Swiss Alps from Venice?

If you want snow capped alps, why go all the way to Switzerland? You can gaze on them from the top of any campanile in Venice on a clear day. Cortina D'Ampezzo is only 2.5 hours away by bus from Mestre station. In February it will be full of skiers and Winter holiday makers who have been waiting all year to show off their furs in their afternoon stroll. The Dolomites up close are truely stunning, unlike any other mountain range I can think of, and that includes the Berner Oberland.

That's a good point. I'll be there in February, after some time spent in Venice for Carnevale and wanted to end in some sleepy Alps town for a few days. Still any ideas for the Italian part, gotta get there by train.

Not only are the Dolomites not equal to Italian alp, they are not even Alps. The Dolomites are a separate and distinct mountain range. The Italian alps, like the Ortler group that Tom mentioned, lie on the borders with Austria, Switzerland, or France. The Dolomites are stunningly beautiful and there are some small charming villages there, apart from the major ski resorts like Cortina. You could reach Dobbiaco, for example, in about 5.5 hours by train from Venice, with a single change at Fortezza. And I beleive in winter there are direct buses from the Verona airport to Val Gardena, which has several villages to offer, or you could head up to Alpe di Siusi. But if it is Swiss Alps you want, you can reach either of two of my favorite Swiss villages in about 6 hours from Venice, by train (plus cablecar in one case). Train to Milan, change there for Brig, and at Brig head to either Bettmeralp to the east (a small carfree village similar to Mürren, with a few ski lifts but also winter walking paths and XC trails) or Kandersteg. www.bettmeralp.ch www.kandersteg.ch www.oeschinensee.ch

Is this a railpass issue? You can get 90% of the way to Cortina from Venice by taking the train to Pieve di Cadore and taking a bus from there (they ripped up the train tracks to Cortina years ago). I would not characterize Cortina as a charming little resort town on the lines of Muerren or Gimmelwald. It's a resort town on the glitzy side. There are other towns in the Dolomites, but nothing easily got to by rail. There is Brunico to the north, but it is a long way around via Verona and Bolzano, and you still need a bus to get into the real Dolomite towns. You can bus to Selva from Bolzano. The Italian Alps just aren't honeycombed with rail lines the way Switzerland is.

If its a matter of going to a place with rail access, many of the towns in the Val di Sole (in the Ortler Alps) are served by regional trains. Don't expect a "sleepy town" in February, though. This is the height of the ski season, and towns that don't cater to skiers are generally all but shut down until the spring. BTW- a common misperception I see on this website is the idea that the Italian Alps = the Dolomites (also that Swiss Alps = Berner Oberland). The Dolomites are only one small region of Italy's vast Alpine territory.

The Dolomites are actually officially considered part of the Alps.