Resia lake - Merano - Trauttmansdorff Castle - Bolzano - Runkelstein Castle - Bressanone - Vipiteno

Route: Innsbruck - Resia lake - Merano - Trauttmansdorff Castle - Bolzano - Runkelstein Castle - Bressanone - Vipiteno - Innsbruck
Duration: 11 h
Our first short stop we will make at the Resia lake with its famous submerged campanile from the 14th century. Next we will stop at Merano with its leafy boulevards, birdsong, oleanders and cacti, Merano feels like a northern Italian Shangri-La. Long lauded for its sunny microclimate, this poignantly pretty town (and one-time Tyrolean capital) was a Habsburg-era spa and the hot destination of its day, favoured by the Austrian royals plus Freud, Kafka and Pound. The Jugendstil (art nouveau) villas, recuperative walks and grand riverside Kurhaus fan out from its intact medieval core. In Murano we will visit to the Trauttmansdorff Sissi Castle where the Austrian empress breathed new life into Trauttmansdorff Castle, The former living quarters of Empress Sissi on the second floor of Trauttmansdorff Castle have been preserved right up to the present day and are open to visitors. The fresco room, which is graced by a richly ornamented wooden ceiling and frescoes dating from 1564, is the oldest room in the castle. It was here that Empress Elisabeth slept in 1870/71; in 1889, this was her toilette room. Also you will visit to the castle's garden.Next stop in the tour will be at Bolzano where our city tour will begin from Piazza Walther, completed in 1808 on the orders of King Massimiliano di Baviera,  the square is also home to the late medieval and Romanesque-style Bolzano Cathedra where you can see the open fretwork of the Bell Tower, built by the Suevian architect, Hans Lutz von Schusseried between 1501 and 1519. During the visit you will see  the oldest sites in Bolzano as the Vicolo della Pesa, the former castle of the Prince-Bishops of Trento, weigh-house of the Casa della Pesa, Via and Piazza della Mostra, and will see the arcades (portici) so characteristic of the city along with the prestigious palaces of Campofranco, Piazza del Municipio, and stroll along Via Bottai and Via Joseph Streiter to admire the glorious ironwork signs and enchanting inns. Continue  we will go along Via Argentieri and through Piazza delle Erbe to reach the Dominican church where the friars who settled in 1272 built their church inside a large convent of different chapels and a magnificent cloister. The jewel of the entire complex is the long and narrow side chapel of the Cappella di San Giovanni with the most magnificent fresco cycle of the Giotto School. Then, take a 30-minute walk to medieval Roncolo Castle, famous for its fresco cycle with illustrations of authentic knight sagas, literature scenarios, court ladies, farm life and hunting scenes from the Middle Ages. For those interested in the arts and history this is an especially perfect place. Our next short stop will be at Bressanone oldest city, dating to 901, might be the picture of small-town calm, but it has a grand ecclesiastical past and a lively, cultured side. Stunning baroque architecture is set against a beguiling Alpine backdrop; a stately piazza leads into a tight medieval core; and pretty paths trace the fast-moving Isarco river. During our visit you will see the heart of the city, the Piazza del Duomo , the magnificent facades of the cathedral and Parish Church of St. Michael , an interesting fountain on the south end of with a bronze sculpture by Martin Rainer  and more . Next short stop will be the town of Vipiteno is more Austrian in feel than Italian, not surprisingly given its location so close to the border, and is listed as one of the most beautiful villages of Italy. The main street in the town, called the Via Citta Nuova, has a good number of attractive grand Renaissance period villas to admire. Many of them have attractive period details, and it is the overall unity and absence of anything more 'modern' that creates the charm of this street. After we will return to Innsbruck.
Price: Per person