4 Best Sights in The Dolomites, Italy

Lumen Museum

Fodor's choice

Take a cable car to the top of Kronplatz to reach this 19,375-square-foot museum dedicated to mountain photography (actually, you have your choice of eight different cable cars, two from the town of Brunico). Once inside, you’ll find pictures from alpine photography’s early days all the way to the present, taken by photographers from mountainous regions throughout the world and displayed across four floors. Lumen also houses AlpiNN, a casual restaurant from critically acclaimed chef Norbert Niederkofler of St. Hubertus fame. Note that the museum can be difficult to access in winter if you’re not a skier; it's down a slight, rather terrifying incline from the top of the mountain. Be aware that the museum closes at 4 pm (last admission at 3:30), so that you won't miss the last cable car back down.

Fodor's Choice Art Museum
Kronplatz–Plan de Corones Mountain Station, Brunico, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy
0474-431090
www.lumenmuseum.it
Sights Details
Rate Includes: €17, Closed late Apr.–May and mid-Oct.–Nov.

Messner Mountain Museum Ripa

Fodor's choice
This fascinating, comprehensive museum within the 13th-century Bruneck Castle looks at the lives of mountain-dwelling people from Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America through artifacts, tools, statues, paintings, living spaces, and more. Part of the experience is reaching the castle itself: it's a 15-minute hike up to it on a path accessed just off Brunico's pedestrian area.

Messner Mountain Museum Corones

High atop the Mountain Station Kronplatz–Plan de Corones, almost 7,500 feet above Brunico, the newest museum from mountaineer Reinhold Messner displays climbing equipment and other alpine paraphernalia from the 1800s until now. It also examines all facets of mountaineering through painting, sculpture, and other media. Equally interesting is the museum's Zaha Hadid–designed concrete building: its sloped roof makes it seem like a miniature mountain, and its outdoor lookout point affords magnificent vistas. Note that the museum closes at 4 pm (last admission at 3:30), so that you won't miss the last cable car back down.
Kronplatz–Plan de Corones Mountain Station, Brunico, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy
0474-501350
www.messner-mountain-museum.it
Sights Details
Rate Includes: €14, Closed late Apr.–May and early–late Nov.

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South Tyrolean Folklore Museum

A re-creation of a medieval rural village, including farmhouses, craft workshops, and bread bakers, is built around a 300-year-old mansion. The wood-carving displays are especially interesting.