Munich to Venice on foot (Traumpfad) on foot

The Peitlerkofel and the Schlüterhütte refuge in the Dolomites

Photo: Wolfgang Moroder, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Distance
about 550 km (340 miles)
Countries
Germany, Austria, Italy
Difficulty
Challenging
Type of trip
Hiking trail

The Traumpfad, or Dream Path, starts on the Marienplatz in Munich and ends on St Mark's Square in Venice. Ludwig Graßler described it in a book first published in 1977, and the line has changed only a little since. It crosses the Bavarian Prealps and the Karwendel to the Inn valley, climbs into the Tux Alps and over the main Alpine ridge, then goes by the Pfunderer valley and the Lüsner Alm into the Dolomites. After the Puez group, the Sella and the southern Dolomites the mountain part ends in Belluno. The last stages cross the Belluno foothills and the plain, along the Piave, to the lagoon. It's about 550 km, usually walked in about 28 days. Cicerone says hundreds of people set off from the Marienplatz each year.

It isn't an official long-distance path and it isn't waymarked as one. Cicerone says there are occasional München–Venedig signs and the route is easy to follow, but the authors of muenchenvenedig.de say to carry proper maps all the same. You sleep in Alpine huts, often in packed dormitories, and in small hotels. Cicerone reckons on about seven hours' walking and around 1,000 m of climbing a day. You need a head for heights. Several short exposed stretches have fixed steel ropes, and the last mountain stage, through the Schiara above Belluno, is a via ferrata. You can go round it by the Rifugio Bianchet. If you do take the via ferrata, muenchenvenedig.de says to carry a via ferrata set.

Highlights along the way

  1. The Benediktenwand: Cicerone says the big scenery starts on the third and fourth days, with the climb to the Benediktenwand in the Bavarian Prealps and a ridge walk. The third stage ends at the Tutzinger Hütte.
  2. The Karwendel: Days five to seven cross the Karwendel to its highest point, the Birkkarspitze, by way of the Karwendelhaus and the Hallerangerhaus. There's a way round the Birkkarspitze through Scharnitz.
  3. Over the main Alpine ridge: The route crosses the Tux and Zillertal Alps on a high traverse. A popular variant goes by the Olpererhütte, where path 502, opened in 2006, saves you the descent to the Schlegeis reservoir.
  4. Puez, Sella and the Marmolada: In Italy you cross the Puez and Sella groups, staying at huts such as the Schlüterhütte and the Boè hut, then pass under the north face of the Marmolada to the Fedaia lake.
  5. The Civetta and the Schiara: Further south the route works round the west wall of the Civetta to Alleghe and the Rifugio Tissi, then on to the Schiara and down to Belluno. The last days to Venice are partly on quiet roads.

Distance

About 550 km (340 miles) in all from Munich to Venice, with about 20,000 m of climbing, by German Wikipedia's count. Cicerone's guide measures 569 km (354 miles) and 27,000 m of ascent. Graßler's route is usually split into 28 stages, while Cicerone uses 30 of six to eight hours each. In the stage list on German Wikipedia the longest day is the first, Munich to Wolfratshausen at 32 km, and the shortest is the Grödner Joch to the Boè hut at 7 km.

Best time to go

Stefan Lenz, one of the muenchenvenedig.de authors, answering a reader in 2018, calls August the best month, with the passes clear of snow, and suggests leaving Munich in the last week of July or the first week of August. Tirol's tourist board puts the usual season for long-distance walks there at the end of June to the end of September, with some snow still possible higher up in June. The muenchenvenedig.de authors also warn that snow can fall on the route at any time of year and that thunderstorms are common in high summer. Check the forecast, ask the hut keepers about the passes ahead, and carry warm clothes.

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