Bolzano or straight to Castelrotto?

Hi Kristi,

Another vote for heading to the mountains. Bolzano is nice, but it is a city and I couldn't imagine, with so little time, taking any of it away from the Seiser Alm/Alpe di Siusi.

Paul

Kristi, when are you going? Is this a summer visit, or spring?

The he visit will be in mid June. I am inclined to skip the museum, but didn't know if it was something I'd regret later.

the time you will visit is important to the answers. Alpe di siusi is lovely in June and July, but in early May you might do better to stay in Castelrotto.

Also, what do you plan to do on your one full day? Hike, ride lifts, drive around, visit villages? That may dictate where you should stay as well.

The museum is worth a visit but it would only take a couple of hours to see Otzi the ice man and other displays. After that I would also vote to head to the Alpi di Siusi. The Alpen Hotel sits at 6,000 plus feet in the Alpi di Siusi with a nice Panorama view of the Dolomites. A nice place to stay for the night.

ooops---our posts crossed.

Mid-June is a great time for Alpe di Siusi---should be some wildflowers starting up.

Bolzano, on the other hand, could be hot and humid. And unless they have changed things since I was there, the line for the museum could be long. So I'd definitely vote for skipping the museum and going on up into the Dolomites.

go to Castelrotto, stay in Hotel zum Wolfe and go to the mountains. Our most memorable stop in Italy.

We were in Bolzano in August two years ago. Actually, we went there to get out of the heat and humidity. Bolzano is the gateway to the Dolomite area. My husband and son did wait in line for at least an hour to see the ice man. Individuals who had museum reservations were able to go to the front of the line. I shopped the farmer's market while they were in line. Upon leaving the area, we got caught in a thunderstorm--my son loved it (we seldom get them here in the OC). Unfortunately, we did not make it up to Castelrotto--that was one road my husband did not want to drive. Needless to say, I was VERY disappointed.

Last summer we did the museum in Bolzano and Castelrotto. Try to do the museum...VERY impressive. Not real busy when we went in early July. you can do the museum in a couple of hours. It is NOT that easy to find, nor are there signs to it. We had to ask a couple of people to locate it.

Castelrotto is not that far away and the perfect way to access the the high Dolomites meadow. In the evening, you MUST MUST go to the cemetery behind the church in the middle of town. Each plot is individually landscaped and adorned with candles and lanterns. I believe each evening people light all the candles throughout the cemetery. Awesome and moving....really unbelievable. (I am not a frequent goer to cemeteries, but the effect is beyond description). One of people we were traveling with said, "you have to see the cemetery". I said "oh yeah, right." Be prepared to be bowled over. You have to see it in the evening.

I forgot, the Hotel Zum Wolf is a great place to stay. Exceptional breakfast too. Superb pastries and a lot of other variety. As you probably know, more like Austria than Italy.

Thanks for the great information everyone. The Hotel zum Wolf webiste mentions a 3 night minimum stay. I wonder if they will allow a shorter charge at a higher price. Any experience on that one?

Although I am most looking forward to getting into the mountains, I am curious about this museum. We will be traveling via train from Varenna. My initial plan was to stop for lunch and a few hours sightseeing in Verona (which we have seemed to miss each trip) and then continue on to Bolzano. If we opt to go straight to the mountains, I think we will skip Verona and have a Bolzano afternoon with the Ice Man. Thoughts anyone?

Verona is a fine place but if you have limited time, I would go to Bolzano, spend a couple of hours then catch the bus to Castelrotto. We have stayed in both places but with 2 nights and 1 day available, I'd stay in Castelrotto. Locals are more likely to speak German as their first language than Italian; not a problem but it can catch you off guard when a menu comes in German when you are in Italy.

Kristi, see if there is some way you can get reservations for the ice man museum. As I mentioned previously, they only let a certain amount of people in at a time and we were delayed because of large groups or people with reservations.

My husband and I stayed the night in Bolzano on a trip to Germany and Austria. We always leave a few nights not planned out to go where the road leads us and we ended up in Bolzano. We loved it. It was beautiful and we had to go see Otzi. Not everyday you get to see someone that old! We were there in the middle of May a couple of years ago and had no lines! It was great!

No question here go straight to Castelrotto and the rest of dolomites it is so beautiful.

My husband insisted on seeing the Iceman...and I am glad he did. It was interesting and worth a couple of hours. However, we had 3 nights and 2 full days in Castelrotto.

Agree-the cemetery in Castelrotto is a must see. Never saw anything like it. Amazing pictures.