Christmas in Northern Italy

Make sure you hit a couple of Christmas markets before the big day. Bolzano and Verona are especially good and can get quite crowded on weekends. Nothing says Italy like a wurst sandwich with a big plate of kraut and cheesy potatoes and a cold beer on a piazza in Verona.
Weather is a crap shoot. Normally, the low valleys will be snow free, but a storm can come along anytime.
I am normally a train guy, but a car to visit the Dolomites would come in handy. If skiing is in your wheelhouse, you can't do better than the Val Gardena. If not, its still a great place to spend a couple of days. There will be a lot of people spending their holidays in the mountains, so finding reasonable accommodations might be a slight challenge.
Venice should be fun at New Years.

Hi,

The Christmas Markets in Brixen/Bressanone and Sterzing/Vipiteno are well worth visiting, as are these old towns in general, and the Markets are open till the beginning of January. We visited them a few times, as recently as Dec. 2013. For spectacular scenery, head into the Val Gardena (40 min. From Bolzano) and if the weather is clear, drive to at least the "top" of the Gardena Pass. I call the "top" of the pass as to where the cafe/restaurant is. Can't miss it.

We have some pics at:

www.flickr.com/photos/pjbassplyr/sets

A drive to Austria is easy and all highway (A22) from Bolzano to Innsbruck. My opinion, there's no real need to go all this way (about 2 hours from Bolzano) unless you feel it's a must see. Also, you may want to look into staying in maybe Ortisei instead of Bolzano, which is a city not unlike Innsbruck. This area, the Dolomites, once was a part of Austria until the end of WWl, so there is a very strong Austrian feel or atmosphere to the area, such as German usually being spoken more than Italian.

Paul

We have spent significant time in Venezia in December and also spent last Christmas in Ortisei.

First, as to closures. It's pretty quiet Christmas Day wherever you go, HOWEVER, a lot of people are traveling and restaurants, etc, are open. You just will not find museums operating. Churches will be open but of course mass will be held. Christmas markets in some places extend past Christmas Day, in particular Bolzano and Ortisei markets go to New Years.

I love wandering around Venezia in pre-Christmas weather. Tourists are few, the lights are lovely, but I would probably spend the actual holidays (24-26) in Ortisei. The mountain resorts are really set up for activity even on Christmas Day.

Ortisei versus Bolzano: no comparison. Ortisei is actually in the mountains and an adorable alpine village. There is opportunity to hike or ski on both sides of the valley. You buy a pass with points on it to use on the lifts. Last year we hiked at Rasciesa on Christmas Eve Day, and on Christmas Day hiked across the Alpe di Siusi from Mont Seuc to Compatsch. Lunch was available at rifugi and fabulous dinners served at our half-pension hotel. We did NOT have a car, by the way. We hardly ever rent a car and yes, winter driving can be hazardous. I have had friends with an SUV and snow tires turned around by the Carabinieri and not allowed to go down from a ski resort. Threw off their entire schedule. The buses were allowed to pass. I was in Innsbruck many years ago, and I'd say Ortisei has it beat hands down. The Val Gardena has a very active association for tourist activities called Val Gardena Active. For non-skiers, they offer guided hikes, snow shoeing, sledding , etc., almost every day.

Bolzano: easy to spend 1/2 day on the way to/from the Val Gardena where Ortisei is. See the market, Otzi.

Depending on your preferences, a half-pension resort hotel might be a nice treat over the 24th-26th (Christmas Eve through Santo Stefano) in a resort location like Ortisei. We did this last year and it was delightful to have dinners and breakfasts provided, a nice pool and spa, shuttle service to the lifts.

You'll find lots of speck (a type of prosciutto particular to the north, canaderli (dumplings, also northern), and all over Italy panettone a Christmas bread. In the Val Gardena weinerschnitzel is side-by-side with spaghetti al pomodoro on menus. It's an interesting fusion due to the Austrian heritage.

Laurel -- You're making this all sound very tempting!! I've been to Bolzano, but not up to the alpine village, and neither in the winter . . . .wheels turning . . .