A subjective guide to Bolzano
Ciao! This is BOLZINE, our subjective guide to Bolzano & around!
The drawing on the left shows the facade of a building in the centre of Bolzano that always reminds us of a tray of tiramisu!
It didn’t rain once for the first 2-months we spent in South Tyrol! This isn’t normal for the area but after a particularly soggy winter in Glasgow we took some joy in comparing the weather forecast with back home. We were here for Spring and left just as it started heating up! Whatever the time of year, it’s always appropriate to grab an aperetivo (aperol spritz or Hugo) in Piazza Walther! Beer lovers should try Batzen, a brewery and pub, or Hopfen.
There is a bunch of hidden public art and sculptures scattered around the city. Take the time to explore the back streets and corners, you might be surprised at what you find! These hidden disks and lampposts are just two examples to get you started.
For art & culture lovers I would recommend the Foto Forum (this smiling lamppost is greeting you right in front of it), the Fondazione Antonio Dalle Nogare , which is housed in an amazing building, or the Museion, which is free on Thursdays 6-9pm! There is also a mini-museion (Cubo Garutti), a display box in the Don Bosco area of the city. If you’re more interested in local history, the museum under the Victory Monument is a pleasant surprise, and the Mountain Museum in Firmian is great too!
Although the buildings aren’t too tall in Bolzano we liked spotting these towers from our walks around the city and used them as markers to find our way back home. We also spotted this Glasgow-esque traffic cone lamp post by the park - is it still there?
If you are lucky enough to get some (antiBrexit) funding to spend a few months at EURAC research centre go for it! It’s a huge employer with very nice working conditions and an international atmosphere. Also, the janitor sells his own homemade ginger juice! The building was originally built for a fascist organisation but now it’s dedicated to science, politics, and local research.
Visit the Archeological Museum to meet Ötzi, the local hero that made world news when it was found in 1991. The 5350 year-old man in ice has a certain mysterious character, but the museum presents the findings and hypothesis in an interesting way. Did you know there is a room for Ötzi in the local hospital where he can be taken in case of emergency? Or that he used different coloured goat-skin to make his jacket striped? Or that he had tattoos?
P.S. We tried the Ötzi flavoured ice-cream at the Talvera bridge just so you don’t have to. Hard pass.
There are some great pasticcerias and bakeries we have tested in Bolzano. Our order recommendation would be a foamy cappuccino alongside one of the delicious varieties of strudel that are made daily. Caffè Lintner does delicious thin crust and has a big variety of tasty home bakes, plus soft round seats inside! Klaus comes a close runner-up in terms of pastries, like the walnutty linzer.
40 cm! €26
Filmclub Capitol shows original language films. Check out their programme for upcoming events and festivals. It was usually pretty quiet when we went along. Take along your own snacks and get cultured.
Bolzano is surrounded by vineyards. There is a nice vineyard walk as you head up the Talvera river and turn right at St. Anton’s bridge. If you are feeling athletic you can run up and along the path to get the city panorama.
The cycling paths surrounding Bolzano are transformed into touring motorways when the sun comes out. You will be overtaken by elderly cyclists with e-bikes or vintage biciclettas from the 80s but don’t let that bring your spirit down. Keep those pedals turning!
For a local trip, get on a cable car already! There are a few gondolas which can be taken from the city to explore the surrounding hills. The Ritten cable car gets you up to 950m in 12 minutes and it truly feels like another world up there. There are loads of hiking options, the connecting Ritten Railway, and the famous earth pyramids to check out. Freud and Nietzsche visited here once. You’ll find philosophical quotes on some of the trails.
Messner Mountain Museum
Panorama Point with Bell
It would be shameful to visit Bolzano without exploring the stunning mountains that surround it! A quick bus journey up to the Dolomites is very easy to arrange. If you are here in winter you might consider some skiing or longer hikes in summer.
Lumen Mountain Photography Museum Cable cars
Kronplatz Refugio
In March we made a trip up to Brunico to check out Lumen and the Messner Mountain Museum at Kronplatz (there are 6 MMMs in total). We spent one night in a rifugio (mountain cabin) up on top of the mountain where you can get food (a 5 course dinner!) and accommodation provided by the friendly owners. There are lots of other rifugios dotted around the Dolomites and many are more accessible in summer.
A few more helpful tips: Public transport is quite expensive in Alto Adige. Always book trains in advance and have cash on you for bus tickets. Most people cycle, which is great! Careful though, you can only take your bike on regional trains. If you’re going for a day trip, a daily ticket valid for the whole of the region might be better value than booking individual tickets. This is quite different to other regions, such as Trentino, where bus travel is very cheap! Trevilab is one of the many libraries in the city. They have a foreign language hub, meaning they have English, Spanish, French, etc. books you can borrow for free. The English book selection is quite up to date! Supermarket price guide:
We hope you enjoyed this short subjective zine! When we arrived here we struggled to find any information about Bolzano and South Tyrol in English and thought we’d have a go at making a quick guide ourselves. This is one of our favourite places and we hope you enjoy it too! Feel free to get in touch with us: @subidubibrokkoli @marcusnicolson