Schloss Trauttmansdorff Gardens

Top choice in Merano (Meran)


You could give an entire day to these beautiful botanical gardens a little outside Merano (and they do suggest it). Exotic cacti and palms, fruit trees and vines, beds of lilies, irises and tulips all cascade down the hillside surrounding a mid-19th-century castle where Sissi – Empress Elisabeth – spent the odd summer. Inside, Touriseum charts two centuries of travel in the region, exploring the changing nature of our yearning for the mountains. There's also a restaurant and a cafe by the lily pond.

Parking costs €4. Alternatively, take bus 4 or 1B from Merano's train station, or walk – 45 minutes from Merano's centre – up the Sissiweg.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Merano (Meran) attractions

1. Kunst Meran

1.33 MILES

Shows of high-profile international and regional artists are installed in this contemporary gallery, a thoughtful refiguring of a skinny medieval…

2. Schloss Tirol

3 MILES

Clinging to a steep crag high above the Adige valley, the ancestral seat of the counts of Tyrol houses a dynamically curated museum of Tyrolean history,…

3. Schloss Tirol Bird Care Centre

3.03 MILES

Just below Schloss Tirol's entrance, this wildlife rescue centre rehabilitates injured birds of prey. There is a collection of eagles, vultures, hawks,…

4. Castel Roncolo

12.9 MILES

This stunningly located castle was built in 1237 but is renowned for its vivid 14th-century frescoes. These are particularly rare, with themes that are…

5. BZ '18-'45

13.43 MILES

This dense but visually seductive museum explores Bolzano's turbulent interwar years via the history of the fascist Monument to Victory, where it is sited…

6. Museo Archeologico dell'Alto Adige

13.59 MILES

The star of the Museo Archeologico dell’Alto Adige is Ötzi, the Iceman, with almost the entire museum being given over to the Copper Age mummy. Kept in a…

7. Chiesa e Convento dei Francescani

13.67 MILES

The 14th-century Chiesa di Francescani features beautiful cloisters and a magnificent Gothic altarpiece, carved in 1500 by Hans Klocker.

8. Museion

13.7 MILES

Bolzano's four-storey contemporary art space is housed in a huge multifaceted glass cube, a brave architectural surprise that beautifully vignettes the…