Why Visit This Region?
First of all, the fact that this isn’t a more highly visited region of Italy is mind blowing to me. Honestly, you can have everything here except for the ocean. There are stunning lakes with lovely beaches, mountains that are incredible for hiking, biking, paragliding, and so much more. There are vineyards and wineries galore. There is an amazing food scene that has some unique and delicious influence. The weather is wonderful in the summer and the crowds are non existent! What more could you ask for?
Throughout this post I’ll detail some of the things we loved about visiting Trento. I will include where we stayed and other options we saw along the way. I’ll include various things to do that we did and wish we did. I’ll include some amazing meals we had an a special event we got to be a part of!
Trento as a base: Mountains meet City
I am a city girl at heart, but I LOVE nature. This makes Trento one of the best places for me. You can be walking through the gorgeous old town, checking out castles and sipping on spritz. But when you look up, you see mountains all around you. You can spend the day exploring in nature, and then spend the evenings with aperitivo and a gourmet dinner. This is exactly how I like it, best of both words.
Where to stay in Trento
I absolutely LOVED the apartment we stayed at. I am a sucker for an outdoor space and this place more than delivered. The spot we stayed was called La Villa Luxury Guest House. From start to finish I loved everything about this place. We were road tripping the area and this guest house had gated parking for each unit.
I highly recommend booking the Double Room with Spa bath. It’s almost impossible to believe that we had the whole terrace to ourselves. It is huge and looks like it should be shared by all of the units. One of my favorite things about Trento was waking up and having coffee in the jacuzzi and sitting with our feet in it in the evenings after our long and adventurous days. This apartment was walkable to everything in Trento so we didn’t need to use the car to go to dinner in the evenings.
I almost always mention this in my posts, but when you finally get to visit a place, you get a chance to see the other accommodations you were scoping out online. During our time in Trento I saw two other spots that I think would be worthwhile.
The first place I thought looked great in person was Hi Hotel Trento. We could actually see this spot from up above at our spot. It looked really nice and was also well located. It was right on the edge of town. It has excellent reviews and seems like great value for money.
Finally, if you’re into a more refined and old school hotel feel, the Grand Hotel Trento may be a fit for you. This one is right down in the main part of town, is easily walkable to everything, and also has excellent reviews.
Where to stay in Folgaria
We also spent a night in the most charming alpine town called Folgaria. We traveled here to enjoy a “street dinner” which I’ll explain in the “things to do” section. Folgaria is an amazing base for the Trento region if you’re looking for that small, alpine, ski town feel. If you’re not a big city person, this is great alternative to base and experience all that the area has to offer. We stayed at John Luxury Suites and we were thrilled with it.
This hotel was located right in the middle of everything the town had to offer. It had parking and the staff here were incredibly kind, helpful, and welcoming. The room had a sauna inside of it and a steam fireplace. This was delightful even in the summer. This spot would be AMAZING in the winter! We loved how clean and cozy it was. We also loved the lobby FULL of treats and all of the charming alpine decor.
Hikes/Adventures
Madonna Della Corona Hike or Visit
This hike is technically in the Veneto region. But we did it on our way to Trento and it was super close to the city. I absolutely loved this hike! I couldn’t believe nobody else was doing it on a beautiful summer day in July.
The hike starts down in a very small town called Brentino. You can easily park in this town. Then you essentially just hike upwards for about an hour and a half. The hike involves a lot of stairs and upward switchbacks, but it’s not incredibly difficult. There are beautiful views all along the way. As you near the top you finally get the best views of the Madonna Della Corona itself.
This sanctuary is built into the side of a cliff and it’s absolutely unreal to think about how they may have created this place. You can get some really neat glimpses of it as you’re making your way up, which is why I appreciated the hike so much.
If you are unable to hike you can also reach the Sanctuary by taking a bus or car up the mountain. When you’re at the top you can walk around and explore the interior and surrounding area. There are sweeping views over the whole area and it really is absolutely amazing to experience.
Hike to the Winged Dragon of Vaia
This is honestly more of a good walk, but it is REALLY enjoyable. You start in a tiny village that LITERALLY looks like a fairytale. After an uphill walk through a lovely forest you eventually arrive at the wooden art installation that is the Dragon of Vaia.
It is very impressive to see as it sits on the edge of the mountain overlooking the valley below. Being so accessible, this site definitely had another people there. But everyone was really calm and respectful about taking photos, etc.
You could continue this hike by walking a loop up through the forest to see some other nice views & installations. This was a perfect way to spend a morning before heading to lunch.
This was also a very family friendly hike, we saw lots of families with children doing this! If we’re in the area someday I’d love to do this hike at sunset or sunrise.
There are other installations by the same artist throughout the Trento region. I would also love to go back and visit more of them.
Street dinner in Folgaria
I will forever preach that the best thing you can do in any place you’re visiting is to look up local celebrations and events. We got so lucky that when we visited Folgaria they had a “street dinner” going on. Actually, that’s a lie, we didn’t get lucky. I googled this before hand, found the street dinner, and we booked a night in Folgaria solely for this reason.
Folgaria is a charming mountain town that is a popular ski resort in the winter. It was absolutely impressive in the Summer and I highly recommend a visit. Anyway, the “Street Dinner” was such an amazing event. The entire town was bustling and there was so much to see and do.
The dinner kicked off with a parade through the town. Children and the town band marched through the streets in an opening ceremony of sorts. Everywhere you walked there were fun food stands serving regional delights. There were multiple stops for live entertainment (the local band, singers, men on stilts, etc). Restaurants were all serving special and exciting meals. The vibe was so jovial and the celebration was so wholesome.
As non-locals we didn’t feel out of place here at all and we really enjoyed the whole scene. We stayed at the most lovely hotel and we had the most fun night.
Hike/or drive to Rifugio San Pietro for lunch
I would highly recommend checking the trail conditions before you do this hike. Honestly, we got almost to the top and realized that the trail had been semi destroyed at the top and we hiked up anyway. It was genuinely one of the worst hiking decisions we’ve ever made.
So learn from me, hike as much as you can and if you have to submit at the very end and get on the road, do so. This is also a popular biking area and we saw many groups biking on the roads on the way to/from the Rifugio.
This Rifugio is DELIGHTFUL and has absolutely incredible views overlooking Lake Garda. Plan to spend some time up here just taking it all in, sitting on the terrace in the sunshine, having some traditional food from the region. No matter how you get up here, it is worth the visit.
Lake Tenno
Lake Tenno is the most stunning color of green/blue lake! It is very small and easy to navigate, which makes it a great stop for a morning or afternoon. It was a little chillier on the day we visited (although we saw plenty of people swimming). We walked around the whole lake and it was truly such a lovely walk. People were lounging, picnicking, swimming, floating, and just generally enjoying the lake. This place felt very relaxed and we visited in peak summer.
There were also a few shops/restaurants at the lake where you could grab lunch or a snack/coffee before or after enjoying the lake.
Trento Castle: Buonconsiglio Castle
The Trento Castle is very impressive and has a very nice and easy tour. We enjoyed walking through and seeing all of the history. We also enjoyed the views looking out over Trento from inside the castle. The gardens here are really beautiful too and you can see them without a ticket.
Run/Walk along the River
The Adige River flows right on the edge of Trento city and it is so beautiful! There is a path all along the river that you can walk, run, or bike on. I loved doing my morning runs here with such beautiful scenery. Trento is full of so much greenery and stunning vineyards for miles and miles.
One thing I wanted to do (but we ran out of time) was to walk along the river to a winery and do a tasting. 100% will do next time!
Lake Lavarone & lunch at Bazzario
This was a very beautiful place to spend a few hours. We pulled up hungry after hiking to the Dragon and immediately ordered some delicious panini. After lunch we walked to the other side of the lake to relax with a view and have some Crema al Caffe. If you don’t know what “crema al caffe” is I highly recommend you try it out. It is essentially a creamy gelato mixed with espresso and it is a TREAT! We get it anywhere we see it during summer in Italy.
Just Stroll the Streets of Trento
Trento is one of the most gorgeous cities. Every building is beautiful, the streets are charming, colorful, and decorated. There are no major crowds here so you can wander and explore very peacefully. There are shops, cafes, bakeries, etc to pop in and out of. The vibe is very relaxed and jovial.
Where to eat & drink
Augurio
This was probably my favorite meal we had in the entire Trento region. It was essentially an upscale and thoughtful way of doing regional food. Inside you could watch the kitchen at work and see how everything is made. They use local products and create traditional food and we loved every single bite we had here.
Osteria Pazzeria Ai Frati
This was the most cozy spot to have dinner. We ate on the terrace overlooking the town and had a beautiful sunset to go with our meal. The best part of this place was how kind the couple that ran it was. They were SO inviting and chatted with us on and off throughout our dinner.
The food felt like going to your Nonnas house and it was so delicious and comforting. They also had a very thoughtful wine list and were so kind about explaining and sharing it.
Bar La Vie en Rose
I adored this place! This is exactly the kind of place that I want to have my Prosecco after a day adventuring in the mountains. I loved that the outside of this bar looked like the inside of someones fancy living room. I loved being able to sit and sip facing the street and people watching. I loved that they gave a little charcuterie and cheese for aperitivo. The interior was equally as stunning, though we didn’t spend any time inside. I highly recommend this for a pre-dinner drink.
Easy access to Lake Garda
There are so many incredible and beautiful things to do in/around Lake Garda. We spent time there before heading to Trento. These regions are so close to one another it makes it very easy to pair them in the same Italian Itinerary. We spent 3 days in Limone Sul Garda, 2 days in Sirmione, 3 days in Trento, and then 1 day in Folgaria on a road trip from Milan.
Tours in Trento
We didn’t do any organized tours during our time here. If we return I have my eye on Trekking with Alpacas and wine tasting! you can check out Trento tour options here —-> Trento Tours
More Italy
If you’re interested in other regions of Italy, I’ve been to many. You can explore my posts here —-> Italy Posts
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