Circle Tour Of The Alps or Dolomites - Suggestions

[Rob Skeoch]

I'm looking for suggestions.
I want to go and photograph the mountains. I realize it's all been done before, but not by me. Likely would rent a car.
I'm not so interested in long hikes with heavy camera cases but it's a blank page so I'm happy to listen to your suggestions.

Where would you go for craggy mountain peaks. Is there a loop you would suggest. What time of the year.

Could be the Dolomites, the Alps, or a better suggestion if you have one.

Maybe you have samples from peaks you would go back to.

Thanks.

-Rob

 

[koraks]

Is there a loop you would suggest. What time of the year.

How big of a loop are you looking for? What time of year would have your preference? What airport(s) and/or countries would you prefer flying to?

You can't really go wrong with pretty much the entire range running from just north of Nice in France all the way to Klagenfurt in Austria. We quite liked the Ecrins (France, near Grenoble), but your mention of 'craggy peaks' brings the Dolomites to mind.

I'd really start by determining which flights would be attractive and then planning your route accordingly. Depending on where you go, a loop per se may not be the best choice; it's the mountains after all and there's not always a pass or a tunnel that will allow you to complete a loop. One thing you could also consider is to fly on one airport and back from another; we do this sometimes and it works well with rental cars as long as you drop off the car in the same country. E.g. in the Dolomites / Italian alps, you could fly to Venice (or nearby Treviso), then go north and do a cycle around Bolzano and drop out of the mountains to Milan (or nearby Bergamo) and fly back from there.

 

[Don_ih]

 

[Sirius Glass]

I have done some of this and you can only cover the area by renting a car. The time of year will set what you see. Snow for the winter; flowers for the spring; ... what do you want to emphasis? Or do you want to cover the whole year? Which activities are people doing or will it be only landscape and architecture?

 

[Rob Skeoch]

As I've looked things over, I think I'll head to the Dolomites. They have a bunch of parks.
Not sure what time of year. Is there snow in the peaks all year round?

 

[Tom Taylor]

This is a roadside view in Italy's Aosta Valley taken with a K1000 on color negative film in early July while on a bicycle tour. I had entered Italy via the Little St. Bernard and followed the Dora Baltea to Aosta where I camped for the night in a large public campground before continuing on to Rome.

• Aosta Valley is famous for its stunning alpine scenery, including the majestic Mont Blanc and Matterhorn. The region offers a wealth of outdoor activities, such as skiing in resorts like Courmayeur and hiking in the Gran Paradiso National Park. Aosta Valley's local cuisine features hearty mountain dishes and renowned cheeses like Fontina.

Thomas

 

[Tom Taylor]

Thinking back on it an excellent loop would be to start/end at Marseilles. Back during the 2d Punic War Rome had massed their troops at Marseilles thinking that Hannibal would cross there. Instead he continued up the Rhone and crossed at the Little Saint Bernard which the Romans thought was suicide during the winter months and didn't follow. So a good long scenic loop would be Marseilles -->Little (or Big) St. Bernard –> down to Marseilles.