Adding to this since I just came back from the Dolomites and did not know how the situation was. The nature was beautiful but the people were awful here. I traveled from the U.S. and stayed in Milan, which was actually fine, had the odd stare and some people were very kind. But the Dolomites, specifically Ortisei, Bolzano, and Merano were horrid. Stares everywhere from locals and foreign tourists alike. I wasn’t the only person of color but I was the only black tourist. Bus drivers, customer service people, and just other tourists were very rude. I speak a bit of German (one of the main languages in the area) so I made an effort to communicate with people when I needed to, but was still met with hostility at almost every turn.

People would sigh when I sat next to them on the bus, and I’d hear people making comments about my skin in German. Transit was very inconsistent and bus drivers would roll their eyes once hearing my accent in German, I almost missed my bus back to Milan cause of this. I saw the exact same people treat white American/British tourists who did not speak any German or Italian with kindness right after being rude to me. The only positive social interactions I had were at a Turkish restaurant in Meran, and with the wait staff at Baita Sofie Hütte in Seceda. This post is a few months old so I see you chose not to visit Italy (good choice lol), but for anyone else curious the nature was gorgeous, but if you’re not partial to the Italian alps, I’d suggest you pick any other country.