Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Bolzano (€5, almost hourly) is an easy 40-minute trip from Merano train station (Piazza
Stazione), while the Venosta/Vinschgau line heads west to Malles, from where you can
catch buses to Switzerland or Austria.
Hire a bike and helmet next door to the
train station
; the
bikemobil card
(
www.suedtirolbike.it
;
1/3/7 days €24/30/34, children half price; Apr-Nov)
includes both rental and
unlimited regional train travel. Bike trails track the 65km route between Bolzano, Merano
and Malles.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Val Venosta (Vinschgau)
This north-western valley is prettily pastoral, dotted with orchards, farms and small-scale,
often creative, industries including marble quarries and workshops. It may feel remote,
nestled as it is within the embrace of towering, snowy alps, but for much of its history it
was a vibrant border zone, long on the road to somewhere.
Sights
Glorenza
(Glurns)
A walled medieval town, Glorenza was once a kingpin in the region's salt trade.
Its pristine burgher houses, colonnaded shops, town gates, fortifications and ramparts
were faithfully restored in the 1970s, and while it's certainly picturesque, it retains a com-
forting normalcy, with the road to Switzerland passing through its very centre.
VILLAGE
Marienberg
(
www.marienberg.it
;
Malles; museum entrance adult/reduced €5/2.50; 10am-7pm Mon-Sat, closed Jan,
Feb & Nov)
The beautiful Benedictine monastery of Marienberg, perched up some 1340m
above
Malles
, has a museum dedicated to its eight centuries of monastic life, though the
view and architecture are worth the drive up alone.
MONASTERY
Lago di Resia
Just before the Passo di Resia and Austrian border, is the deep blue Lago do Resia, a res-
ult of 1950s dam projects. This is a popular destination for sailing and kiteboarding in
summer, and ice-fishing and snowkiting in winter, as well as a gateway to the Skiparadies
LAKE
