Bolzano around Christmas time is the best time of the year. There you will find the Christmas market, a fusion of Austrian and Italian traditions. Piazza Walther is filled for the duration of the event, one of the most important events in the city's calendar and the perfect way to get in the mood for Christmas celebrations. There is another Bolzano too, which merits exploration. It is a modern city, curious and open to artistic ideas both from Italy and Europe as a whole.
This is the Bolzano that came up with innovative projects such as the Museion, a new museum of modern and contemporary art. Far from just a picture gallery, it is built to a futuristic design with great walls of glass that are transformed into gigantic screens after dark.
There are plenty of ways of keeping warm in the cold days leading up to Chrismas; and the city is even more enchanting when it snows, as it may very well do. To check the current weather in Bolzano, click here.
Bolzano is the gateway to the Alto Adige. The closest airport is Verona, about 93 miles away, with good road links. Bolzano is served by an extensive network of public transportation. For more information visit the Travel page.
Centrally located but in a quiet place, Hotel Greif is a perfect blend of art, history, and modern comfort. In the center of Bolzano, the Park-Hotel Mondschein-Luna has elegant rooms with four-poster beds.
Top-quality cooking in elegant surroundings is offered by the restaurant of the Hotel Laurin. Bolzano's Ca' de Bezzi has been service food for over 600 years and offers a range of delicious local dishis.
The market of Piazza Walther is where you can browse the stalls laden with handicrafts and Christmas decorations. Sample the typical cakes such as apple studel and zelten, a rich Christmas cake made with cadied fruit.
Later, visit the Gothic cathedral, flanked by a 16th-century bell tower. Look out for the pulpit, decorated with lizards and cherubs holding stonemason's tools.
Explore the city by starting off at the Chiesa dei Domenicani, where you can admire a chapel entirely covered in frescoes of the Giotto school.
In Piazza delle Erbe, browse the stalls in what is the most "Mediterranean" corner of Bolzano. After lunch, visit the Museion, as much of interest for its building as for the collections and exhibitions on show.