Sud Tirol/Bolzano in November, suggestions for 4 days?

Sounds like an amazing trip! I recommend staying in Bolzano for two nights and then two nights in Brixen. In Bolzano, you can explore its charming Christmas market and the nearby one in Merano. Brixen hosts my favorite market, featuring an incredible light show at the Hofburg Palace that is a must-see! You'll also be close to Sterzing/Vipiteno, which has a wonderful market in its medieval center. Here's a great overview of each of the Christmas markets:: https://throneandvine.com/south-tyrol-italy-christmas-markets/

All above suggestions are great. Please understand that this part of Italy is decidedly Austrian as well. The culture you will find here is distinctive to this region and not indicative of Italy as a whole. In fact, every region of Italy is not indicative of Italy as a whole!

Thank you all. I'm glad we added the extra day and I'm glad we have the flexibility of a rental car, to supplement what looks like good local transit around Bolzano. We booked three nights in Bolzano at Palais Hortenberg, and it sounds well located and comfy, so we're only going to take one night elsewhere before we head north.

I think we are looking at spending our final night in either Brixen/Bressanone or Vipiteno/Sterzing. This has a little advantage of putting us slightly closer on our way back up in to Germany on the morning we leave.

I wonder if anyone has accommodations recommendations for either of those towns? I am seeing shockingly little in our price range (hoping for around 150 euros/nt) in Brixen, with a bit more choice in Vipiteno.

Oh, while I'm at it, ideas for restaurants? We will eat in the markets to be sure, but were hoping to get a little Italian flair. Most comments are about "take advantage of the Austrian/German influence", which we will enjoy to be sure, but we are also spending the following week IN Austria and Germany. :)

You made me laugh, Chinese food in Idaho. :) Thanks. I can do that search, good idea. Not looking for gasthauses or "hofs" or the like! Creamy, cheesy, mushroomy and beefy sounds awesome. In Italy for Food Lovers, they wax eloquent about a ravioli that has many local things...sounds like something like that might be doable.

We spent a night in Bressanone / Brixen before meeting our Dolomites hiking group in September 2022. We stayed at 4* Hotel Goldenes Rössl/Cavallino d”Oro in a large Tyrolian-style room. Location and hospitality were great. It was a short walk to the main Old Town area and Restaurant Traubenwirt for an excellent dinner.

https://www.goldenesroessl.com/en/

https://www.hotelbrixen.it/en/restaurant-traubenwirt/menu-wines-recipes/23-0.html

You could check out the hotel this restaurant is part of and compare rates and charm with the Golden Horse. I do not find the rooms as charming as the Goldenes Rössli, but maybe their rates or amenities make up for that.

https://www.hotelbrixen.it/en/rooms-rates/rooms-overview/15-0.html

I am going to second the previous suggestions of Vipiteno or Merano and also suggest that you consider Trento. It is not a big city and the historic center is very compact. I have visited there twice and enjoyed it both times.

Thanks all. Looking forward to having the time to explore the area with your suggestions.

Hello this was some great information. I’m curious if anyone has suggestions for a less touristy mountain town near the Dolomites that has great scenery and would have a nice hotel open mid November? Seems all the nice ones people are suggesting are closed in mid November. We are planning to go from Munich to Innsbruck and wanted to do 2-3 nights near the Dolomites if possible. Any suggestions? Thank you
We are there around Nov 15

Bressanone is not a “touristy” town, and the hotel I mentioned above is open mid-November.

https://www.goldenesroessl.com/en/

This summer we were in Bolzano, and I was shocked at how little Italian was spoken, and how Tirolean the houses and food were. Walking up to Santa Maddalena church, we passed by a group in the vineyards wearing lederhosen and welcoming us with Gruss Gott. In Oberbozen it was even more Tirolean. My Italian is better than my German and I was completely thrown off, ha!

After Napolean was defeated at Waterloo in 1815, the Congress of Vienna awarded Tyrol ( “Tyrolia”) to the Habsburg Empire which was based in German-speaking Vienna. From 1815 until 1918 it was ruled from Vienna and, after the Anschluss of Austria, from Berlin until 1945.
Thus, with all the Lederhosen worn and German spoken and bratwurst and sauerkraut on the menu in restaurants— Bolzano (“Bozen”) really seems like it must be in Austria when you visit

From 1815 until 1938 it was ruled from Vienna

Sorry, but the Suedtirol (South Tyrol) was awarded to Italy after the end of WWI. So it has been "ruled" from Rome since 1919. But German is still one of the three official languages.

From 1815 until 1918 it was ruled from Vienna and, after the Anschluss of Austria, from Berlin until 1945.

After 1918 South Tyrol was ruled from Italy; in the fascist era Mussolini tried to de-Germanize it. In 1943, after the collapse of fascist regime, South Tyrol was de facto annexed to Germany (that had already annexed Austria), then after 1945 loosely controlled by the Allies; the lack of a central authority and German culture made South Tyrol the ideal ground for Nazi official fleeing Germany and trying to get to south America with fake passports. South Tyrol was given back to Italy in 1948 and since then is administered with strong guarantees for speakers of all languages.