Trento

While the eponymous Council of Trent may have given this high-perched mountain town a reputation for straight-laced seriousness, travellers considering hitting its alpine reaches would do well to remember that it all took place in the 16th century. If anything, the Trento (or Trent, it’s up to you!) of today revels in its difference from the rest of the Italian north, proudly conferring a medley of architectural diversity upon the town. There are the romantic loggias of the Buonconsiglio, the Renaissance-cum-Germanic fabric of the central Piazza Duomo and the high-vaulted cafés and heady beer halls that seem plucked straight from the towns of the Tyrol or Vienna. And it seems assortment in architecture means assortment in food here too, as Schnitzels rub shoulders with Romana pizzas and speckknodel complements spaghetti. What’s more, the Adige River valley opens up a veritable gateway to the Italian Dolomites, where hikers and skiers swap places on the streets from season to season. Here its best to rely on the expertise of a helpful Trento tour guide to organise excursions to spots like rugged Tofana, the hoodoos of the Vajolet Towers, or the Tyrolean winter resort of Solden just across the border.