Practical Information for visiting Feltre

Feltre's two halves matter for getting about: the historic centre is on a ridge and everything modern, including the station, is on the flat below. The climb is steep; there is a lift, and it saves a real effort.

Feltre station is on the Padua-Belluno-Calalzo line, about fifteen minutes' walk below the old town. Padua is around an hour and three quarters, Belluno about half an hour, and Venice requires a change.

The old town itself is small and entirely walkable once you are up there.

The national park needs a car. The Vette Feltrine trailheads are up side valleys with little or no bus service, and this is not country to reach on foot from the town.

Mobile coverage is good in the town and along the valley, and thins quickly in the side valleys and on the Vette Feltrine, where it should be treated as absent.

EU visitors roam on their own plans; others can buy a prepaid SIM in the lower town. Wi-Fi is standard in hotels and cafés, and absent in the park.

Feltre is a quiet, safe town. The cautions are about terrain rather than crime.

• The Vette Feltrine are serious, unfrequented mountains. Few refuges, unsurfaced paths, no lifts and little passing traffic if something goes wrong. Carry proper gear, check the forecast, and tell someone your route.
• Mobile coverage fails in the side valleys and above the treeline.
• The climb to the upper town is steep and the streets are cobbled -- worth knowing if walking is difficult; the lift is the answer.
• Winter driving in the valley and side roads requires winter tyres, a legal requirement here in season.

Feltre has a public hospital, the Ospedale Santa Maria del Prato, with an emergency department serving the western part of the province.

EU visitors with a valid EHIC are treated on the same terms as residents; non-EU visitors should carry travel health insurance, and anyone walking in the Vette Feltrine should check that it covers mountain rescue.

Tap water is excellent. Seasonal considerations are ticks in woodland and rough pasture from spring to autumn, altitude and exposure on the higher walks, and the simple remoteness of the park, where help is a long way off.

Single emergency number: 112, free from any phone, covering police, fire, ambulance and mountain rescue.

Hospital with emergency department: Ospedale Santa Maria del Prato, Feltre.

Mountain rescue: through 112 -- the relevant service for the Vette Feltrine and the national park.

Police: the local Carabinieri station handles most matters; a formal denuncia is required for almost any insurance claim.

Lost passport: contact your own country's embassy or consulate, most of which are in Rome or Milan.