In short
Bolzano is a bilingual city, and that is no folkloric detail: South Tyrol was annexed to Italy in 1919 after being Austrian, and has since enjoyed extensive autonomy. Signs are in German and Italian, most of the province speaks German, and the architecture and food come from the north.
Piazza Walther and the medieval arcades of Via dei Portici form the centre. Gries, to the west, is the former spa commune turned residential.
Arriving and getting around
Bolzano is on the Brenner railway, between Verona and Innsbruck: arriving by train is straightforward from Italy as well as from Austria and Germany. The local airport is tiny; Verona, Innsbruck and Venice serve as gateways.
Three cable cars leave from the city itself for the high plateaux: the Renon/Ritten, San Genesio and Colle. They work as public transport, not as attractions.
The regional mobility card covers trains, buses and some cable cars; many places to stay provide it.
What it really costs
South Tyrol is one of Italy's most prosperous provinces, and prices reflect it: Bolzano is more expensive than the rest of northern Italy.
The Buschenschank and the farm inns of the hinterland serve local food at prices unrelated to those in the city centre.
When to come
May–June and September–October for the mountains. Bolzano is reputed to be one of the hottest cities in Italy in summer, its basin holding the heat.
The Christmas market, from late November to early January, is the oldest in Italy and fills the city.
What nobody tells you
Ötzi, the Iceman, is here. This natural mummy, about 5,300 years old, discovered in 1991 in the Ötztal Alps, is kept at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in a cold chamber visible through a window. It is the main reason to stop in Bolzano, and many travellers pass through without knowing.
Bolzano is the gateway to the Dolomites, World Heritage listed: the Alpe di Siusi, the Catinaccio and Val Gardena are less than an hour away.
The Alto Adige wine road starts south of the city. The province produces mainly whites, which surprises in northern Italy.
