Lavarone
Lavarone is a municipality on the Altopiano di Lavarone, the heart of the Alpe Cimbra plateau in Trentino, set between the Valsuga...
Updated 17 July 2026
This season · July · Summer
What to do in Lavarone now
The story
The story of Lavarone
The Altopiano di Lavarone and the Alpe Cimbra
The Altopiano di Lavarone is one of the seven plateaus that make up the Alpe Cimbra, the broad mountain basin in eastern Trentino suspended between the Valsugana to the south and the Vallagarina to the west, at an altitude of between 1,000 and 1,200 metres. The landscape alternates dense forests of spruce and larch with green clearings dotted by stone-and-timber masi, evidence of a still-living agro-silvo-pastoral economy. Its position away from major transport routes has preserved a quiet atmosphere, ideal for slow tourism: walks through the woods, scenic cycling routes and small villages that retain traditional Cimbrian architecture. The cool climate, even in the height of summer, made the plateau a historic holiday destination for families seeking relief from the heat, while winter brings abundant snow and hushed, muffled scenery. Lavarone, together with the neighbouring municipalities of the plateau, today stands as an emblematic case of balanced mountain tourism, combining hospitality, tradition and respect for the surrounding natural environment.
Lake Lavarone
Lake Lavarone is the natural and recreational heart of the village: a basin of glacial origin with clear waters, framed by meadows and woods, easily reached on foot from the centre. Its waters, monitored and awarded the Blue Flag for inland waters, make it one of Trentino's most appreciated mountain swimming destinations, popular in summer with families, bathers and enthusiasts of non-motorised water sports such as pedal boats, canoeing and stand-up paddleboarding. A footpath and cycle path runs all the way around its perimeter, offering changing views at every turn and rest stops equipped with play areas and grassy beaches. On clear days the lake's surface mirrors the outlines of the surrounding mountains, providing an image that has become emblematic of the whole plateau. Beyond summer bathing, the lake remains a year-round point of reference for relaxing walks, picnics and quiet moments away from traffic, an integral part of Lavarone's tourist identity.
Great War forts: Forte Belvedere-Gschwent
Lavarone lies on what was, until 1918, the border between the Kingdom of Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and it still preserves important traces of the First World War. The most significant monument is Forte Belvedere-Gschwent, one of the best-preserved Austro-Hungarian fortifications in the entire Alpine arc, built in the early twentieth century to guard the defensive line facing Italy. The fort now houses a museum that traces the life of soldiers, the military engineering of the period and the events of the Trentino front, with galleries, casemates and artillery positions open to visitors. Around the fort, memorial trails link other fortified works and trenches scattered across the plateau, making it possible to reconstruct an entire defensive system set within the woods. A visit to Forte Belvedere is today one of the most complete cultural experiences on the Alpe Cimbra, combining military history, landscape and reflection on the memory of the Great War within a strikingly evocative Alpine setting.
Cimbrian culture and Sigmund Freud's trail
The Altopiano di Lavarone is one of the historic strongholds of the Cimbrian linguistic minority, a community of Germanic origin that settled in these valleys as far back as the Middle Ages and brought a language, traditions and place names still recognisable across the territory today. Place names, oral memory and local cultural initiatives keep alive this heritage, unique within the Trentino landscape. Interwoven with this identity is a more recent and equally celebrated chapter: from the early twentieth century, Sigmund Freud repeatedly chose Lavarone for his summer holidays, drawn by the quiet of the woods and the plateau's healthy climate. In his honour, the so-called sentiero di Freud, or Freud's trail, was laid out, a hiking route that crosses the same landscapes the father of psychoanalysis walked during his stays, offering visitors today both a relaxing walk and a moment of cultural reflection, within a natural setting that remains remarkably authentic.
Skiing, hiking and nature on the plateau
Lavarone is today one of the reference centres of the Alpe Cimbra for sport and active tourism as well. In winter the plateau offers alpine ski slopes suited to families and skiers of every level, together with kilometres of cross-country ski loops that wind through silent woods and snow-covered clearings, plus routes for ski mountaineering and snowshoeing. In summer the same territory turns into a dense network of hiking trails and mountain-bike routes, suitable both for family walks and for more demanding hikes towards the peaks surrounding the plateau, with panoramic viewpoints over the Dolomites and the Vallagarina. Coniferous woods, peat bogs and small alpine lakes enrich a still well-preserved mountain ecosystem, also frequented by nature-focused hikers and photographers. This dual vocation, winter and summer, makes Lavarone a year-round destination, able to attract both those seeking sport and those simply wishing to immerse themselves in the nature of the Alpe Cimbra.
Not to be missed
- Swimming and walking around Blue Flag Lake Lavarone
- Visiting Forte Belvedere-Gschwent and its Great War museum
- Sigmund Freud's trail through the plateau's woods
- Discovering the culture and place names of the Cimbrian linguistic minority
- Alpine and cross-country skiing on the Alpe Cimbra in winter
To see
What to see in Lavarone
Routes · Trovido Route
Routes in Lavarone
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