What about a little culture one evening? We fully recommend a visit to the theatre in Meran or one of the nearby villages.

The Civic Theatre – named after PucciniMeran's Civic Theatre, right in the centre of the town, is a true architectural jewel. The imposing building graces the Theatre Square, an ideal position, between the Freiheitstr. and the Theatre Bridge.
Extravagantly decorated with an artistically ornate ceiling, wonderful stucco work and gilded ornaments, this very charming, intimate little theatre hosts readings, film presentations, conferences and the such.

Theater in der Altstadt – the Old Town Theatre
This very particular theatre has seats for an audience of 120 and is a cultural attraction for Meran and the Burggrafenamt area. It specialises in its own productions.

The Bozen Civic Theatre
Bozen has a long theatrical tradition.The civic theatre season offers plays and other events as well as stage craft for all tastes and is extremely creative. Bozen has a resident theatre company and glories in its reputation as a Theatre City owing to its many original productions and various companies including the Teatro Stabile, the Vereinigten Buhnen Bozen and the intimate Carambolage Theatre which also host guest productions by well-known companies from other German-speaking areas.

The elegant “Joseph Haydn Concert House” with its wonderful acoustics is the perfect place for music events which the Bozen public so love.

The “Walter von der Vogelweide” Culture House also hosts various concerts and theatrical productions. MORE INFO

Meran is South Tyrol's traditional congress venue, well-known spa resort and the home of good music, culture and varied events and entertainment. The splendid Kurhaus stands on the Passer Promenade and hosts events of all kinds. Over the years, its beauty has impressed artists, musicians, scientists and congress audiences alike. As a member of the “historic events centres” fraternity, it counts as one of Europe's top-notch conference towns.

The grand Kursaal comprises stages, galleries, changing rooms, a restaurant and cafe, the Pavillon des Fleurs and various smaller meeting and exhibition rooms which make it the perfect location for congresses, fairs, concerts, conferences, exhibitions, meetings, gala dinners, balls, receptions and parties.

The Civic Museum
The Palais Mamming, a recently restored baroque palace near the town's parish church, houses the Meran Civic Museum collection. The various exhibits illustrate the town's historical development and growth. The museum tour begins in the pre-historic era and touches all aspects of life to finish with a section dedicated to modern art. The unique collection also features a number of surprisingly exotic exhibits including an Egyptian mummy, a collection of weapons from Sudan which once belonged to the adventurer Slatin Pascha, a typewriter made by local inventor Peter Mitterhofer and a death mask of Napoleon.

Evelyn Ortner's Women's Museum
Everything in this museum is connected to women. The exhibits show how the role of women has changed over the centuries and also points out how much there is still to be done. The museum occupies the top floors of what was once a convent for Clarissa nuns in the Kornplatzin the centre  of Meran.

Kunst Meran
This 500 sq.mt. art gallery is open all-year-round. It extends over three floors and houses different temporary collections of art, architectural works, literature, music, photography and modern media.

Touriseum Trauttmansdorff Castle
Trauttmansdorrf Castle, which overlooks Meran, was one of Austrian Empress Elisabeth's favourite holiday residences. It is now the home of a very interesting and original attraction, South Tyrol's Regional Museum of Tourism, the so-called Touriseum. It is, in fact, the first of all the Alpine area's museums to concentrate on the development of tourism.

Rametz Castle's Wine Museum
The four sections of this museum dedicated to wine production host a collection of old tools and other equipment. The long-forgotten exhibits, collected over the years, include tools for turning the soil under the vines and others used at harvest time or for carrying the grapes to the presses as well as methods for combatting harmful parasites. There are also agricultural tools and machines used by corn farmers in the nearby Vinschgau valley which has a long tradition of cereal production and which gave its name to the very popular, tasty local “Vinschgerle” bread.

Railway World, Rabland
The Railway World in Rabland, a village not far from Meran, boasts Italy's largest digital collection of model railways. The exhibition also includes an extensive collection of over 20,000 model railway exhibits which make it the largest private collection in Europe.

Museum Passeier Andreas Hofer
Cattle trader, rebel leader, hero. This permanent exhibition is dedicated to local freedom fighter and hero, Andreas Hofer who led his loyal Tirol men against Napoleon and the French invaders in 1809. There is reference to Hofer's despair regarding God and the Emperor and to the fact that, only after his death, was he recognised  as a true hero.
Heros and Hofer deals with Andreas Hofer and much more. It explains what makes a hero and how society uses, and also misuses, such heroic figures.

Reinhold Messner's Mountain Museums
Six locations – six exhibitions – six adventures
Six very original locations set amidst the impressive mountains of South Tyrol and Belluno house this particular museum project dedicated to mountains and their culture. Messner's Mountain Museum has to do with mountains, the people who live in them and even ourselves. Every museum visit is like a mountain tour, especially in good weather, and a MMM-Rundreise tour (with a special MMM Tour Ticket) is a truly unique experience!

The South Tyrol Museum of Culture and Regional History – Tirol Castle
Tirol was governed fromTirol castle for a very long time durimg the Middle Ages. Today, the castle houses the South Tyrol Museum of Culture and Regional History. Visitors who wish to take a look at the castle and the museum collection walk to the castle from Dorf Tirol along a very picturesque path which meanders across the hillside to the castle gates.

South Tyrol's Museum of Archaeology - (“Otzi's Museum”) Bozen
South Tyrol's Museum of Archaeology is one of the Autonomous Province of Bozen's many various museums. Housed in what was once a bank built in 1912, it stands just outside Bozen's central pedestrian zone. In 1998, it hosted the Archaeology Exhibition of the Southern Alps and, since 2013, three quarters of the building have housed the exhibition entitled “the Man from the Ice” .Guests can see the Ice Man's mummified body and the clothing and tools found nearby. The exhibition also refers to the Copper Age as well as research work, scientific testing and experiments and various cultural facts regarding the Man from the Ice. Special temporary exhibitions on the top floor give further insight into archaeology in South Tyrol.

The Museum of Nature – Bozen
The South Tyrol Museum of Nature is located in the once Maximilian-style Administrative Centre building in the north-east corner of the old town. It is the only museum of its kind in the province and is the centre for documents and collections which refer to this topic in South Tyrol.
One of its permanent exhibitions shows a biological-cultural-historical excursion through one of the most contrasting regions of Europe and illustrates the origin, formation and phenonenum of the very particular South Tyrol mountain and valley scenery with reference to the way of life here.
The most important aspects of the museum's own research and collections deal with geology, botany and zoology.
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The Museion Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Bozen
The Bozen Museion Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art is found right in the very heart of South Tyrol, with splendid views of the Dolomites and the Rosengarten, the so-called “Rose Garden”.

The Bozen Civic Museum
The Bozen Civic Museum is located in the middle of the city centre. It houses a collection of art and cultural exhibits from Bozen and the whole province.

South Tyrol is home to an impressive number of castles, fortresses and stately residences which are all well worth a visit. Imposing towers, historic walls with their battlements and ramparts and castles with their  private family chapels take you on an intriguing journey back to the Middle Ages.

The Princes' Castle
The Princes' Castle stands in the Galileistr, right in the centre of Meran, somewhat hidden behind the town Arcades. It is easy to reach and was once the home of the rulers of Tirol.

Tirol Castle
Tirol Castle stands magestically on a moraine hill high over the town of Meran. It was the home of the counts of Tirol untill they died out in 1253 and is now one of the symbols of the region. It gave its name to the region of Tyrol which was founded by Count Meinhard in the XIII century. The exterior walls date back to 1100 and are some of the oldest of their type still standing anywhere. The Counts of Tyrol enlarged  the building to become their residence around 1140 and it quickly became the most important castle in the whole of Tyrol. The castle gained even more importance under Countess Margaret of Tyrol, the so-called “Margaret Maultasch” but, when she abdicated, the Counts of Tirol moved their residence to Innsbruck. A special Castle Festival takes place here every year in August.

‍Schenna Castle
Schenna castle stands just above a little village of the same name and enjoys wonderful views out over the Burggrafenamt area and the whole of Meran. Margaret of Tyrol received permission to build a new castle in 1350. Various noble families from Tyrol have lived in the fortress over the years until Archduke John of Austria gave the castle new life.The building was later inherited by his successors, the Counts of Meran.Visitors to the castle can see Archduke John's unique collection of paintings, portraits, tableware, household linens, weapons from the VIII century and the largest collection referring to local freedom fighter Andreas Hofer. The nearby neoGothic mausoleum, which houses the tombs of Auchduke John and his family, belongs to the castle.The castle, which is open to the public, is still the private residence of the Count of Meran and his family.

Trauttmansdorff Castle
Trauttmansdorff Castle stands a little to the east of Meran. It is surrounded by the town's botanical gardens which opened to the public in 2001 and are called the “Gardens of Castle Trauttmansdorff”. The first building to stand here dates from 1300 and was called Neuberg Castle.The noble Trauttmansdorff family took possession of it in the XVI century. The castle owes much of its fame to the fact that it was a favourite residence of Austrian Empress Sissi when she visited Meran for health reasons. Today, a well-marked path, named the Sissi Promenade, leads from the Kurpromenade in the town centre up to the botanical gardens. The present day gardens cover an area of 12 hectars and feature 7 km.of walks over an altitude difference of a mere 100 mt. They are owned by the Autonomous Province of Bozen.

Juval Castle
Named after Juval, an outlying area of the nearby village of Kastelbell, this castle stands high above the entrance to the Senales valley. It was probably built around 1250. Reinhold Messner, world-famous mountaineer and explorer, bought the castle in 1983 and has restored it to its former glory. It is now the home of a musuem, a winery,a bio farm and small, rustic restaurant. It opened its doors to the public in 1995. The castle musuem, named “Mythos Mountain”, is part of a much bigger project under the title “Messner MountainMusuem”.

Kastelbell Castle
Kasterbell Castle dates back to 1238 and stands in a very picturesque position on a rocky outcrop on the left bank of the river Adige. The castle has been beaufitully restored and is open to the public for guided visits. It ancient walls also host various cultural events

Churburg Castle
Churburg Castle, one of the best preserved castles in South Tyrol, stands above the village of Schluderns in the sunny Vinschgau valley. It houses one of the most extensive private collections of weapons in the world and a fairy-tale like arched corridor. The castle dates back to the XII century and was enlarged up until the XVI century. It has been the home of Count Trapp and his family since 1504.