Trentino-Alto Adige · Trento
Cavalese
The capital of the valley at 1,000 meters, seat of the Magnifica Comunità and its open-air parliament, the Banco della Reson.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
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Visiting
- Best time
- Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar
- By car
- 48 min from Bolzano
- Population
- 4,010
- J4°
- F8°
- M10°
- A13°
- M17°
- J23°
- J25°
- A25°
- S20°
- O15°
- N8°
- D4°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Cavalese sits at 1,000 meters on a south-facing terrace above the Avisio, forty kilometers northeast of Trento, the main town of the Val di Fiemme. The valley's eleven communes held their forest commons in common under the Magnifica Comunità, the self-governing body founded by the founding charter of 1111, and Cavalese has kept its seat through the Bavarian abolition of 1807 and every legal change since. The valley floor carries the working memory of that governance: the archive of parchments, the frescoed council chambers, the bench in the open air where disputes were once judged.
Above the town, the cableway to the Alpe Cermis climbs to about 2,000 meters, and the cycle path along the Avisio ties Cavalese to the other Fiemme communes strung along the valley floor from Molina up to Predazzo and on into Fassa. Nine centuries of continuous self-rule and a valley of communes bound by a single river explain why Cavalese reads less like a single town than like the administrative floor of the whole valley.
How to get there
From Verona (VRN), about 2 h 2 min by car.
Treviso (TSF) is about 2 h 35 min away.
By car from the center of Bolzano 48 min or Trento 56 min.
Coming by train into Trento? Cavalese is about 55 min away by road.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Palazzo della Magnifica Comunità di Fiemme
Medieval bishop's residence enlarged in the Renaissance, seat of the community since 1810, with a picture gallery and an archive of parchments from the thirteenth to eighteenth centuries.
Pieve di Santa Maria Assunta
Parish church of Cavalese, consecrated in 1134 on an older foundation, standing beside the park where the valley's representatives once sat in judgment.
Banco della Reson
Stone bench in the Parco della Pieve where the Scario and the Regolani of the valley communes met as an open-air assembly to judge valley disputes until 1808.
Alpe Cermis
Mountain above the town reached by a cableway first opened in 1966, rising to about 2,000 meters and hosting the closing stage of the Tour de Ski cross-country World Cup each January.
Pinacoteca della Magnifica Comunità
Picture gallery on the upper floors of the Palazzo, with works gathered across centuries of valley governance, including frescoed council chambers.
From the guides
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
El MolinRistorante
El Molin carries one Michelin star, two Gambero Rosso forks (88/100), plus a place in L'Espresso's Top 300.
Orso GrigioRistorante
Orso Grigio holds a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Cavalese is at the end of the road.
- A village of 4,010. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Laives/Leifers, is 40 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Bolzano/Bozen, a city of 106,568, is 48 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
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 4,010, down 1.6% since 2015
- Nearest city Bolzano, 48 min drive
- A national health service hospital in the comune · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €2,500 to €3,100 per m² to buy, €8.70 to €12.70 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Remote
- Pharmacy in town
- Full fibre reaches 99% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Verona airport (VRN), 2 h 2 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Bolzano, 48 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
8% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Albania and Bangladesh, against 9% across Italy. There are 204 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 52% 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
There is an emergency room in the comune. The nearest major one is in Bolzano, 23 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Bolzano, 23 km away. The nearest IB school is Realgymnasium Bozen, 23 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. 27% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate medium for floods. 4% 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
MAGNIFICA COMUNITÀ
Self-governing community of the Val di Fiemme established by the Patti Gebardini of 1111, with its seat in Cavalese for nine centuries running.
BANCO DELLA RESON
Open-air stone bench beside the Pieve where representatives of the valley sat to judge disputes, the surviving emblem of valley-floor self-rule.
ALPE CERMIS
Cable-car mountain above the town, the venue for the closing climb of the Tour de Ski each January and the local ski area in winter.
Common questions
- What is Cavalese known for?
- Cavalese is the capital of the valley at 1,000 meters, seat of the Magnifica Comunità and its open-air parliament, the Banco della Reson.
- Where is Cavalese?
- Cavalese is a comune in the province of Trento, in Trentino-Alto Adige, at 1000 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Cavalese?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Verona (VRN), about 2 h 2 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Bolzano to Cavalese?
- About 48 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Cavalese?
- Best in Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar. July is the warmest month, averaging 25 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 17 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Cavalese?
- Gangi, Kastelruth and St. Ulrich.
- How many people live in Cavalese?
- 4,010 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Cavalese a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Cavalese is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Laives/Leifers, is 40 min away. The nearest city, Bolzano/Bozen, is 48 min away by car. There is a national health service hospital in the comune. Full fibre reaches 99% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
The numbers
- Elevation: 1000 m
- Population: 4,010
- Surface area: 45.38 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 Cavalese appears in
- The best high-altitude villages with a serious restaurant in Trentino-Alto AdigeTrentino-Alto Adigeabove 800 mserious restaurant6 towns · smallest 820 residents
- The best small ski towns with a serious restaurant in Trentino-Alto AdigeTrentino-Alto Adigeski areaserious restaurantsmall6 towns · smallest 1,446 residents
- The best small towns that eat well in the province of TrentoTrento provinceeats wellsmall7 towns · smallest 266 residents
- The best ski towns that eat well in the province of TrentoTrento provinceski areaeats well8 towns · smallest 266 residents
- The best towns with a serious restaurant in the province of TrentoTrento provinceserious restaurant8 towns · smallest 820 residents
- The 9 best small high-altitude villages that eat well in Trentino-Alto AdigeTrentino-Alto Adigeabove 800 meats wellsmall9 towns · smallest 266 residents
Similar
Towns like Cavalese
What all six share with Cavalese: between 3,000 and 10,000 people · mountain towns above 1,000 metres
The letter
Cavalese is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter: the photo, what is worth eating, and when to turn up. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Cavalese comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Chioggia, 135 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.