Selva Val Gardena holidays

If you love a market, make sure you head down to one of the local food and flea markets to browse fresh fruit and handmade crafts. There's one on Thursdays in Selva, or Wednesdays in Santa Cristina and Fridays in Ortisei.

Selva's also got a range of shops selling clothes, shoes and leather goods. And there's a long history of wood-carving in the area, so pick up a wooden souvenir to remember your trip by.

For a quiet evening in, wander to your hotel's bar to chat over drinks or watch the sunset from the terrace.

There are some livelier bars around town for night owls. And look out for summer festivals that go on into the evenings, like the Jazz Festival in June or the Folk Festival in August.

Lots of the restaurants here are based in hotels and specialise in traditional Italian and Ladin dishes like pizza, pasta, dumplings and schnitzel. You can find international favourites too if you prefer, but we definitely recommend trying some local food while you’re here.

One place that always gets busy is La Bula. The menu has pages and pages of pizzas to choose from, so you might find yourself coming back to try a few different ones. And you can round off your meal in proper Italian fashion with a glass of grappa.

In a meadow at the top of the Ciampinoi cable car is Ristorante L’Muline. Sit out on the terrace and enjoy the views while you tuck into top-notch pasta dishes – the ravioli with spinach and almond butter is always a winner.

Taking its name from the Costabella chairlift next door, this restaurant mixes simple décor with impressive meals. Skiing photographs line the walls – a nod to Selva's popularity as a ski resort in winter – but with reasonable prices and beautifully presented food, there's definitely nothing cold about this place.

There are several main bus stops, including one in Piazza Nives and one next to the Ciampinoi cable car station, where you can catch a ride to nearby towns like Santa Cristina Val Gardena, Ortisei and Passo Gardena. Even better, all the local buses are free with a physical or digital Mobilcard bus card – which you'll get free from your hotel when you stay here.

Lifts like the Ciampinoi cable car, Dantercepies gondola and Mont de Seura chairlift are open throughout the summer, so you can head up into the peaks for views and walks galore. Then rest your feet and enjoy the scenery on the lift ride back down.

Catch a local bus to the nearest station in Bolzano. Then from there, you can take a train to Trento in an hour or Verona in around 90 minutes.

The town is a pretty place to explore on foot, with its traditional timber buildings, cobbled squares and historic church. The main road does get a fair bit of through-traffic, but there are plenty of pedestrianised streets too.

Selva's got loads of gentle walking trails, like meadow paths surrounded by unique Dolomite peaks, the trail along the old railway line down to Ortisei, and the Via Crucis route past the ruined Wolkenstein Castle. Plus, there are plenty of more demanding hikes up in the peaks if you really want to stretch your legs.

Stroll from the centre of Selva along the Via Crucis route. Along the way, you can see the ruins of Wolkenstein Castle and pass the St Silvestro chapel, and count the 14 Stations of the Cross. Finish up in the Vallunga Valley, where you can stop for lunch in a mountain hut before heading home.

Built when the region was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, the railway was finished in record time and ran from 1916 to 1960. The track still exists today and you can follow the path alongside it to the neighbouring town of Ortisei, 3.5km away. Take in the views and stop to read info boards along the way to learn about the railway's history.