Sud Tirol / Tirol in Winter with a Baby - Where to go?

I visited Merano recently - you might enjoy that. There are frequent trains from Bolzano, and an extensive bus and train network to other towns. Although it is surrounded by mountains, it is at a low enough elevation to have a semi-tropical climate. It has promenades around the beautiful Passer River, in town, and Waalweg trails further afield.

We love Ortisei in the Val Gardena. In fact, we were there last Christmas. From Bolzano there is a nice bus (about one hour). You put your luggage under the bus and retrieve it yourself at your destination. Last year we indulged in some Christmas luxury and stayed at Hotel Albion. It is half-pension, offers great facilities (pools, playroom for kids) on site, but also has a shuttle service to take you into town or to the lifts. The bus from Bolzano stops right outside. We have also stayed many times in various B&Bs and apartments right in Ortisei. There are many hiking opportunities.

Also along your path from Munich to Milano is the Berner-Oberland in Switzerland. There's a lot posted about it on the Switzerland board. You can stay in Lauterbrunnen in the valley and take trains and lifts up either side for fantastic hiking on groomed trails.

EDIT: I should say not too far off your path from Munich to Milano. Certainly it is not a straight line to Switzerland and then to Ortisei. Check train and transit times carefully. FYI, I am just looking into the area around Kitzbuehel Austria and finding it has great winter hiking and X-C skiing potential too. Going there in February.

These areas are VERY busy especially from Dec 26-Jan 6. Get your reservations made ASAP!

The Val Gardena is good.
That is the busiest period in the entire Dolomitic region so I hope you have your lodging booked early or you might have to sleep in an igloo.

Thanks, Everyone! We booked a week's stay in Ortisei in the nick of time: many of the places we contacted said they were down to just one or two rooms, and the best options for us required a 7-day stay. If anyone has further thoughts on destinations between Ortisei and Milan, we still have 3 nights left to make plans for.

Great that you found a place in Ortisei! Be sure to look into the Val Gardena passes for use on the various lifts. Your hotel/lodging should give you a card good for free use of the buses throughout the area. Last winter we found the points system worked well as the passes were for skiers. You buy points on a debit card, which you can share, and each time you and your husband pass through the turnstile for a lift, points are deducted from the value on the card. See info here under Debit Card near the bottom. And the town is so pretty at Christmas!!! You'll love it!

As to where else to go, you could just move on down the road to Bolzano for a couple of nights. The museum with Otzi is well done and with a visit, and there is a Christmas market and the possibility of hiking and visiting the Renon Plateau.

Going to the Val Gardena in winter is a dream of mine...we've been many times in summer and it's stunning but in the snow...I can't even imagine! As it's a ski destination there should be many apartments and small chalets to choose from.

Just wanted to post an update about our amazing trip, and to thank the participants here for pointing us to Val Gardena and Ortisei. It was absolutely the highlight of our trip, and even though there wasn't any snow in the Alps (other than man-made) when we were there, we took the most amazing hikes in Selva and Alpe di Suisi. The town itself was a Christmas dream come to life, and we loved our accommodation (Avita Suites to Relax), which was centrally located and with the most lovely proprietors. We added on a day trip to Bolzano, which we loved, and three nights in Trento before heading on to Milan. Thanks again for the great advice!

Noe,
It's so nice to hear back from someone who consulted the HelpLine. Very happy you enjoyed my favorite part of Italy.

Laurel