Bolzano's bike routes

A bike ride past the main sights of the town and its surroundings

The beginning of our Bolzano bike-tour is the Talvera/Talfer bridge. We follow the cycle-lane along the left-hand bank of the river, going northwards, passing idyllic Castle Mareccio/Maretsch, nestling in the vineyards, up to Sant'Antonio/St. Anton, where the valley begins to narrow, and on to the fairy-tale Castle Roncolo/Runkelstein with its amazing frescoes. After visiting the castle (leave your bike in the bike-park below, before walking up the short but steep path to the castle), you make your way back to the Talfer bridge. At the Piazza Vittoria/Siegesplatz you could visit the new museum-display entitled "BZ 18-45" in the crypt of the Victory Monument. Then we cycle down the Corso Libertá/Freiheitsstrasse to the square of Gries, formerly a village-municipality in its own right and an internationally-renowned spa. The square is dominated by the massive baroque parish church and Benedictine monastery. Nearby is the old parish church of Gries with its romantic cemetery outside and a gem of Gothic wood-carving inside, the beautiful altar by Michael Pacher. From Gries we take the Vittorio Veneto street westwards. For the first 100 metres you will really need to pay attention to the traffic until you hit the cycle lane again. You then pass farms and vineyards before you come to the hospital.  Here the cycle lane forks and you head for the Via Druso/Drususstraße. At the big roundabout follow the signs for Appiano/Eppan as far as the bridge, then take the cycle lane to Castle Firmiano/Sigmundskron and the Messner Mountain Museum. The way back follows the bank of the Isarco/Eisack river, passing below several bridges. After the swimming pool complex we turn left just before the yellow iron bridge, now following the Talvera river until we come opposite the futuristic glass cube of the Museion modern art gallery. We are now back in the town centre, but we have to watch out: the Via Museo/Museumstraße, the Piazza Erbe/Obstplatz and the Piazza Walther Platz are pedestrianized and closed to cyclists, so that means pushing the bike. If you still have got some energy left, you could visit the Ötzi Museum, the Civic museum or the Natural History Museum.