 5 Oct · usuallyTrail season

  The rifugi on the Sciliar, Catinaccio and Alpe di Siusi staff up once the snow is off the passes, and the cable cars run the full timetable with them.

Busy — Summer holidays in Italy, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

• Hazard

  Valley-floor heat

  1 Jul – 20 Aug · usuallyExtreme heat

  The city sits in a closed basin with mountains on three sides and regularly runs hotter than anywhere in Italy for a week at a time. Locals answer it by taking the cable car up to Renon. Source ↗

Still on: Dolomite huts open (15 Jun – 5 Oct (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Italy, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

• Nature

  Apple harvest

  25 Aug – 25 Oct · usually

  South Tyrol picks a large share of Europe's apples and the whole valley floor is at work for two months, crates stacked at the ends of the rows.

Still on: Dolomite huts open (15 Jun – 5 Oct (usually)), Valley-floor heat (1 Jul – 20 Aug (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Italy, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Torggelen

  25 Sep – 30 Nov · usuallyHarvest

  Autumn's own ritual: walk up to a farm inn above the town, eat speck and chestnuts and drink the new wine. Bookings, not the calendar, are the constraint at weekends. Source ↗

Still on: Dolomite huts open (15 Jun – 5 Oct (usually)), Apple harvest (25 Aug – 25 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Dolomite huts open (15 Jun – 5 Oct (usually)), Apple harvest (25 Aug – 25 Oct (usually)), Torggelen (25 Sep – 30 Nov (usually))

Busy — Christkindlmarkt, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Christkindlmarkt

  26 Nov – 6 JanChristmas & New YearCrowdedBook early

  Italy's oldest Christmas market fills Piazza Walther from the end of November to Epiphany, and it is the reason the city's beds are harder to get in December than in July. Source ↗

Still on: Torggelen (25 Sep – 30 Nov (usually))

Peak crowds — Christkindlmarkt, Christmas holidays in Italy

• Season

  Dolomite ski season

  5 Dec – 6 Apr · usually

  The city itself rarely holds snow, but Obereggen, Carezza and the Alpe di Siusi are half an hour up the road and run from early December to just after Easter.

Still on: Christkindlmarkt (26 Nov – 6 Jan)