Italy is full to the brim with incredibly Insta-worthy photograph locations, but for now we will share with you some of the best photography locations in the Dolomites. The Dolomites is jaw-droppingly beautiful, it is difficult to keep your eyes on the road as you move location to location as every turn feels like another photo opportunity.
Here are 8 of our favourite Instagrammable photo locations that we found during our trip to the Dolomites!
Don't forget to check out our Full Two Week Itinerary across Italy in a campervan.
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If video is more your jam then you can check our our entire Dolomites trip here on Youtube where we detail which hikes we did, where we stayed, restaurants to check out and incredible locations to help you plan for your next trip to Italy.
1. Santa Maddalena - Val di Funes
Santa Maddalena, also known as St. Magdalena is a stunning village located in Val Di Funes.
If you type 'St Johann church' or 'San Giovanni church' into google maps it should take you to the correct spot, you will want to park near the road 'S.Giovanni' and opposite here is a free car park. There are two places we discovered to take photographs with the church in the backdrop.
The first place is this area above, a small fenced off area at the end of the 'S.Giovanni' road, where you can get the dramatic South Tyrol landscape and mountain backdrop in view. This spot is absolutely free to take a walk to.
The second place is a little hidden area almost opposite the Hotel Ranuimüllerhof, you will see a chicken hut and a grey gate which you can pay 5 EUR/person to enter. From here, there is a short pathway which will take you right up close to San Giovanni church, with the backdrop actually being the Seceda ridgeline!
2. Cadini Di Misurina
This hike is one to absolutely blow your mind. Whether hikes are your thing or not, this spot is for you. The best thing about hiking Cadini di Misurina is it takes around only 45 minutes to reach the iconic 'jagged peaks' location. There are 360 degree sensational views from around 20 mins into the hike, and for the rest of the way until you reach the jagged peaks.
This spot right here is the iconic backdrop, from the main path you will see a small grassy, narrow pathway leading up to the end point. If you're not a fan of heights or cliff edges, this part may feel a little hairy... but the view is absolutely worth it!
The Cadini di Misurina hike starts from the same car park as the Tre Cime Di Lavaredo hike, there is a huge parking area right near to Rifugio Auronzo which will cost 30 EUR per car, or 45 EUR per campervan. The gates open at 8am and close at 5pm, note that although the gates close at 5pm, you are able to leave the national park at any time you wish, you just are not able to enter in to the park after 5pm.
From Rifugio Auronzo, instead of taking the path left towards Tre Cime, you will take a walk right to find the path to Cadini di Misurina in the opposite direction. You will know you are heading the right way, as you can see the peaks from the beginning of the walk.
3. Tre Cime Di Lavaredo
Our second favourite hike in the Dolomites is the Tre Cime Di Lavaredo loop track. To fully appreciate the beauty of Tre Cime Di Lavaredo, we recommend walking the around the famous three peaks, however, if you are short on time or simply don't fancy it, you can easily walk to the second Rifugio Lavaredo and get fantastic views of the peaks even from this point.
The whole track will take roughly 3-4 hours, potentially a little longer if you enjoy photography like us. We spent 4.5 hours on the loop, which included a lot of stopping time to enjoy the views, have some food and also take a lot of photos. We have made an entire vlog dedicated to Tre Cime Di Lavaredo and the route we took (in a lot more detail) You can click here to watch the video.
There are so many photo opportunities here that honestly, you can't really go wrong. Our favourite spots were close to the foot of the three peaks, the landscape opposite the peaks and the stunning Rifugios which stand out against the peak backdrop.
4. Lago Di Braies
Lago Di Braies is probably one of the most photographed lakes in all of the Dolomites, therefore during your visit do not expect to have this place all to yourselves! We had the opportunity to visit the lake at both sunset and sunrise, both of which were pretty busy with people wanting to explore this beautiful insta-famous place.
The lake itself is extremely accessible from the Lago Di Braies car park ($8 for the day, $12 overnight) and fills up very quickly. It is simply a place that you have to visit because of it's beauty, but we left with mixed feelings on our experience. You can check out our video here for the full run down here.
If you are here to snap that perfect insta-shot, well, it really is perfect. It is worth noting that if you want to have the photo taken on the boat jetty without anybody in it, or already sailing away in the boats, you can drop a cool 150 EUR for a private shooting..... Worth it? We decided it wasn't, and found some beautiful other view points around the lake. Still, we were blown away by the magical mountainous backdrop and blue water.
5. Lado di Landro
Located in Dobbiaco (Toblach), Lago Di Landro is an alpine lake not far from Cortina D'ampezzo which has impressive reflections of Monte Cristallo masif.
We stumbled upon this beauty whilst on our way to Cortina D'Ampezzo and decided to pull over to the side of the road where there was plenty of free parking to take a visit. After a short walk through some bushland, we reached an opening with a sandy space to sit and enjoy the scenery. It is the perfect spot for some picture snapping with an incredible mountain backdrop against the blue lake.
6. Cortina d'Ampezzo
The mountains and green landscapes makes Cortina D'Ampezzo one of the most beautiful villages in this region. Villages like this would make us forget we were even in Italy, it has such a different vibe, the same goes for the Dolomites in general with its colonial architecture and Austrian / Bavarian influence. We recommend taking a walk around some of the fields not too far outside of the centre.
This location is just after you see the Olympic rings (as you are leaving the town centre.)
7. Seceda - 2500m
Seceda is an incredible mountain within the Dolomites that has many beautiful photography spots. It is pretty easy to reach here, once parked up either at the foot of the cable car or just outside the centre, you can grab two cable cars up to the very top of the mountain. Tickets are 34EUR/person which covers a return trip.
The Seceda ridgeline really is breathtaking and our favourite spot here, it is almost undoubtedly the most famous place because of it's dramatic landscape. This location is just a few minutes walk to the left of the cable car station, you will see the peaks as soon as you come out of the cable car and onto the mountain.
We recommend arriving here for as soon as the cable cars open (8am) or if you have the chance (and would like the super early morning light) you could stay overnight and be there for the first light.
8. Seceda Mountain huts
If you head to the top of Seceda, it is well worth spending a bit of extra time in and around the mountain huts. Take a walk down towards some of the huts that sit not too far from the top as they make a sensational backdrop, combined with the rolling green hills and flowers that were surfacing during summer, it is certainly an incredible sight.
Do you happen to have the actual coordinates for the spot in the Dolomites for the place that is a 45min hike to Cadini di Misurina?