Bolzano

Guide books wax lyrical about this South Tyrol capital. Sitting on the edge of the Italian border at the foot of the Dolomites the road into the city skirts between mountains adorned with looming fortresses and castles; perched on craggy hillsides they are so remotely placed you wonder how anyone could ever reach them.   The small centre is dominated by a gothic cathedral on the main square and a warren of small cobbled streets with a hotchpotch of narrow buildings housing plentiful selections of shops and small bustling beer houses, a perfect respite from the cold winter climate that awaited us.

 

I arrived with great expectations, in my mind I expected a mini Vienna with pastel turrets poking skywards from red rooftops; in reality Bolzano is far more provincial and instead has the ambiance of an alpine town. The architecture is both Germanic and Italian, a mixture of medieval and gothic and the arcades with their old fashioned shops feel like those of a ski-resort.  Despite being in Italy my Italian felt superfluous with the majority of residents speaking German and it is not hard to see that this is an autonomous region with a distinctly independent vibe.  Despite being slightly underwhelmed by the city itself it still holds great charm, and the lush green landscape and the castles and ruins that surround it hold an immediate draw, but unless coming for the Christmas markets I would suggest a spring or summer vacation to truly appreciate what this region has to offer.

After a short wander round the town our shivering limbs were crying out for some warmth and we spotted an atmospheric beer house called ‘Hopfen & Co‘,  inside it turned out to be a hive of activity and atmosphere, with wooden alpine decor and a grand central bar with a lot of impressive copper equipment behind it, and of course everyone had a stein of beer in their hand.  We propped ourselves up at the bar, surrounded by locals, and partook of their home brewed chestnut beer which was amazing, and was closely followed by a second. The alpine town vibe came through again with locals popping in and out for a quick beer, everyone knowing everyone’s name and we could easily have whiled away many an hour there.

But we weren’t just there for the beer, and whilst exploring the centre we stumbled across a fantastic wine and meat shop on via della mostra called ‘Tito-Il maso dello speck’, where the friendly gentleman with a grand moustache offered us a wine tasting. He really knew his wine and had a great local selection, we tasted a few Pinot Bianco all of fantastic quality for very low prices and we tried a local red called St Magdalener. Technically a table wine, this a light-bodied fruity red, quite basic but an easily drinkable value for money wine, and as the moustachioed man told us…’this wine goes with anything but it’s at its best whilst sitting outside lunching on some fresh ham and bread.’

We stayed in the centrally located ‘Parkhotel Laurin‘, a grand old hotel dating from 1910 but having been beautifully renovated with modern decor that still retains its old world charm. The bar area is beautiful, with a fire in winter to warm yourself against and opulent dark wood decor and comfortable couches to lounge in. There is a nice bar menu, as well as a small patisserie in the corner should you want to partake of a cake or two. The rooms were fresh, airy, tastefully decorated and of a good size, each with an original piece of modern artwork on the wall, the history of which is described on your keycard. Breakfast was served in the dining room, there is an upmarket restaurant there in the evening, and once again the modern decor of this grand old room created a beautifully opulent atmosphere helped along by the fact they serve prosecco at breakfast! The hotel also has some beautiful grounds with sculptures dotted around, and a decent sized swimming pool, I would definitely like to return in summer. Rooms start from €165 

But one of the highlights of our trip was our evening meal at the restaurant ‘Zur Kaiserkron‘.  Classed as the top restaurant in Bolzano the quality was excellent and the staff were friendly and welcoming, there was no air of pretension and we were surrounded by couples, groups and families. The food was exceptional and the wine list excellent, we chose an old Pinot noir which was incredible and went perfectly with our meat dishes and my truffles.

The decor was modern, casual but upmarket and there is an outside terrace for the summer months. Understated elegance not to be missed, make sure you book a table here.

Bolzano also has cable cars, three in total, and before departing my mum and brother convinced me it was a good idea to have a go, despite my slight fear of heights. We chose the one that takes you to Soprabolzano/Renon (apparently the longest cable car route in Europe), a small village with some panoramic terrace bars to relax and enjoy the view from, or you can choose to continue your journey into the mountains on a narrow gauge railway where you will experience a spectacular view of the Dolomites. I was apprehensive to say the least, but the journey is only 12 minutes and they are modern closed cable cars so I agreed and when we set off it didn’t look so bad, just a short ascent to the top of the hill…or so I thought! At the top of the hill  the view opened up across a vast and open valley and the cable car continued its journey across it. When I finally managed to open my eyes I had to admit that the view was absolutely spectacular and the slow speed of the car meant it wasn’t so scary. Unfortunately being out of season we arrived to find all the atmospheric bars closed, and so we had to come straight back down, however we could clearly see that it would have made a wonderful pit stop had any of them been open. Perhaps another testament to travelling to this area in summer! Cable cars to Renon run every 4 minutes from 6.30am until 9.48 station is Via Renon 12, ticket cost €10 return. (double check timetable according to season)