«Where do you look at the Dolomites from» is a different question from «what is there to see». And the answer is almost never a summit. The views everyone recognises are taken from a meadow, from the edge of a plateau or from a hut terrace: that is, from the opposite side of whatever you are photographing.
Here are fifteen places, one by one, with what you see, how you get there — on foot, by lift or by car to a car park — and a line on the hour or the season that works. Walking times and height gains come from our own pages; lift altitudes, times and dates were read on 7 October 2026 on the operators' websites.
If what you need is the right hour rather than the right place, the guide is a different one: sunrise and sunset in the Dolomites.
A viewpoint is not a summit
To see a mountain you have to stand away from it. That is why the places on this list are almost all grass, pasture or flat rock: the meadow facing the Odle, the ridge that runs parallel to the wall. From the summit you see everything except the summit you are standing on.
Altitude matters less than you would think. The Santa Maddalena viewpoint sits only just above the valley floor and gives one of the most recognisable images in South Tyrol; Sass Pordoi sits at 2,950 metres and gives a distant horizon but no foreground. What counts is the distance from the wall and how much open horizon there is. There are three ways to get up.
- By lift: you step out of the cabin and you are there, or nearly (Seceda, Sass Pordoi, Lagazuoi, Alpe di Siusi, Col Raiser, Pradel)
- By car to a pass or a car park, then a few steps (Passo Pordoi, Passo Rolle, Lake Misurina, Santa Maddalena)
- On foot, because there is no other way (Nuvolau, Locatelli hut, Fonda Savio hut, Sass Songher, the Armentara meadows)
The Seceda ridgeline: where it is, and why it is not a peak
It is the photograph almost everyone has seen before knowing where it was taken, and in English people search for it by the name on the signs: Ridge Line. The image misleads. It looks like a climbers' ridge, and it is the edge of a plateau.
Seceda, above Ortisei, is the tip of a sweep of pasture that rises gently from the south and breaks off abruptly to the north, above Val di Funes. From that cut the Odle spires line up one behind the other: that is the profile you recognise. You do not have to climb anything, you have to reach the edge.
From Ortisei there are two lifts in a row, the gondola to Furnes and then the cable car. The operator gives the top station at 2,500 metres and puts its own viewpoint, the Panoramapoint, at the summit cross a little higher up: on a clear day the list of what you can see reaches the Brenta group, the Adamello, the Ortles and the Grossglockner. From the cable car exit to the edge is a few almost level minutes. A return ticket costs 74 euros, 37 for ages 8 to 15, free under 8 with an adult.
If you want to walk there is the Seceda loop: 8 kilometres, 350 metres of ascent, about three hours. The rest of the plateau, with its alpine pastures and the Pieralongia, is on our Seceda plateau page. Go early in the morning, when the light catches the Odle sideways and the plateau is still empty.
Odle, Sassolungo and Sciliar: Col Raiser, Santa Maddalena, Alpe di Siusi
Col Raiser is the Odle seen from below rather than face on. The eight-seat gondola climbs from Santa Cristina and leaves you at 2,106 metres among the pastures; from there the path to the Rifugio Firenze runs almost level beneath the walls, 8 kilometres and 300 metres of ascent, two and a half hours. Best in the afternoon, with the south face in full light.
The Santa Maddalena viewpoint, in Val di Funes, gives the other famous image: the village with its church in the meadows and the arc of the Odle behind. You get there on a walk of about two kilometres from the village centre, on road and path; on maps the spot is marked as Santa Maddalena viewpoint, and our page on the viewpoint has the rest. Best early in the morning, which is also the quietest hour, and in October, once the larches have turned.
The Alpe di Siusi is not a single spot: it is 56 square kilometres of meadow between the Sciliar and the Sassolungo, and almost every rise is a viewpoint. The gondola from Siusi reaches Compaccio, 1,844 metres, in 15 minutes, and costs 30 euros return or 21 one way. You cannot drive up during the day: the road is closed to private traffic from 9am to 5pm whenever the lift is running, and since 2026 the parking areas up top must be booked, as we explain in our guide to access to the Alpe di Siusi. The loop across the Alpe is 10 kilometres with 300 metres of ascent. Best in the evening: the view of the Sassolungo and the Catinaccio faces west and south-west.
Around the Sella: Sass Pordoi and Viel del Pan
Sass Pordoi is the quickest way to stand at three thousand metres without walking. The cable car leaves Passo Pordoi, 2,239 metres, and in about four minutes reaches 2,950, on a rocky plateau they call the Terrace of the Dolomites: 18 euros one way, 32 return, 10.50 and 19 for young people. You can pick out the Marmolada, the Sassolungo and the Catinaccio, and anyone with legs carries on to Piz Boè. Best on a clear day after a weather front: up here you pay for everything in visibility.
The Viel del Pan is the opposite: no altitude, all foreground. It runs along a ridge at about 2,400 metres above the pass, with the Marmolada always in front of you and Lake Fedaia below. The path starts at Passo Pordoi: 7 kilometres, just 200 metres of ascent, two and a half hours, with a hut halfway. Our page on the path tells the story of the old bread road. Best in the morning, when the glacier is already lit.
Cortina: Lagazuoi, Nuvolau and Cinque Torri
Lagazuoi is the easiest viewpoint in the Ampezzo Dolomites. The cable car climbs from Passo Falzarego to the top station at about 2,732 metres, just below the summit, where the Lagazuoi hut has its terrace looking at the Tofane, the Conturines, the Cime di Fanes, the Odle and the Marmolada. In 2026 the lift ran from 6 June to 18 October. Inside the mountain are the First World War tunnels, descended with a torch and proper gear (our page). Best in the late afternoon, once the terrace empties.
Nuvolau is an isolated knoll at 2,575 metres, with a hut on top and a view that goes all the way round. The only way up is on foot, from the Cinque Torri plateau. Watch the dates: the Nuvolau hut has closed its 2026 season and announces reopening from 20 June to 20 September 2027.
The Cinque Torri sit on the same plateau and are the easy viewpoint of the area: rock pillars at 2,361 metres between the Tofane and the Lagazuoi, with restored First World War trenches in among them. The chairlift leaves from the Bai de Dones base, 1,889 metres, and drops you at the Rifugio Scoiattoli; the loop is 6 kilometres with 250 metres of ascent, two and a half hours, and families do it (our page). Best with the sun low, which separates the towers from one another.
Misurina and Sesto: Cadini, Monte Piana and the north side of the Tre Cime
The Cadini di Misurina are a thicket of spires, and the spot where you see them lined up is near the Rifugio Fonda Savio, 2,367 metres, along the paths that lead to the saddles. From Lake Misurina, 1,756 metres, it is 7 kilometres and 450 metres of ascent, three hours, but our page rates it for experienced hikers and some stretches are exposed. Best between July and September: those passages are not for icy conditions. The group itself is on our Cadini page.
Monte Piana is a plateau at 2,324 metres looking at the Tre Cime, the Cadini and the whole amphitheatre around, and it is also an open-air First World War museum (our page). From Lake Misurina an old military road of about five kilometres climbs to the Rifugio Bosi, 2,205 metres, which in summer is also served by off-road shuttles; on foot the route is 7 kilometres with 350 metres of ascent. Best on a haze-free day: here distance counts, not foreground.
The north side of the Tre Cime is the one place where the three towers appear black and vertical, as they appeared to the climbers who made their history. You climb from the Val Fiscalina above Sesto on path 102 to the Locatelli hut, 2,405 metres: a good three hours and around a thousand metres of ascent (our page). From the south side you arrive by car, but access must be booked: see our guide on getting to the Tre Cime. Best in the morning, with the sun on the north faces.
Pale, Alta Badia and Brenta: Segantini, Armentara, Sass Songher, Pradel
Baita Segantini, 2,170 metres near Passo Rolle, has a small lake in front of it that, when the water is still, gives back the profile of the Cimon della Pala. You get there on a gravel track from the pass, and the loop through the Val Venegia is 10 kilometres with 400 metres of ascent. Car access to the final stretch changes from season to season, so check before you set off (our page). Best at dawn, the hour that made the place famous.
The Armentara meadows, above La Val in Alta Badia, are the opposite of a lookout: here you do not look down, you look up. The pastures lie at the foot of the Sasso di Santa Croce wall, which touches 3,026 metres, with the sanctuary tucked in under the rock. You walk up from the village on gentle paths, fine for families too (our page). Best in early summer, when the meadows are in flower.
Sass Songher is the isolated pyramid above Corvara, 2,665 metres, and from the top your eye takes in Puez-Odle, Sella, Marmolada, Tofane, Fanes and the Sasso della Croce. It is not a stroll: the shortest route climbs from the south with about 630 metres of ascent in a little over two hours, with a short protected stretch at the end that needs a sure foot and no fear of heights (our page). Best in summer and in settled weather.
Pradel, above Molveno, is the viewpoint of the Brenta Dolomites: from its meadows you see the lake and the spires together. The eight-seat gondola leaves Molveno and reaches 1,320 metres in about six minutes, and a chairlift continues to Palon di Tovre, 1,530. In 2026 the lifts run daily until 1 November, from 8.30am to 5.15pm from 5 October onwards. If you stay down by the water there is the loop around Lake Molveno, 12 almost level kilometres (our page). Best in the late afternoon, when the lake is still.
Mid-October: what is still open
Many of these places are reached by lift, and in autumn the lifts close one after another. These are the dates read on 7 October 2026 on the operators' websites.
The rest of the list depends on no lift at all: Santa Maddalena, the Viel del Pan from Passo Pordoi, Baita Segantini, the Armentara meadows, Monte Piana and the Locatelli hut from the Val Fiscalina can be walked for as long as the snow allows. For the winter season dates, resort by resort, see our guide to the 2026/27 lift opening dates.
- Seceda, cable cars from Ortisei: until 2 November 2026, 8.30am to 5.30pm
- Alpe di Siusi gondola: until 2 November 2026, 8am to 6pm
- Sass Pordoi: until 1 November 2026; from 19 October the last run is brought forward to 4.30pm
- Molveno-Pradel: until 1 November 2026, 8.30am to 5.15pm
- Lagazuoi: the 2026 season closed on 18 October
- Nuvolau hut: 2026 season over, reopening 20 June 2027
Frequently asked questions
Which is the most searched viewpoint in the Dolomites?
The Seceda ridgeline, above Ortisei, searched in English as «Seceda ridgeline». It is the northern edge of a grassy plateau that breaks off above the Val di Funes, with the Odle spires lined up behind. From the cable car top station, which the operator gives at 2,500 metres, it is a few almost level minutes away.
Is the Seceda ridgeline a summit? How far do you walk?
It is not a summit and there is no climbing. It is the edge of a grassy plateau that rises gently from the south and falls vertically to the north. From the cable car exit a few almost level minutes are enough. If you want a real walk there is the Seceda loop, 8 kilometres and 350 metres of ascent, about three hours.
Which viewpoints can you reach without walking?
Sass Pordoi, where the cable car climbs from Passo Pordoi to 2,950 metres in about four minutes; Lagazuoi, with the cable car from Passo Falzarego to about 2,732 metres; Seceda from Ortisei; the Alpe di Siusi with the gondola from Siusi, 15 minutes to Compaccio; and Pradel above Molveno, six minutes by gondola. From the top stations the view is already there.
Where is the best view of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo?
From the north side, by the Locatelli hut at 2,405 metres, where the three towers stand frontal and vertical. From the Val Fiscalina above Sesto it is a good three hours on path 102, with around a thousand metres of ascent. From the south side you drive to the Rifugio Auronzo, but access to the toll road must be booked online in advance.
In October are the lifts to the viewpoints still running?
Some are. In 2026 the Seceda cable cars and the Alpe di Siusi gondola run until 2 November, Sass Pordoi and the Molveno-Pradel lifts until 1 November, with the last run brought forward in the afternoon. The Lagazuoi cable car closed on 18 October. The dates are published by the operators and change every year: check before you go.
Which viewpoint works with children?
The Cinque Torri loop, 6 kilometres with 250 metres of ascent, with the chairlift from Bai de Dones taking out the climb. The Alpe di Siusi meadows, almost flat, also work well, as do the Santa Maddalena viewpoint, about two kilometres from the village, and the Armentara meadows above La Val.
Where do you look at the Brenta Dolomites from?
From Pradel above Molveno, a meadow plateau at 1,320 metres reached in six minutes by gondola, where you see the lake and the Brenta spires together. Staying at lake level, the loop around Lake Molveno is 12 almost flat kilometres with the wall always in front of you.