from ortisei to austrian border and beyond

Before 1918 north and south tyrol were part of Austria and there was no border at all at Brenner. This is why the region south of the border looks very much like the northern region and German is spoken as well (but in Ortisei the majority language is the old Ladino). Apart from this, the southern region (i.e. the Italian one) has better climate (they produce excellent wine and fruit but the northern part does not), has more dramatic landscapes and generally was the richer one. When the two regions were one, the bishop seat was in Bressanone/Brixen - this is why the bishop palace there is so large and ornate - but the secular power was in Innsbruck - Innsbruck has a baroque royal palace meant to be a smaller version of the Vienna Hofburg, a holiday castle and the tombs of some earlier Habsburgs.

This to tell that there is not much scenic around the border - maybe you could visit Vipiteno on the Italian side - and the biggest attraction north of the border is Innsbruck that has a few points of interest and good shopping. The Brenner pass is one of the lowest in all Alps, all traffic passes from there but is not particularly scenic.

If you drive in Austria consider that petrol is much cheaper in Austria than in Italy (but petrol station on the highway have surcharges). If you drive to Innsbruck-Süd you will pay 9 euros highway toll (done yesteday). There is no need to buy the Austrian highway vignette for the drive from Brenner to Innsbruck-Süd, but any mile past Innsbruck-Süd needs the vignette (frequent checks and stinging fines).

what is Innsbruck Sud? name of the city proper? is Hall consisdered 'past' Innsbruck Sud?

Thank you Lachera. As always, your posts are very informative and helpful

This area of the Dolomites has mountain scenery to die for. Not much in Austria can compare to it. Also it is in a rather hard-to-get-to area. Want a scenic drive for a day? Just go around the Sella Masif with 4 high mountain passes and you end up where you started. The architecture is also very Austrian. Locals speak Ladino, but every one learns both Italian and German in school with certain classes taught in each language. So the region is truly tri-lingual. On top of that their English is pretty good too, at least the under 40 crowd.

Once you get down valley and to the east, you get out of the Ladino-speaking area and German is actually the preferred language. That is why it is called the Sued Tirol, South Tyrol, or Alto Adige in Italian. All documents and road signs and even town names are in both German and Italian. Bozen/Bolzano, Meran/Merano, St Ulrich/Ortisei, Wolkenstein/Selva.

Edit - Innsbruck Sued = South Innsbruck. Note the convention of adding the "e" after German vowels that have umlauts. For stone-age typists like myself who still have not figured out how to type umlauts.

Innsbruck-Süd is the first highway exit you meet for the city. Coming down the Brenner the 9-euro toll you pay covers the highway up to Innsbruck-Süd. If you want to go to Hall you have to buy an highway sticker (on sale at petrol stations, also the last ones in Italy) and glue it to your windscreen. Buy it before you need as the risk of being fined if you have not is very high. At Innsbruck-Süd you turn direction München/Munich and Hall is a couple of exits past Innsbruck.

If you are interested in landscapes, the Ortisei area is the place to be. North Tyrol hasn't anything comparable. But Innsbruck is an interesting town (I am writing from there now). The recently restored Hofburg is a must see and still has to make its way into printed guides. The Ambras castle and its garden are very nice.

what would be your recommendation on how to spend the 3 days?

First day we will arrive in ortisei around 4 pm
Next 2 days we have the entire day
Fourth day, we leave for Venice

If you like to hike the trails near Ortisei are fantastic. They vary from easy to strenuous, so take your pick. There are wonderful cafes to stop at along the trails. Even hiking or biking from town to town in the Val Gardena is beautiful. If it happens to be a rainy day, drive to Bolzano and see Otzi the Ice Man. The museum is interesting and Bolzano is charming, too. If you are only there for two days I would skip Austria.

There is a poster based in Rome who posts here about Italian things; she has just returned from Ortisei.

She has a blog called Good Day Rome and wrote about hiking around there. You can find that post at https://gooddayrome.com/2016/07/16/easy-hiking/

It might be worth a read.