A mirrored massif
© Yevhenii Chulovskyi/Shutterstock
Any season is a fine time to visit the Italian Alps, but autumn might just be the best. This time of year, peaks are beautifully dusted in snow, while lower elevations have yet to fully settle into winter's chill. That means alpine lakes like Lower Lake Fusine, shown here, can still offer mirrorlike reflections of the rocky ranges. Our backdrop is a massif that includes the high point known as Mangart, which marks the border with Slovenia and is that nation's third-highest summit.