In the beginning stages of planning our Sept trip.
Looking for somewhere to break up the trip for one night between Venice and Innsbruck - the train seems to go thru both Trento (which looks about half way) and Bolzano. Any opinions on which might be better/more interesting to spend an afternoon/overnight?
I liked both, but Bolzano more. It has a friendly small city feel. It's the informal dividing line between majority Italian and German speaking areas which gives it a liveliness somehow. There's also the fantastic Otzi, the iceman, at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology. You can look face to face with a fellow human from 5,000 years ago!
This is funny because on my first trip with my now-husband to his native Italy, we spent time in both Trento and Bolzano. They were both nice. Bolzano is cool because it has Ötzi, and it is just absolutely fascinating to go see him. We loved our hotel in Trento, and my husband (who works in the restaurant business) still talks about the meal we had there. Of course this was 14 years ago next month, so I don’t know if the place is still good!!!
I will try to think of the hotel name. It was “Villa” Something but I can't think what. Will think and look it up.
Edit to add: in Trento, the hotel was Villa Madruzzo, and the reviews still look fantastic. Check it out and see if it looks like a good place to rest for a night. A bit of a splurge but not outrageous.
Either will do.
However if you have never seen Verona, that is where you should spend the overnight, also considering that is where you probably change trains.
I haven't been to Trento but Bolzano is gorgeous. I don't know how early in September you will be traveling, but this is my usual warning for those planning to sleep down in one of those valley towns: They can be very hot in the summer; they are not at altitude. If you're considering a non-air-conditioned hotel (of which there seem to be a lot in that area), check the actual historical day-by-day temperatures for your travel period. You can find stats for September 2018, September 2017, September 2016, etc., on timeanddate.com. I've linked to the data for last September, and I see there were 19 days that hit 80F or above.
I assume the same warning applies to Trento but haven't checked.
Having melted in non-cooled lodgings in Bressanone and found a great last-minute room rate, I chose the Parkhotel Laurin in Bolzano when I spent several nights in Bolzano in 2015. It was definitely a couple of steps above my usual standard and I recommend it. My room was large, and there was a very nice breakfast spread. You might check it out. It's less than 1/4 mile from the train station, in the direction of the historic center. Very easy to find, and the Archaeological Museum housing the Iceman is less than 1/2 mile away; the walk takes you through the beautiful historic district.
I have not been to either, they both look too large for me as a quick stop. If you are driving then Bressanone or especially Vipiteno.
I did a quick google of both places and when I saw Otzi was in Bolzano, that shifted the needle more to that, and the replies just shifted me even more in that direction. Love the cable car idea.
As for when in Sept - I'm not sure yet if we're going to go the last two weeks of Sept/1st week Oct or last week Sept/1st 2 weeks of Oct. And right now we are going to go from Vienna thru to Zurich - but we may do it the other direction as well - I have to look at costs/availability of flights and whatnot. We will most likely have the full 21 nights - two travel days not included.
Roberto mentioned Verona - I was thinking of that as an overnight between Venice and wherever we end up in Switzerland.
My very tentative itin (subject to change, and not sure which way we will travel) is:
fly into Zurich, head right for Bern
Lauterbrunner/Interlaken
Lucerne
Lugano (this spot is very much up in the air, as I haven't done much research into it - opinions? better spot? skip it all together?)
Verona
Venice
Bolzano
Innsbruck
Vienna
London (and hopefully a sister visit) and home.
We had a few nights in Swit in 2010 (Bern, Spiez, Zurich). This will be our 5th visit to Venice - I haven't been for 5 yrs and I'm YEARNING to return. We've seen Salzburg, which is why it isn't on my list. Not sure number of nights, other than 3 in London, 3 in Venice and 3 or 4 in Vienna.
I contemplated Lake Como, but I have thoughts about next year's holiday, which include bringing my mom back to Italy and doing Como and Tuscany, so that's why I decided against staying there. We also have been to Milan and don't really need to go back.
Sounds like a fantastic trip! I enjoyed both Trento and Bolzano. I stayed in Trento and was happy with my choice as it was easy access to the train. Haven't stayed in Bolzano but might in the future as there is definitely more to do/see there. The trip up the cable car is a can't miss in my opinion. Otzi and his museum were interesting. Just walking through the town and exploring the sights and architecture was quite enjoyable. I also enjoyed wandering around Bressanone, mentioned by someone else. Lugano seemed nice but a huge thunderstorm with drenching rain began just when I arrived so I stayed under cover and did not get to see much. Enjoy your travels!
