Hotels in
78 properties found
Merano owes its character to two centuries of spa tourism: it was Sissi who made it a climatic resort of European renown, and since then the town has lived on promenades, gardens and waters. The microclimate of the basin lets palms and olives grow within sight of snow-covered peaks.
78 properties found
A luxury hotel surrounded by greenery in Merano, with a Longevity medical centre, indoor and outdoor pools, and rooms with views of the South Tyrolean Alps and vineyards.
4-star hotel in Maia Alta, between Merano and the mountains, with indoor and outdoor pools, spa and garden with panoramic sun terrace.
A bed and breakfast in the heart of Merano, with an in-house restaurant, panoramic terrace and air-conditioned rooms just steps from the old town and Sissi's Gardens.
An ancient hunting castle transformed into a charming hotel in the mountains above Merano, with a panoramic spa, heated pool and gourmet cuisine based on local produce.
A bed and breakfast in the historic centre of Merano, with air-conditioned suites, a shared garden and views over the city or the mountains, just steps from the main landmarks.
A bed and breakfast in the heart of Merano, among historic arcades and mountain views, with buffet breakfast and personalized air-conditioned rooms.
Family-run hotel in Merano, one kilometre from the centre, with an outdoor pool, wellness area and views over the surrounding vineyards.
An Art Nouveau villa in Merano, set in a Mediterranean park with a pool, sauna and rooms with mountain-view balconies, ideal for a romantic couple's getaway.
A 3-star hotel on the hills of Merano, with an outdoor pool, free bicycles and panoramic rooms overlooking the Texel or the city.
The town lies in a sheltered basin where the river Passirio meets the Adige, and that position gave it the microclimate on which its fortune was built: palms, Himalayan cedars and olive trees grow a short way from slopes that stay under snow for months. On this basis a spa tradition has developed over more than two hundred years.
In the second half of the nineteenth century the empress Elisabeth of Austria stayed in Merano four times, lodging at Castel Trauttmansdorff for winter cures. Those stays were enough to raise the town to the rank of a climatic resort of European renown: those who could afford it came here, and the centre filled with villas, hotels and Art Nouveau façades that still sit alongside the medieval glimpses of Via dei Portici and Piazza Duomo.
Walking, in Merano, was considered a therapy. The Terrainkur, devised in Germany in the nineteenth century, prescribed gently rising routes for measurable cardiovascular benefit, and the town was among the first to apply it, turning its streets into instruments of care. The Tappeiner promenade was born this way: in 1892 the physician Franz Tappeiner donated twenty-two thousand florins for a panoramic path intended for guests taking the cure. It runs some four kilometres along the mountainside, among cork oaks, eucalyptus, palms and agaves. The Sissi Trail, three and a half kilometres, links the centre to the Trauttmansdorff gardens, while the Waalwege follow the old irrigation channels through orchards and vineyards.
Around the castle where the empress stayed now stretch twelve hectares of botanical gardens, opened in 2001, with some seven kilometres of paths recreating eighty different plant environments. In spring more than three hundred and fifty thousand bulbs come into flower. The castle houses the Touriseum, a museum devoted to the history of South Tyrolean tourism, which also tells the other side of Merano’s fame.
Between late March and late April the basin fills with apple blossom, and it is the finest moment of the year. Autumn brings Törggelen and the foliage, winter the Christmas market along the Passirio. The spa is open all year. Bolzano is half an hour by train, and the Venosta and Passiria valleys open behind the town. For more see where to stay in Merano and our guide to spa and wellness hotels; an overview is in where to stay in Trentino-Alto Adige.
