Vorarlberg
3
Day Itinerary •
Austria
Three days in Vorarlberg take you to Austria's westernmost and most architecturally extraordinary region, where the Bodensee lake borders Germany and Switzerland, the extraordinary Bregenz Festival stages opera on the largest floating stage in the world, the Bregenzerwald valley has the finest concentration of contemporary architecture in rural Austria, and the Montafon valley rises to the extraordinary Silvretta reservoir at 2,036 metres. This route covers the essential Vorarlberg. Bregenz's extraordinary lakefront and the Roman fortifications above the old town, the Bregenzerwald with its extraordinary cheese culture and remarkable modern architecture by Peter Zumthor and Cukrowicz Nachbaur, and the extraordinary Montafon valley with its traditional Walserdorf villages and the Silvretta Alpine road.
Best Time To Visit
June to September or December to March
Getting There
Fly into Zurich or Friedrichshafen, train to Bregenz 1 hour
Getting Around
Car essential for Bregenzerwald and Montafon
Budget Per Day
Approx 90 to 170 euros per person per day
Difficulity
Easy to moderate, walking and driving
DAY 1
BREGENZ AND THE BODENSEE
MORNING
BREGENZ OLD TOWN AND THE BODENSEE
Bregenz is the most extraordinary lakeside city in Austria, its extraordinary upper town of Roman and medieval origin rising on a hill above the Bodensee, the largest lake in the German-speaking world shared between Austria, Germany and Switzerland. The Martinsturm, a medieval tower crowned with an extraordinary Baroque onion dome, is the oldest building in Vorarlberg. The extraordinary Roman fort of Brigantium beneath the old town is the finest Roman site in western Austria. The lakefront promenade gives views of three countries. Travel: 15 min walk to stage
MIDDAY
THE BREGENZ FESTIVAL STAGE AND KUNSTHAUS
The Bregenz Festival floating stage on the Bodensee is the largest open-air opera stage in the world, seating 7,000 people with the lake as backdrop and the Alps beyond. Even outside the festival season the extraordinary stage set construction visible from the lakefront is remarkable. The Kunsthaus Bregenz by Peter Zumthor, completed in 1997, is the finest contemporary art museum in Austria, its extraordinary light-filled glass and steel skin one of the most celebrated buildings of the 20th century. Travel: 30 min ferry to Lindau
AFTERNOON
LINDAU, THE ISLAND TOWN ON THE BODENSEE
Lindau is the most extraordinary small town on the Bodensee, a medieval island city connected to the German shore by a bridge, its extraordinary harbour entrance guarded by a lighthouse and the Bavarian lion. The extraordinary Altstadt on the island contains the finest collection of medieval guild houses on the lake, the remarkable Diebsturm tower and the extraordinary Barfusserkirche. The ferry back to Bregenz gives the finest view of the Vorarlberg Alps above the lake.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The Pfänder mountain above Bregenz at 1,064 metres gives the most extraordinary panorama over the Bodensee, the entire lake visible from Germany to Switzerland with the Alps rising behind Bregenz in extraordinary clarity. The cable car from Bregenz takes 7 minutes, approx 14 euros return. The view at sunset over the Bodensee with three countries visible is the finest in Vorarlberg.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Cafe Deuring Schlossle, Bregenz Outstanding breakfast in the extraordinary castle hotel above the old town. | Lunch: Restaurant Wirtshaus am See, Bregenz Outstanding lakeside restaurant. Local Bodensee perch and Austrian white wine. | Dinner: Restaurant Mangold, Bregenz The finest restaurant in Bregenz. Local Bodensee fish and extraordinary Vorarlberg cheese.
DAY 2
THE BREGENZERWALD
MORNING
THE BREGENZERWALD, ARCHITECTURE AND CHEESE
The Bregenzerwald valley is the most extraordinary combination of architecture and agricultural tradition in Austria, its extraordinary concentration of contemporary buildings by Peter Zumthor, Cukrowicz Nachbaur and Hermann Kaufmann alongside the finest cheese culture in the country giving a unique character. The Werkraumhaus in Andelsbuch by Bernardo Bader is the most extraordinary recent addition, a remarkable community building that won the EU Mies van der Rohe Award. The cheese dairy at Lingenau is outstanding. Travel: 30 min drive up valley
MIDDAY
BEZAU AND THE BREGENZERWALD CHEESE ROAD
Bezau is the most charming village in the Bregenzerwald, its extraordinary traditional wooden farmhouses with their extraordinary decorated facades and the remarkable Bezau Museum of Bregenzerwald history and craft giving an authentic insight into this extraordinary Alpine culture. The Käsestrasse cheese road connecting the dairy farms of the Bregenzerwald is the finest cheese trail in Austria, the local Bergkase and Sennkase among the finest Alpine cheeses in the world. Most dairies offer free tastings. Travel: 45 min drive to Schwarzenberg
AFTERNOON
SCHWARZENBERG AND THE ANGELIKA KAUFFMANN MUSEUM
Schwarzenberg is the most extraordinary cultural village in the Bregenzerwald, its remarkable Baroque church containing the finest collection of paintings by Angelika Kauffmann, the greatest female painter of the 18th century, who was born in Chur in 1741 and is buried in Rome. The extraordinary Kauffmann Museum in the village tells the story of her extraordinary life and career in London, Rome and Naples. The village is entirely free to walk. Museum entry approx 8 euros.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The Dornbirn Rappenloch gorge near the Bodensee is the most extraordinary natural gorge in Vorarlberg, a narrow canyon cut through limestone by the Ach river with extraordinary waterfalls and rock formations. The walk through the gorge takes approximately 1 hour and is free. The extraordinary alpine garden above the gorge at the Ebnitsee lake is the finest hidden picnic spot in western Austria.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Gasthof in Bregenzerwald Coffee and local cheese in a traditional Bregenzerwald gasthaus. | Lunch: Sennerei Lingenau Outstanding cheese dairy and restaurant. Local Bergkase and extraordinary fresh curd. | Dinner: Restaurant in Schruns Outstanding Montafon cuisine on arrival in the valley. Local venison and Vorarlberg Zweigelt.
DAY 3
THE MONTAFON VALLEY
MORNING
THE MONTAFON VALLEY VILLAGES
The Montafon valley is the most extraordinary alpine valley in Vorarlberg, its extraordinary string of traditional Walserdorf villages built by the Walser people who settled here from the Valais in the 14th century. The villages of St Gallenkirch, Gaschurn and Gargellen have the finest examples of traditional Walserdorf architecture in Austria, their extraordinary timber farmhouses with their characteristic steep-pitched roofs and extraordinary carved decoration entirely authentic. The Montafon Museum in Schruns tells the extraordinary story. Travel: 30 min drive to Silvretta
MIDDAY
THE SILVRETTA HOCHALPENSTRASSE
The Silvretta Hochalpenstrasse is the most extraordinary Alpine toll road in western Austria, its extraordinary 26km of switchbacks rising from Partenen to the Silvretta reservoir at 2,036 metres through extraordinary mountain scenery. The Silvrettasee reservoir above the timberline, surrounded by the extraordinary 3,000-metre peaks of the Silvretta massif, is the most extraordinary artificial lake in the Alps. The Silvretta glacier above gives views into Switzerland. Toll approx 14 euros. Travel: 45 min drive back to Schruns
AFTERNOON
SCHRUNS AND THE MONTAFON MUSEUM
Schruns is the most extraordinary small town in the Montafon valley, its extraordinary central square lined with traditional Vorarlberg farmhouses and the remarkable Montafon Museum telling the extraordinary story of the Walser people who settled this valley. Ernest Hemingway spent the winter of 1925 to 1926 in Schruns writing The Sun Also Rises in the Hotel Taube. The extraordinary Silbertal side valley above Schruns contains the finest hiking in the region.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The Brand valley above Bludenz is the most extraordinary undiscovered valley in Vorarlberg, a short side valley with the extraordinary Zimba peak at 2,643 metres rising directly above the valley floor and the extraordinary Lüner See mountain lake at 1,970 metres reached by cable car. Cable car approx 18 euros return. The finest hidden mountain lake in western Austria.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Hotel Taube, Schruns Outstanding hotel where Hemingway wrote The Sun Also Rises. Coffee and local bread. | Lunch: Restaurant at the Silvrettasee Outstanding mountain restaurant at 2,036m beside the extraordinary glacier reservoir. | Dinner: Gasthaus Löwen, Schruns Outstanding traditional Montafon restaurant. Local Kaspressknödel and Vorarlberg wine.
DAY 4
MORNING
MIDDAY
AFTERNOON
💎 HIDDEN GEM
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
DAY 5
MORNING
MIDDAY
AFTERNOON
💎 HIDDEN GEM
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Where To Stay
Bregenz, Night 1 Hotel Schwärzler or Deuring Schlössle. Lakefront and old town. Approx 100 to 280 euros. Schruns, Nights 2 to 3 Hotel Montafoner Hof or Taube. Traditional Montafon village. Approx 80 to 180 euros.
Top Tips
1. The Bregenz Festival floating stage is the largest in the world. Book tickets a year ahead. The lake setting is extraordinary.
2. The Bregenzerwald Käsestrasse cheese road in September has open farm days where you can taste extraordinary local cheese.
3. The Silvretta Hochalpenstrasse is open June to October only. The drive to the reservoir at 2,036m is the finest in Vorarlberg.
4. Vorarlberg has the finest contemporary architecture in rural Austria. The Kunsthaus Bregenz by Peter Zumthor is extraordinary.
5. Traditional Walserdorf villages in the Montafon have the finest alpine farmhouse architecture in Austria. Most entirely free.
6. The Bodensee ferry from Bregenz to Lindau in Germany gives the finest view of the Bregenz lakefront from the water.
Total Budget
90 to 170 euros/day