7 days to cross the Dolomites properly. Everything in the 5-day PLUS Merano (thermal baths + Trauttmansdorff botanical gardens), the Brenta Dolomites (Madonna di Campiglio), the Stelvio Pass (48 hairpin turns), and rifugio overnights where you eat kaiserschmarrn watching the alpenglow.
Each day is a logical geographic loop. Mornings for sights, afternoons for food, evenings for aperitivo. Car essential.
Merano (1 day) — Terme Merano (25 pools + sauna park). Giardini di Castel Trauttmansdorff (the most beautiful botanical gardens in Italy — 80 landscapes on terraces, Sissi stayed here). Passeggiata Tappeiner (4km panoramic walk above town). Stelvio Pass (half day) — 2,757m, 48 hairpin turns, the highest paved pass in the Eastern Alps. Drive it. Stop at every viewpoint. Madonna di Campiglio + Brenta (1 day) — Ski town in summer = hiking paradise. Via delle Bocchette (the legendary via ferrata through the Brenta Dolomites — or just admire from Rifugio Tuckett). Alta Via 1 section — Rifugio Lagazuoi to Cinque Torri (half day, moderate, WW1 tunnels at the top).
Best time: April-June, September-October (summer for mountains/beaches). Agriturismi/rifugi 60-120/night.