The Dolomites are pale limestone peaks that turn rose at sunset, rising above green meadows and small wooden villages. We base journeys in a family-run alpine hotel in the Val Gardena or Alta Badia valleys, with a private guide who knows which trails are quiet and which huts serve the best lunch.

Expect cable cars to high plateaus, walks between huts, long lunches of speck, dumplings and strudel, and evenings in a wood-panelled spa. Best from June to September for hiking, and from December to March for skiing and snowshoeing.