10 Days in Northern Italy - Slow and Quiet

Trento weather -- March 2025

That link takes you to timeanddate.com, which has actual, historical, day-by-day weather statistics for most places you might want to go. Use the pull-down box to check additional years for a better view of the range of conditions you might experience. Use the Search box near the upper right to find data for other towns.

Keep in mind that the high temperature will only apply for a brief part of the day; it will probably be a lot chillier when you head out in the morning.

Be very mindful of altitude; it will get colder as you head uphill.

For precipitation, check the Wikipedia entry for your destinations (or nearby larger cities, if necessary).

I like to go to places large enough that there are sights to see, so I can't help much with suggestions of really small places. Places that may be larger than you're looking for: Trento itself, Roverto (good modern-art museum), Bolzano (excellent Iceman exhibition at archaeological museum), and Bressanone. In that same area you have small, picturesque Chiusa/Klausen, right on the train line between Bolzano and Bressanone. Farther west are Brescia and Bergamo.

All of the above have rail service.

We very much enjoyed a week at Villa Glauber in Dobbiaco/Toblach in 2022. The villa (we stayed in the former stable building, apartment Antelao) is an easy walk into town for groceries and restaurants. There are multiple apartments if some of your larger group would like to spread out. There is bus and train service though we had cars, which allowed us to scoot around all over the area. Lots of walking/ski trails from the door or of course farther afield. March will either be snowy or muddy most likely, but nothing good shoes/boots can't handle. It won't be very cold (but my measures are Canadian not African.)

We were there in February to ski cross-country. We are not downhill skiers but we still bought a 3-day lift pass which we could use at many different sites, so we would ride up the lifts, have lunch at the rifugio or restaurant at the top and ride back down (or sled down the long sledding trails for some of us.) It was great fun. We enjoyed Brixen/Brissanone, Cortina d'Ampezzo and other towns in easy driving distance. Popped over to Austria just because we could.

I agree with Rovereto and Bolzano as day trips. Haven't stopped in Trento. And on your way to Milan, if you can stop in Brescia and/or Bergamo, I recommend both of them.

Are you aware of the dates for the 2026 Winter Olympics in that region? The regular one is in February but the Paralympics run until March 15. It could still be a little busier than you might like.

Some information about castles in Trentino Alto Adige.

I very much like Trento itself and have been there twice. Trento has its own castle. Trento is not exactly a small town or village but the historic center is very compact. There is a daytrip train route out of Trento called the Trenino dei Castelli. I haven't done it but recently saw it advertised online and the scenery is spectacular. It visits Castel Caldes, Castel Valer and Castel Thun. It is on my list of things to do if or when I return to that area. Research it to see if it is offered in March or if it is only a summer offering. Also consider smaller Merano and Vipiteno. Both have train service and fit your description of what you are looking for. I was in this region in late March 2023 and weather was beautifully sunny and cool but not cold. Afternoons were quite pleasant. Everything was open. We used lightweight coats and did not need heavy gear. From Trento we also did a daytrip by train to Bolzano and hired a driver to take us to see some of the pretty northern towns on Lake Garda.

Oooohh Pat, that Trenino dei Castelli tour looks like so much fun! And not a bad price for a full day's guided tour plus 2 meals and a snack. Makes me want to rush right up to Trento!

However, for the OP, the tour only runs May-September as per their webpage: Trenino dei Castelli. But I'm putting it on my wish list!

The weather is unstable in March in that area. Skiing is ok, but other outdoor activities such as hiking may be very limited. I suggest you focus on the lake areas around Milan and slightly off beaten path destinations such as Verona, Trento, Vincenza. 10 days will go by quickly.

Thank you, everyone!

Toblach looks like a great opportunity for the next trip (we'll likely be taking this same path between Malawi and the US at least once every year, going through some airport in Italy or through Zurich). Due to the weather (my mom's had both hips replaced in the last few years and cold weather gives her pain) and travel time (doing the Bernina route or traveling over to South Tyrol means a full day of travel at a minimum, with 3 kids and 6 adults), we've decided to cut down on the travel and do our best to make the time pass slowly.

So, the plan is now 9 days in Turin with several day trips to other cities/villages/sights within about 2 hours in any direction, and we'll have the other 2 nights in Milan (including one during the last couple of days of Chinese New Year celebrations, which we hope might still mean decorations and trinkets around Chinatown). While we're there, we'll decide where to spend our 3 nights as a family of 5 on our return trip, which would include mountains, hiking, and hopefully at least a tiny bit of snow. We'll be doing at least 1 day trip from Turin to Aosta Valley and think that might be a good spot for our 3 days at the beginning of April. Does anybody have recommendations for Aosta or any of the surrounding towns?

Again, thank you for the previous replies, they helped us to slow down and think through the trip, especially the travel and passage of time, much more intentionally. We landed on Turin due to the enormous amount of activities within and surrounding the city that are part of the Torino+Piemonte Card. It's close enough to Genoa to still go there and see the coast, has plenty of history and art along with modern exhibits, and there's the food scene. While it won't allow us to see the Dolomites within our travel times, we'll be able to shoot up to Mont Blanc.

We almost booked a place in Florence for the 9 nights since it's connected to several high speed routes, but it didn't seem to have the same spread/variety of activities for all members of the family, and it wasn't as affordable in terms of accommodations for the 9 days that could hold 9 of us. Has anybody been to both the Aosta area and Florence, and would you have a preference between the 2 of them for a 3 night family stay?