Bolzano Area

Bolzano (Bozen) is often dubbed ‘Gateway to the Dolomites’. Occupying a broad valley basin at an altitude of 265 metres (870 ft) with three beautiful Alpine high plateaux of rolling hills encircling the town horseshoe-like to the north from east to west, if you are coming from the south it is difficult to avoid Bolzano if your destination is the breathtakingly awesome world-famous rock faces known as the Dolomites. In spring the contrast between lush Mediterranean vegetation beside the town’s panoramic sun-drenched promenades and the snow-mantled Dolomites where the skiing season is still in full swing, is especially striking. Just outside Bolzano you can find S.Genesio/Jenesien that is considered, in a way, Bolzano's smaller sister: situated in the mountains, 800 metres higher than Bolzano, it is surrounded by fertile meadows and protected by lush woods. Mother Nature seems to have been particularly generous with this idyllic holiday resort, granting it a mild climate that makes the splendid alpine flora burst forth in the most spectacular forms and colours.