Trentino-Alto Adige · Trento
Caldes
A scattered commune on the Noce, six hamlets gathered around a thirteenth-century tower-house castle that once belonged to the Thun family.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Caldes is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia.
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Visiting
- Best time
- May–Oct
- By car
- 53 min from Trento
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 1,111
- J5°
- F9°
- M11°
- A15°
- M18°
- J24°
- J26°
- A26°
- S21°
- O16°
- N10°
- D5°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
The commune sits at around 700 meters in the lower valley, along the river, thirty-five kilometers northwest of Trento and below the southern ridge of the Brenta Dolomites. It is a scattered municipality of six hamlets: the village itself, Samoclevo, San Giacomo, Cassana, Tozzaga, Bordiana and Bozzana, strung along the slope between 635 and 767 meters, each holding its own cluster of stone houses on the same grade above the river.
The castle at the center of the arrangement was built between 1230 and 1235 by Rambaldo and Arnoldo da Cagnò as a five-storey tower-house, controlling commercial traffic up the valley together with the higher fortification above Samoclevo. It passed to a noble family in 1464, who rebuilt it into the form it holds now, and it belongs today to the autonomous province of Trento as a museum venue. What emerges is a settlement pattern of small hamlets set at deliberate intervals along a single slope, held together historically by one river route and one controlling tower, and preserved since as a recognized example of that rural arrangement.
How to get there
From Verona (VRN), about 2 h 2 min by car.
Milan Bergamo (BGY) is about 2 h 46 min away.
By car from the center of Trento 53 min or Bolzano 1 h 8 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Verona?
Coming by train into Trento? Caldes is about 53 min away by road.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Castel Caldes
Five-storey tower-house begun in 1230 and rebuilt by the Thun family from 1464, with sixteenth-century painted rooms and coats of arms, now a Buonconsiglio museum venue.
Borgo di Caldes
Stone-built historic center below the castle, member of I Borghi più belli d'Italia for the preservation of its rural architecture and lanes.
Samoclevo
Upper hamlet at 767 meters above Caldes, paired in the medieval period with the Rocca di Samoclevo to control traffic on the Val di Sole road.
Chiesa di San Bartolomeo
Parish church of Caldes in the center of the borgo, with a bell tower visible across the surrounding hamlets and slopes.
Fiume Noce
Glacial river running below the village from the Adamello-Presanella group, used for rafting and kayaking on the stretches between Caldes and Mostizzolo.
Living here
Could you live here?
Caldes is a village with a town close by.
- A village of 1,111, with Cles (7,396 people) 15 min away for the shopping and a meal out. Our rule is a town within 15 minutes.
- Trento, a city of 118,640, is 53 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
- A station of its own. Trains are the overlooked way to get around Italy: no parking, straight into the center.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 1,111, down 0.4% since 2015
- Nearest city Trento, 53 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Cles, 4 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,200 to €1,400 per m² to buy, €3.20 to €4.40 per m² a month to rent
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Remote
- Pharmacy: none mapped
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 99% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 4, very low hazard
- Verona airport (VRN), 2 h 2 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Bolzano, 1 h 8 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
6% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania and Albania, against 9% across Italy. There are 211 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 47% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Trento province ranks 1st of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Cles, 4 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Bolzano, 34 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Bolzano, 34 km away. The nearest IB school is Realgymnasium Bozen, 34 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
Trento has its own property tax, IMIS, in place of IMU. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Trentino-Alto Adige spends about €2,620 a month, €500 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €302 a year for water, on the Trentino-Alto Adige average. In Trento, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.41, a meal in a pizzeria €13.90 and a man's haircut €24.84.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone F, the coldest of Italy's six, with no national limit on when the heating runs. 14% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate medium for floods. 3% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
CASTEL CALDES
Thirteenth-century tower-house rebuilt by the Thun family in the fifteenth century, with painted Renaissance rooms and a tradition of legends about the Thun countess.
SIX HAMLETS
Scattered commune of Caldes, Samoclevo, San Giacomo, Cassana, Tozzaga, Bordiana and Bozzana, strung along the Val di Sole slope between 635 and 767 meters.
THE NOCE
Glacial river below the village, one of the most paddled whitewater runs in the Alps, fed by the Adamello-Presanella icefields.
Common questions
- What is Caldes known for?
- Caldes is a scattered commune on the Noce, six hamlets gathered around a thirteenth-century tower-house castle that once belonged to the Thun family.
- Where is Caldes?
- Caldes is a comune in the province of Trento, in Trentino-Alto Adige, at 698 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Caldes?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Verona (VRN), about 2 h 2 min by car.
- Can you get to Caldes without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Trento to Caldes?
- About 53 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Caldes?
- Best in May–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 26 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 17 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Caldes?
- Acerenza, Fortezza and Greccio.
- How many people live in Caldes?
- 1,111 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Caldes a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Caldes is a village with a town of 5,000 people within 15 minutes (Cles, 15 min). The nearest city, Trento, is 53 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Cles, 4 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 99% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
The numbers
- Elevation: 698 m
- Population: 1,111
- Surface area: 20.81 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Caldes appears in
- The 6 best hidden towns you can reach by train in Trentino-Alto AdigeTrentino-Alto Adigeby trainhidden6 towns · smallest 1,106 residents
- The best towns you can reach by train within an hour of TrentoNear Trentoby trainwithin 60 min6 towns · smallest 1,111 residents · closest 4 min away
- The prettiest villages in the province of TrentoTrento provinceprettiest villages8 towns · smallest 266 residents
- The prettiest small villages within 90 minutes of TrentoNear Trentowithin 90 minprettiest villagessmall9 towns · smallest 266 residents · closest 42 min away
- The 10 best mountain towns within 90 minutes of TrentoNear Trentomountainwithin 90 min10 towns · smallest 266 residents · closest 24 min away
Similar
Towns like Caldes
What all six share with Caldes: mountain-valley towns · under 3,000 people · high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres · have a railway station in the comune
The letter
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