Hiking Near Venice: Dolomites and Hills
For actual mountains, leave the lagoon
Venice itself is flat water, so real hiking means the wider Veneto, and the payoff is some of the best mountain walking in Europe. It takes planning: the Dolomites are a bus ride, not a quick hop, so an overnight beats a rushed day. The gentler Euganean Hills are closer and easier. Here is where to walk, and how to reach it from Venice.
The Dolomites around Cortina
The Dolomites, a UNESCO range of pale limestone peaks, are the headline. The classic day walk is the loop beneath the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, three sheer towers ringed by an accessible trail, and the easy lakeside path around the turquoise Lago di Braies. The Seceda ridgeline gives huge views for the price of a cable car. Cortina d’Ampezzo is the usual base, reached by direct bus from Piazzale Roma, close to three hours each way, which is why an overnight makes the trip.
The Euganean Hills, the easy option
For a gentler day, the Colli Euganei south of Padua are a cluster of low volcanic cones covered in vineyards and chestnut woods, laced with marked paths and dotted with thermal spa towns. It is proper walking without the alpine commitment, about an hour from Venice: take the train to Padua, then a local bus or a short drive into the hills. Marked trails climb Monte Venda, the highest of the cones, in a couple of easy hours, and the old monastery paths link one village to the next.
Getting there and when to go
Trains from Venezia Santa Lucia serve Padua for the Euganean Hills; the Dolomite buses leave from Piazzale Roma. Summer and early autumn are the walking season up high, when the trails are clear of snow; the Euganean Hills work most of the year. Wear real boots for the mountains, carry water and a layer, and check the weather, which turns fast in the Dolomites.
Read more: for lakes, vineyards and thermal hills see Veneto nature spots , and for fares and timings the Veneto day trips guide .
Give the Dolomites an overnight in Cortina; three hours each way by bus is too much to waste on a single day walk.