Discover the Highlights of Merano

The Botanic Garden around Empress Sissi's Castel Trauttmansdorff will inspire you all year round. In addition to the special exhibitions in the castle, which are always of interest, eighty landscaped gardens entice you on a trip around the globe. You can gather ideas for your own garden or simply enjoy the artistic handiwork of the 64 hard-working gardeners, who, like leprechauns, perform their work here almost invisibly.

In 1904 a purchaser from the Rhineland acquired the badly-damaged, 13th century castle and rebuilt it in its present bizarre form. In 1955 the castle was purchased by Prince Professor Boris de Rachewitz. His famous American father-in-law, the poet Ezra Pound lived and worked there. Today, the castle is owned by Dr. Siegfried de Rachewitz and houses an Agricultural Museum, which presents exhibitions on the harsh living and working conditions of the mountain farmers in Tyrol.

Fashion holds up the mirror to society. In the heart of our town there is a quite special gem - the Frauenmuseum or Women's Museum at the Piazza del Grano square. There you will find fashion, accessories and selected everyday objects along with the stories of interesting women throughout history.

At the post office bridge begins the "Gilf" promenade, a beatiful circular walk. You'll find mediterranean nature, the sweet statue of Princess Sissi made of the famous Lasa marble, benches and bars where the river turns among beautiful water-shaped boulders. At the end of june the mountain snow melts and arrives downstream in Meran: it's the perfect time for the Canoe World Championship! The Meran route is one of the most difficult in the world. This promenade is ideal for jogging and nordic walking too.

At Archduke Sigmund‘s 'town house', dating from the 15th century with its original furniture and fixtures, there is a wedding hall. Every year more than 100 couples from Merano and other countries get married in this fascinating atmosphere! The climb to the fantastic Tappeinerweg promenade is close beside the castle.

Merano 2000: the biggest cable car in South Tyrol will take you in only 7 minutes at 2.000 meters! You'll find there the summer alpine-bob, many wasy walks, routes to different mountain tops and at least 10 refuges. If you want to avoid the cable car, you can gt by car to Falzeben, at 1.600 m, and from there you can walk towards Piffing in about 1 hour. Our tips starting from Piffing:

1. take the forest rout up to the Waidmann route, at 2.010 m, or down toward the Merano refuge at 1.960 m, a 2 hour walk
2. towards the Kesselberg refuge, at 2.300 m, a 4 hour walk, wich you can make longer by visiting the Kratzberg lake
3. towards the Kuhleiten refuge, at 2.360 m, a 5 hour walk with a beautiful 360° view over Merano
4. towards the Mittager refuge at 2.260 m, with a beautiful view on the Dolomites, you can even use chairlift to walk back. It takes a total of 5 hours.

Climb aboard the modern panoramic train and set off for Val Venosta, a valley full of apple orchards between the Passo di Resia and Merano. You can hire a bike and cycle, or walk to the smallest town in Italy, which has fewer than 900 inhabitants. First mentioned in records in the 12th century and awarded its charter as a town in 1304, it gained wealth and fame as the most important trade link to Switzerland. Protected by a medieval town wall, from 1233 the Prince's Court was held here. Those condemned to death by beheading were given their own cushion. This cushion was supplied by a small farm in the mountains, which is called Polsterhof or Cushion Farm to this day.

This exquisite house beneath the Merano arcades is devoted to contemporary art. The art gallery benefits from 500 m² of exhibition space, where it presents a constantly changing programme of exhibitions, displaying art, architecture, photography, music and literature.

Who has not heard of him? The 5,000 year-old man from the ice. When the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt was being built, Ötzi had already lain buried under snow and ice for 600 years. The way he became mummified by natural processes is absolutely amazing and almost unique. You must visit the museum. It opens up a fascinating picture of life in the Copper Age!