• Mountains
    • Active & Green
    • Lifestyle

Winter in Lombardy

More than 70 ski areas, among which some of the most renown in Italy, 100 peaks above 3,000 m, 390 ski-lifts, 12,300 km of ski slopes: ski enthusiasts will find a real paradise in  Lombardy.

However Lombardy is a paradise also for whose who do not like ski and want to practice other winter activities. In Lombardy you'll find ski declined in all its forms (downhill skiing, Nordic skiing, ski mountaneering, free-ride skiing, snowboarding), but there's much more, fit both for grown-ups and children, with which to have fun in amusing and original activities deceiving boredom and the cold of winter.

How? Here are some tips to make the most of winter, while in Lombardy, besides skiing.

1) Snowshoeing in the moonlight

Snowshoeing group excursions, by day or by night, are organized in many valleys of Lombardy in winter. With different degrees of difficulty, they are generally also fit for families with children. During the excursions snowshoes are made available and there are rest stops and tastings along the way.

Many snowshoeing events take place especially during full moon nights, like "Caspolada al chiaro di luna" that is held every year in Vezza d'Oglio, in the Pontedilegno-Tonale ski area. Advancing in the snow with snowshoes along a moonlit trail, surrounded by beautiful mountain sceneries, makes night snowshoeing a charming sports activity.

Tryig sled-dogging, excursions on sleds drag by Siberian Husky dogs, and being a "musher", a sled conductor, for a day is possible in Lombardy. The Husky Village in Valdidentro (http://www.huskyvillage.it/), in the Valtelline Valley, and the Sled Dog Italian School (www.scuolaitalianasleddog.it), in Ponte di Legno-Tonale, organize excursions for anyone, for grown-ups and children, driving a sled drag by a pack of dogs (from 2 to 4), together with an instructor. Slipping on a sled in lightness, in a nature cloaked in snow, interacting with these extraordinary dogs is really an exciting experience. For whose who want there's also the possibility to attend specific courses to learn the job of musher.

Ice skating is another funny winter activity everyone loves. In Lombardy, besides the many indoor rinks, it is possible to skate on ice also outdoors, in evocative places as for example in Montecampione, in the Valcamonica Valley. In the center of the town, among fir-woods and breathaking views extending up to Lake Iseo, every year a pond is turned into a large skating rink, with the possibility to rent skates on site. An unusual location for ice skating is also those of the temporary outdoor rinks set up in the center of Milan during the Christmas holidays. Skating on ice in the shadow of Castello Sforzesco with a soundtrack of Christmas songs is almost like relive the atmosphere of the great American movies.

There's another amusing activity you can experience also in Lombardy in winter: it's snow-tubing, also called "snow rafting". You slip on a round rubber boat called "snow-tube" along a special slope with curves and jumps, while sitting or lying on your stomach. Slope enough, you just have to position yourself on the snow tube and let you go: fun is guaranteed. Baby-snow tubing, for children aged 3 and over, is also possible. In Lombardy you can enjoy snow-tubing in the Pontedilegno-Tonale area and in the Valtelline Valley (Bormio and Livigno). 

It's called "cable flight" and is a new exciting attraction that gives the wonderful thrill of experiencing flight. Safely harnessed and hung up to a cart, you flow along a steel cable up to a speed of 100 km/h, passing through the woods and streams of Bitto Valley. Cable flight is an amusing and safe attraction, fit for anyone – also for children  – that does not require any physical effort. In Lombardy you can try it at Fly Emotion (http://www.flyemotion.it/) in Albaredo per San Marco, Valtelline. Flights are possible also in winter, at weeekends in December and January and on holiday days (December 8, Christmas Day, January 1 and 6) to enjoy an even more striking opportunity: flying over the valley covered in snows with the setting of the snow-capped peaks. 

If all these sports activities have fatigued your muscles, there's a solution everyone agrees: a day at the spa. In Lombardy there are many spa and thermal baths, whose benefits were known and appreciated already by the Romans. From the baths of Boario and Sirmione in the province of Brescia, to San Pellegrino, S.Omobono and Trescore Balneario near Bergamo, to the thermal baths of Miradolo, Rivanazzano and Salice Terme in the district of Pavia, up to the thermal baths of Bormio, in Valtelline, where you find the charm of the ancient Roman baths together with modern spas, the thermal baths of Lombardy are a lure you cannot refuse. After a day on the snow there's nothing better than indulging in some relaxation in the gentle warmth of the spa.

 

On the same topic

Val Madre

Fusine
  • Mountains
Val Madre

Livigno: winter magic among snow, history and traditions

Visit Livigno to savor its magic
  • Mountains
Livigno: winter magic among snow, history and traditions

Val palot

The last paradise near your home!
  • Mountains
Val Palot

Skiing in Valtellina

Valtellina ski land all year long!
  • Mountains
Impianti e suggerimenti per sciare in Valtellina

Mount St. George and Mount Ursa

A hike among fossil deposits, historic trenches and unspoiled greenery in the heart of Varese province
  • Mountains
Mount St. George and Mount Ursa

Campodolcino

An ideal destination for holidays, Campodolcino offers tourists an oasis of peace immersed in the beauty of the Alpine landscape.
  • Mountains
Campodolcino

Valsassina

A few kilometers from the major cities of Milan, Como and Bergamo, a mountain to discover and experience!
  • Mountains
Valsassina, natura da vivere

The Plain of Chiavenna

Thanks to its shape, it allows the cyclists to take an interesting ring itinerary.
  • Mountains
Tour: The Plain of Chiavenna

Valgerola

Visit the Valgerola, the homeland of the famous Bitto, its refuges, the dams and the Pescegallo ski area.
  • Mountains
Valgerola

Six surprising festive experiences

Rediscover Christmas with a brand new look at the towns and villages of Lombardy. Enchanted atmospheres and the magic of ice.
  • Mountains
Ph I Mille

Valle Brembana, a complete mountain experience

Nature, culture and gourmet delicacies. Valle Brembana is a valley that knows how to entice tourists wanting a holiday that is both sporting and relaxing
  • Mountains
Valle Brembana, montagne tutte da vivere

Pian delle Betulle

Beautiful mountain resort of Alta Valsassina, surrounded by the mountains of Lake Como.
  • Mountains
Pian delle Betulle

Walking with an Alpine Guide

  • Mountains
Walking with an Alpine guide

In the landscapes of the Camonica Valley

  • Mountains
In the landscapes of the Camonica Valley

Snowboarding in Lombardy

  • Mountains
Mottolino Freeride Park, Livigno

5 things besides skiing that you can do in the mountains of Lombardy

  • Mountains
5 things besides skiing that you can do in the mountains of Lombardy

Ski mountaineering in Valmalenco

The classic routes
  • Mountains
Scialpinismo in Valmalenco

A Valtellina summer

Trekking, mountain biking, relaxing at the spa, this and much more in Valtellina in summer.
  • Mountains
Tips to enjoy the best of the Valtellina in the Summer months

Glaciers in Lombardy

Nine glaciers in Lombardy to discover through spectacular glaciological itineraries
  • Mountains
Glaciers in Lombardy

Valmalenco: nature, sports and legends among the Rhaetian Alps

Winter sports and immaculate peaks, Valmalenco is all about discovery
  • Mountains
Valmalenco: nature, sports and legends among the Rhaetian Alps