Where to Stay in Bolzano? The 5 Best Areas & Places to Stay

Bolzano, known as Bozen in German, is the capital of South Tyrol, and here Italian and German life sit side by side. If you’re wondering where to stay in Bolzano, start with the Old Town: with its arcades along Via dei Portici and the large Piazza Walther, it’s small and easy to explore on foot, and just outside the city the vineyards and mountains rise up.

Bolzano is also the gateway to the Dolomites. Buses run from here out into the valleys, and the cable car takes you up to the Renon plateau in 12 minutes. So the question of where to stay in Bolzano really comes down to how you want to get around. Here are my five suggestions, with three hotels in each area.

Where to Stay in Bolzano: The Best Areas

• Old Town - best area for first-time visitors
• Near the railway station - best area for day trips to the Dolomites without a car
• Gries - best area for peace, quiet and wine
• Soprabolzano on the Renon - best area for families and hikers
• Appiano on the Wine Road - best area for drivers and wine lovers

Bolzano sits at the bottom of a valley where the Talvera and Isarco rivers meet, and the centre is so small that the first two areas are just a few minutes’ walk from each other. Gries lies on the other side of the Talvera, while Renon and Appiano are outside the city, up on the plateau and out among the vineyards. The prices below come from a search for a weekend in June for two people, so expect them to rise in high season and during the Christmas market weeks.

1. Old Town - best area for first-time visitors 🏰

• 📍 Distance to the centre: You’re right in the centre. From Piazza Walther it’s a two-minute walk to the arcades of Via dei Portici and about five minutes to the railway station.
• 🚶 Transport: You walk everywhere. The whole Old Town is a limited traffic zone, so your car has to stay in the hotel’s garage or in a multi-storey car park such as Bolzano Centro, a five-minute walk from Piazza Walther.
• ✈️ Time from the airport: About 15 minutes by taxi from Bolzano’s small airport south of the city, and about two hours by airport bus and train from Verona Airport.
• 💰 Price level: €€ to €€€€. The three places below came to around 156 to 431 euros (around £130 to £360) per night when I searched for a weekend in June.
• 👮 Safety: Very safe, even late in the evening. Keep an eye on your bag in the crowds when the Christmas market fills the squares.

The Old Town is the heart of Bolzano, built around Piazza Walther, the large square with the statue of the medieval poet Walther von der Vogelweide. On one side of the square stands the cathedral with its Gothic spire and colourful tiled roof, and from here it’s just a few steps to Via dei Portici. This is the city’s old trading street, lined on both sides with low arcades where merchants have done business for centuries, and today shops, cafés and pastry shops sit side by side.

At the end of the arcades lies Piazza delle Erbe with its fruit and vegetable market, and just round the corner you’ll find the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology, home to Ötzi the Iceman. He is more than 5,000 years old and was found in the ice high up in the Alps, and a ticket costs 13 euros (around £11). If you’d like the city’s history too, you can take a guided walking tour of the Old Town for around 30 euros (around £25).

See hotels in the Old Town here.

I’d stay here if it’s your first trip to Bolzano, or if you’re coming at Christmas. During Advent and until early January, the city’s Christmas market fills Piazza Walther and the surrounding streets with wooden stalls selling crafts, speck, mulled wine and wine from Bolzano’s own grapes, Lagrein and Santa Maddalena. During those weeks the Old Town hotels are booked up well in advance, so book early.

The downsides are the price and the car. The Old Town is the most expensive area in the city, and the zone is monitored by cameras around the clock, so you mustn’t drive in without an arrangement with your hotel. Many hotels have their own garage or a deal with a car park, and at the three places below it costs 10 to 22 euros (around £8 to £18) a day. In summer Bolzano can get very hot down in the valley, so check that your room has air conditioning.

Hotels in the Old Town

Hotel Greif - design hotel in a historic building on Piazza Walther

Hotel Greif sits right on Piazza Walther and is an official four-star design hotel in a historic building, with breakfast included. It scores 9.1 from more than 1,100 reviews, and guests can swim in the pool at a partner hotel nearby. Parking costs 22 euros (around £18) a day, and one guest wasn’t happy about having to carry luggage up and down stairs between the garage lift and reception.

One guest writes: “We loved everything about the hotel, from the excellent central location with underground parking to the luxurious, enormous bedroom.”

See photos and book Hotel Greif here.

Feichter Hotel & Living - highly rated hotel a couple of minutes from Piazza Walther

Feichter is on a side street east of Piazza Walther, a couple of minutes’ walk from both the cathedral and the arcades. It’s an official three-star hotel with a terrace and breakfast included, and it scores 9.3 from more than 1,200 reviews. Parking costs 15 euros (around £13) a day, the lift doesn’t reach every room type, and one guest missed having a coffee machine in the room.

From one review: “The location was excellent, and the staff were very helpful, polite and friendly.”

See photos and book Feichter Hotel & Living here.

Lauben Suite Old Town Bolzano - apartment with a kitchenette just behind the arcades

Lauben Suite is on Via Dr. Streiter, which runs parallel to the arcades of Via dei Portici, and is an apartment with a kitchenette, a lift and a sun terrace. It scores 9.0 from more than 250 reviews, and it was the cheapest of my three Old Town suggestions when I searched. There’s no breakfast, and parking costs 10 euros (around £8) per night.

One guest highlights: “It’s the homeliest apartment I’ve ever stayed in.”

See photos and book Lauben Suite here.

2. Near the Railway Station – best area for day trips to the Dolomites without a car 🚆

• 📍 Distance to the centre: You’re on the south-eastern edge of the centre. From the railway station, it’s about a five-minute walk to Piazza Walther.
• 🚆 Transport: Trains to Verona, Innsbruck and Merano leave from the railway station, regional buses stop at the bus station right next door, and the cable car to Renon is less than a ten-minute walk away.
• ✈️ Time from the airport: About two hours from Verona Airport by airport bus and train, and about five hours from Munich Airport by S-Bahn and train over the Brenner Pass.
• 💰 Price level: €€ to €€€€. The three places below cost around €184 to €302 (around £155 to £255) per night when I searched for a weekend in June.
• 👮 Safety: Busy and safe during the day. As with most railway stations, the atmosphere around the station is less pleasant late in the evening, so take the direct route back.

The area between the railway station and Piazza Walther is Bolzano’s transport hub. Trains run over the Brenner Pass towards Innsbruck and Munich and south towards Verona, and next to the station is the bus station, where regional buses head out into the valleys. Between the station and the Old Town is the new WaltherPark with its shops, and a few streets further east you’ll find the valley station for the cable car to Renon.

This is where to stay in Bolzano if you want to see the Dolomites without a car. The mountains, which are on the UNESCO World Heritage List, begin just east of the city, and buses run from the bus station to the villages below Alpe di Siusi and to Val Gardena. The journey to the villages below Alpe di Siusi takes 30 to 50 minutes, and to Ortisei in Val Gardena about an hour. You’ll find the timetables at South Tyrol’s transport company, and if you’d rather stay among the mountains, I’ve gathered the best bases in my guide to where to stay in the Dolomites.

See hotels near the railway station here.

Ask your hotel about the city’s guest card. Many hotels in Bolzano give it out for free, and with the guest card you travel free on regional trains, regional buses and cable cars throughout South Tyrol for the length of your stay. That makes day trips much cheaper. The train is also the easy choice for travelling further, as Innsbruck is about two hours away over the Brenner Pass and Verona an hour and a half to just under two hours to the south. My guide to trains in Italy explains the ticket types, and if you’re moving on, you can read about where to stay in Innsbruck and Verona.

The downside is that the area around the station is busier with traffic and less charming than the Old Town. On the other hand, the Old Town is only five minutes away, and several hotels have their own garage, so you avoid the limited traffic zone. If you’re landing in Munich, you can read my guide to getting from Munich Airport to the city centre before you take the train south.

Hotels near the railway station

Falkensteiner Hotel Bozen WaltherPark – five-star hotel with a spa between the station and the Old Town

Falkensteiner is in WaltherPark between the railway station and Piazza Walther and is an official five-star hotel with a spa, sauna, gym and restaurant. The breakfast buffet is included, it scores 9.2 from more than 700 reviews, and parking costs €22 (around £18) a day. The only thing one guest missed was a swimming pool.

One guest writes on Booking.com: “This five-star hotel adds great value to the city.”

See photos and book Falkensteiner WaltherPark here.

Parkhotel Mondschein – design hotel with a park and an outdoor pool

Parkhotel Mondschein is on Via Piave between the Old Town and the cable car to Renon and is an official four-star design hotel with a park, a seasonal outdoor pool, a sauna and a gym. Breakfast is included, and it scores 8.5 from more than 2,300 reviews. Parking costs €28 (around £23) a day, and one guest felt there were too few sun loungers by the pool.

From a review: “The facilities and the decor of the room were perfect.”

See photos and book Parkhotel Mondschein here.

Mia Rooms Bolzano Center – simple en-suite rooms close to the station

Mia Rooms is on Via Crispi, a few minutes’ walk north-east of the railway station, and has en-suite rooms in an apartment. It scores 8.6 from more than 200 reviews, and it was the cheapest of my three suggestions near the railway station when I searched. There’s no breakfast, and one guest found that the air conditioning was broken and the wi-fi didn’t reach the rooms.

One guest says: “Modern and clean apartment with comfortable beds.”

See photos and book Mia Rooms here.

3. Gries - best area for peace, quiet and wine 🍷

• 📍 Distance to the centre: You stay west of the River Talvera. From Piazza Gries it’s around a 20-minute walk to Piazza Walther.
• 🚌 Transport: City buses run along Corso Libertà into the centre, and you’re outside the limited traffic zone, so it’s easier to have a car.
• ✈️ Time from the airport: Around 15 minutes by taxi from Bolzano Airport and around two hours by bus and train from Verona Airport.
• 💰 Price level: €€ to €€€. The three places below cost around 180 to 340 euros (roughly £150 to £285) per night when I searched for a weekend in June.
• 👮 Safety: Very safe and quiet. Gries is an affluent residential area with villas and gardens.

Gries was once an independent village where many prominent figures holidayed in the Austro-Hungarian era, and it only became part of Bolzano in 1925. You can still sense this, as the district has its own square, Piazza Gries, with the baroque façade of the Muri-Gries Abbey. Benedictine monks from Muri in Switzerland took over the abbey in 1845, and it still has a wine cellar right in the middle of the neighbourhood, where they make wine from Lagrein, one of South Tyrol’s most important local grapes.

From Gries, the Guncina promenade climbs the slope behind the villas with views over the city and the mountains, and down towards the river lie the green meadows along the Talvera, where locals jog, stroll and sunbathe in summer. In the evening it’s quiet here, and you’ll eat at a wine tavern or a pizzeria in the neighbourhood rather than in the tourist streets. If you’d like to taste the local wines with a guide, you can join a walk with wine tasting at the Thurnhof winery for around 35 euros (about £30).

See hotels in Gries here.

I’d stay in Gries if you’re staying several days, arriving by car or want more peace and quiet than the Old Town can offer. You’re outside the limited traffic zone, parking is cheaper or free, and from Gries you’re quickly on the road towards Merano and the Wine Road. In the evening you can walk across the bridge over the Talvera and be in the Old Town in about 15 minutes.

The downsides are the distance and the choice. It’s a 20-minute walk from Piazza Gries to Piazza Walther, and there are only a few hotels here, so you’ll often have to choose between a simple hotel and an apartment. Restaurants are more spread out than in the centre, and if you stay right out among the vineyards at the western end of Gries, you’ll need to take the bus into town.

Hotels in Gries

Garden Suite - apartment with a garden by the Guncina promenade

Garden Suite is on Via Guncina in the eastern part of Gries, around a 20-minute walk from Piazza Walther, and is an apartment with a kitchen, garden, terrace and private parking. It scores 9.4 from over 150 reviews, and it was the most expensive of my three suggestions in Gries. There’s no breakfast, and one guest felt the apartment was a little basic and that a few extra touches would have made a big difference.

From a review: “The neighbourhood is lovely. Peaceful and very beautiful.”

See photos and book Garden Suite here.

Hotel Post Gries - classic hotel with a restaurant on Piazza Gries

Hotel Post Gries is on Corso Libertà by Piazza Gries and is an officially three-star hotel with a restaurant serving traditional food, a bar and a terrace. Parking in a nearby car park costs 10 euros (around £8) a day, and it scores 8.4 from over 1,600 reviews. One guest felt breakfast could be better and that the pillow was very poor.

One guest writes: “The location is good, the car park is close by, and then there’s the cleanliness and the quality of the bed linen.”

See photos and book Hotel Post Gries here.

Kaiserau-Höfl - apartments among the vineyards with free parking

Kaiserau-Höfl sits among the vineyards on the western edge of Gries and has apartments with a kitchenette, a garden, a playground and free parking. It scores 9.6 from over 270 reviews, and it was the cheapest of my three suggestions in Gries when I searched. It’s a five-minute walk to the bus but around half an hour on foot into the Old Town, and one guest missed having somewhere to wash and iron clothes.

One guest highlights: “An absolutely fantastic little gem in the middle of the vineyards.”

See photos and book Kaiserau-Höfl here.

4. Soprabolzano on the Renon - best area for families and hikers 🚠

• 📍 Distance to the centre: You stay on the Renon plateau, around 1,200 metres above sea level. The cable car takes you down to Bolzano in 12 minutes, and from the valley station it’s about a ten-minute walk to Piazza Walther.
• 🚠 Transport: The cable car runs every 4 to 12 minutes, and up on the plateau the old mountain railway continues on towards Collalbo.
• ✈️ Time from the airport: About half an hour from Bolzano’s airport by taxi to the cable car and on up, and about two and a half hours from Verona Airport by bus, train and cable car.
• 💰 Price level: €€ to €€€€. The three places below cost around €179 to €566 (around £150 to £475) per night when I searched for a weekend in June.
• 👮 Safety: Very safe and quiet. The paths are dark in the evening, so bring a torch if you’re walking back after dinner.

The Renon is a broad plateau of meadows, forests and small villages high above Bolzano, and Soprabolzano is the village where the cable car from the city arrives. For more than a hundred years, the people of Bolzano have come up here to escape the summer heat down in the valley, and from the plateau you look across to the jagged peaks of the Dolomites and the great Schlern massif. The village is small, with a few hotels, cafés and a shop around the station.

From Soprabolzano, the narrow-gauge mountain railway, which opened in 1907, runs about seven kilometres across the plateau to Collalbo. From there you can walk out to the earth pyramids at Longomoso, tall columns of clay topped with a stone, which are the plateau’s best-known sight. According to the Renon tourist office, a return ticket on the cable car costs €13.50 (around £11), or €20.50 (around £17) if you add the mountain railway.

See hotels in Soprabolzano and on the Renon here.

I would stay here if you’re a family, want to go hiking or are visiting in summer, when it’s several degrees cooler than down in Bolzano. Many hotels on the plateau give you the RittenCard guest card, which includes free public transport in South Tyrol, so you can take the cable car down into the city by day and be back in the peace and quiet by evening. In winter there’s a small ski area on Corno del Renon in the northern part of the plateau.

The downside is that the cable car is your link to the city. It closes at night, so a late dinner in the Old Town has to be planned around the last departure, or you’ll need a taxi up the winding road. Restaurants are also few and far between up here, and the hotels are spread out across the plateau, so you’ll do a fair bit of walking if you don’t have a car.

Hotels in Soprabolzano and on the Renon

Parkhotel Holzner - family hotel with pools right by the cable car

Parkhotel Holzner sits in the middle of Soprabolzano, right by the cable car’s top station, and is an official four-star hotel with indoor and outdoor pools, a spa, a tennis court and free parking. The RittenCard is included, and it scores 9.7, although the hotel has only 11 reviews on Booking.com. It’s the most expensive hotel in this guide, and one guest felt the children’s menus could have been easier to navigate.

One guest writes: “It was an absolutely fantastic setting, which we reached by flying to Bolzano and then taking the cable car up to the hotel.”

See photos and book Parkhotel Holzner here.

Hotel Lichtenstern - family-run hotel with a pool and views

Hotel Lichtenstern is at Stella, east of Soprabolzano, where the mountain railway has a stop, and is an official three-star hotel with a restaurant, sauna, garden and an outdoor pool with views. It scores 9.4 from over 120 reviews, and parking is free. The pool is only open from May to early October, so outside the season you’ll have to make do with the sauna.

From one review: “We had a lovely stay at this charming family-run hotel.”

See photos and book Hotel Lichtenstern here.

Eden Apartment - apartment with an infinity pool and free parking

Eden Apartment is in the southern part of Soprabolzano, about a kilometre from the cable car, and has apartments with an infinity pool, garden, terrace and free parking. The RittenCard is included, it scores 9.2 from over 100 reviews, and it was the cheapest of my three suggestions on the Renon when I searched. The car park is some distance from the house, though.

One guest says: “We really enjoyed our stay! The apartment was spacious and comfortable.”

See photos and book Eden Apartment here.

5. Appiano on the Wine Road - best area for drivers and wine lovers 🚗

• 📍 Distance to the centre: Around ten kilometres south-west of Bolzano. Allow about 20 minutes by car to a multi-storey car park in town.
• 🚗 Getting around: A car is easiest, but regional buses also run between Appiano and Bolzano.
• ✈️ Time from the airport: Around 20 minutes by car from Bolzano Airport and around two hours by car from Verona Airport.
• 💰 Price level: €€ to €€€. The three places below cost around 166 to 346 euros (around £140 to £290) per night when I searched for a weekend in June.
• 👮 Safety: Very safe and quiet. Drive carefully on the narrow roads between the vineyards, especially after dark.

Appiano sulla Strada del Vino is a municipality made up of several villages on the Wine Road south-west of Bolzano, and its main village is San Michele. According to South Tyrol’s tourist board, there are more than 180 castles, palaces and manor houses in the municipality, and between them the vineyards lie close together, with wineries where you can taste the local white wines and red Lagrein.

In the forest south-east of San Michele are the two Monticolo lakes, where you can swim in summer, and further south is Lago di Caldaro, considered one of the warmest swimming lakes in the Alps. On the road towards Bolzano stands Sigmundskron Castle, where the mountaineer Reinhold Messner has set up his MMM Firmian mountain museum. It’s open from March to November but closed on Thursdays, and a ticket costs 15 euros (around £13).

See hotels in Appiano here.

I’d stay here if you’re on a road trip and want to combine the Dolomites with wine and swimming lakes. From Appiano you can head up into the mountains without driving through central Bolzano, and Lake Garda is around an hour and a half to the south if you’re moving on. You can compare prices on car hire at Booking.com, and if you’re heading down to the lake afterwards, you can read my guide to where to stay on Lake Garda.

The downside is that you can’t walk home after dinner in Bolzano. One of you will have to drive, or you’ll need to take the bus back, and if you’re staying up in the hills, it’s a long way to the nearest stop. If you drive into town, park outside the limited traffic zone. According to the tourist office, the car park at the Fiera exhibition centre in the south of the city has 1,300 spaces and a bus to the centre every 15 minutes, and from Bolzano Sud station the train takes three minutes to the main station.

Hotels in Appiano

Schloss Englar - 15th-century castle hotel among the vineyards

Schloss Englar sits on the edge of San Michele and is a 15th-century castle that is now an officially four-star hotel with an outdoor pool, garden and free parking. It scores 9.8, the highest in this guide, but there’s no restaurant, only breakfast, and one guest felt the price didn’t match a hotel without a lift.

One guest writes on Booking.com: “Fantastic place, exceptional staff and a lovely breakfast.”

See photos and book Schloss Englar here.

Hotel Ansitz Rungghof - manor house hotel with pool and restaurant

Ansitz Rungghof lies east of San Michele towards Bolzano and is an officially four-star hotel with a seasonal outdoor pool, sauna, restaurant and free parking. It scores 9.2 from just under 200 reviews. One guest was unhappy that hotel guests were mostly seated in a less appealing room than the restaurant’s other diners at mealtimes.

From one review: “Very good breakfast and dinner.”

See photos and book Ansitz Rungghof here.

Kreuzstein Bed&Breakfast - B&B with a great breakfast in the hills

Kreuzstein sits up in the hills north-west of San Michele and is an officially three-star B&B with a garden, sun terrace, bar and free parking. It scores 9.3, and it was the cheapest of my three suggestions in Appiano when I searched. The bar is closed in winter and there’s no restaurant, so for dinner you’ll need to head down to the village.

One guest highlights: “Breakfast was a real highlight, fresh, delicious and beautifully presented every morning.”

See photos and book Kreuzstein here.

Where not to stay in Bolzano?

Many flats on the booking sites are in the modern residential districts south of the River Isarco or out by the industrial area around Bolzano Sud, and on the map they look close. From there it’s a long way to the Old Town, there are few restaurants and not much atmosphere in the evening, so check the address before you book. Don’t drive into the Old Town either unless your hotel has given you access, as the zone is monitored by cameras around the clock. And if you plan to hike in the Dolomites every single day, you’re better off staying up in the valleys, as the drive from Bolzano takes 45 to 60 minutes each way. Bolzano is at its best when you want a mix of city life, wine and day trips.

If it’s your first trip to Bolzano, I’d stay in the Old Town close to Piazza Walther. If you want to see the Dolomites without a car, stay near the railway station, and if you want peace and slightly lower prices, Gries is the right choice. If you’re travelling with children or want to hike in summer, take the cable car up to Soprabolzano, and if you’re on a road trip, Appiano on the Wine Road makes a good base.

Give Bolzano at least two nights, so you get both a day in the city and a day on the Renon or out in the mountains. And if you’re travelling further around the country, I’ve gathered the best regions and cities in my guide to where to stay in Italy.

Travel ressources & websites I use all the time 👇

• Booking.com has the best offers on hotels and unique places to stay
• GetYourGuide is the best place to book tours & activities with free cancellation
• Welcome Pickups is the best & safest place to pre-book airport transfers

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