We are traveling to Austria end of September and spending 3 nights in Salzburg. I'd also love to spend 2 nights in the Tyrol region (if I'm understanding the border correctly) where the Austrian and Italian cultures intersect. We absolutely loved Italy last year and had thought about combining Lake Como, Lake Maggiore or the Dolomites with this trip but time just isn't going to allow that so I thought we might try to get a taste of it while still in Austria. Also the idea of the two cultures intertwining sounds like a perfect area to explore. Something smaller than Salzburg but big enough where we have at least some variety in restaurants to choose from and things to do. It would also need to be easily accessible by train (preferred) or some form of public transport as we will not have a car. My other question is will this area be different enough from Salzburg? I had considered Durnstein in the Wachau Region also but that's the other direction from the rest of our trip (Munich and Lucerne) so just wasn't sure it made sense. Would love any suggestions for places other than Innsbruck (or if you think Innsbruck is the best option, I'd love to get more details on why). Thank you!
Posted by
Boise, ID, USA
2332 posts
IMHO, Innsbruck has no (or very little) Italian flavor. You'd have to get farther south: Bressanone is a possibility. I haven't been there, but some people on the forum have enjoyed it.
Posted by
Citizen of the World
2167 posts
I agree with Janet— you’d need to get to a city in Italy’s Tyrol region such as Bolzano or Merano to begin to see any Italian influence. Even now, 70% of south Tyrol residents primarily speak German while 26% primarily speak Italian. Bolzano seemed to me to be more heavily Austrian than Italian. I was able to find a pizzeria though! Bolzano is two hours by train from Innsbruck.
Posted by
Southeast US
4081 posts
I think it is kind of hard to find Austrian cities/towns with Italian flavor. It's easier to find "mixed" Italian/Austrian towns in Italy because vast areas of current day northern Italy were previously part of the Habsburg Empire. The opportunity to gain Austrian land was one of the primary reasons Italy joined the Allied Powers during WWi.
Posted by
2301 posts
Trieste is the most "Austrian" city in Italy.
Posted by
Vienna, Austria
5534 posts
As another poster stated, you are more likely to find Italian town with Austrian influence. I cannot think of any Austrian towns with Italian influence.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
34207 posts
much easier to find Austrian influence - in huge quantity - in Südtirol in northern Italy. That's what Italians call Alto Adige. German is spoken, heritage is Austrian, music is Austrian, buildings are Austrian. And it is beautiful.
Posted by
Oberpfalz, Germany
1410 posts
Both in Italy (Südtirol), but Sterzing/Vipiteno and Bruneck/Brunico.
https://www.sterzing.com/en/sterzing-vipiteno-southtyrol.html
https://www.bruneck.com/en
The Brenner Autobahn will be going thru a lot of construction this year (new Lueg Bridge), so try to avoid it with car/bus.
Posted by
OP
10 posts
Thank you all! You helped me realize that I have misunderstood what I've been reading online about that area and it's probably better that we focus on other areas of Austria to explore.
Posted by
Oregon
285 posts
The Austro-Hungarian Empire forfeited Südtirol after losing WW1. They now use the crest of the Alps as the political boundary. The population there remains predominately Germanic. After WW2 German also became an official language in this province.
My time in the Dolomites was some of the best food I've ever had.