Bolzano: Ski Hotel, Museums, Castles and Wine Trails
Accommodation in South Tyrol
Bolzano/Bozen combines important museums, medieval urban history, castles, culinary tours, and paths along the Talfer River. At the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology, Ötzi is publicly visible in a specially developed refrigerated cell that recreates the conditions of a glacier. The museum also features a permanent exhibition about the Iceman and the objects found with him. The South Tyrol Museum of Nature is housed in the former administrative seat of Emperor Maximilian I; its main attraction is a seawater aquarium.
Culture and History
Museion is the museum of modern and contemporary art in Bolzano/Bozen. It promotes international art, culture, and innovation in South Tyrol; its collection currently comprises around 4,400 works. Different cultures meet in Bolzano/Bozen. In art, for example, painting influenced by Giotto combines with Gothic works, while the Talfer River architecturally separates the historic city from the new city.
The School Museum of the City of Bolzano/Bozen conveys the historical experience of the Italian, German, and Ladin communities through teaching materials, photographs, certificates, documents, furnishings, and posters. In the Palazzo Mercantile, the Mercantile Museum traces the economic history of the city in a chronological tour featuring archival documents, paintings, and original works of art. Cultural attractions also include churches, monuments, historic streets and squares, museums, and castles.
Roncolo Castle preserves the largest and best-preserved secular fresco cycle from the Middle Ages. The scenes depict courtly life, hunting scenes, knightly tournaments, and everyday life. Mareccio Castle is a 13th-century castle near the historic old town of Bolzano/Bozen. It is located in a Lagrein vineyard and is used for exhibitions, concerts, cultural evenings, and conferences.
Flavon Castle preserves valuable 16th-century frescoes and offers views over Bolzano, the Adige Valley, and to the north toward the Salten plateau, the Sarntal Valley, and the Renon. The site is open to the public as a restaurant and as a venue for celebrations and receptions. The Messner Mountain Museum Firmian in Firmiano Castle provides an overview of the world of mountains, and especially of the relationship between people and mountains, in its towers, halls, and courtyards.
Old Town and Culinary Experiences
A guided tour through Bolzano's old town leads through medieval alleyways, beneath the arcades, across the Fruit Market, into the courtyard of the town hall, and into a selected church; it ends at Waltherplatz. A culinary tour through the historic old town includes three stops featuring typical Bolzano specialties, house wine, beer, and small regional delicacies.
The “Underground Bolzano” tour leads through the cathedral crypt, to the archaeological excavations beneath the Hannah Arendt School, into the historic cellars of the Mercantile Building, and into further vaults beneath the historic arcaded houses. A culinary tour runs along Mustergasse and through the historic Campofranco courtyard to Mercato Centrale. There, four tasting stops offer various regional and Italian specialties.
The “Speck Safari” explains the history, production methods, and quality standards of speck. It concludes with a tasting of the traditional product and a glass of wine in a traditional inn. Another leg of the “Speck Safari” leads through Bolzano's old town and introduces South Tyrolean speck during a meeting with a speck ambassador.
Talfer River, Wine Trails and Views
The banks of the Talfer feature extensive green spaces and well-equipped playgrounds; they are ideal for long walks and bike tours. Numerous smaller bridges along the river enable short and long walks as well as circular routes for pedestrians and cyclists. Along the cycle paths to Bolzano Sud, the walls are decorated with colorful murals.
The REBE Wine Trail comprises ten artistically designed installations offering insights into the culture of winegrowing. It connects Bolzano with Signat, the vineyards, Rentsch, and the historic Ansitz Waldgries winery. One path leads through orchards and vineyards to a viewpoint overlooking Bolzano and ends at the Rafenstein inn.
A route from Bolzano follows the Talfer Gorge and offers views of Runkelstein Castle and Ried Castle. It passes a waterfall and the remains of Walbeinstein Castle and, after the Talfer Bridge, reaches the Rafenstein inn, with panoramic views of the city and the castle ruins. Runkelstein Castle can be reached from Bolzano on foot via the green Lungotalvera Promenade, by bicycle via the cycle path, or by bus route 12.
For a further regional selection, you can also find Puster Valley, Eisack Valley, Vinschgau, Wipptal, Burggrafenamt, and Salten-Schlern.
For the higher-level travel overview: Trentino-South Tyrol.
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