Trentino-Alto Adige · Trento
Borgo Valsugana
The valley town built on both banks of the Brenta in lower Valsugana, with a hilltop castle above and a contemporary art project in the side valley.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Borgo Valsugana is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 49 min from Trento
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 7,147
- J9°
- F12°
- M13°
- A16°
- M20°
- J25°
- J28°
- A27°
- S23°
- O19°
- N13°
- D9°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Borgo Valsugana sits on the Brenta, thirty kilometers east of Trento, in the lower part of the Valsugana valley that carries the road and the railway between Trento and the Veneto plain. The Roman settlement of Ausugum stood on the same site, on the Claudia Augusta Altinate road from Altino to Tridentum, which set the town on a route between the plain and the mountains long before the present center took shape. The centro storico straddles the Brenta, arcades opening onto the quays on each bank, which is why locals and visitor guides call it the Little Venice of Trentino.
The castle above the town looks down on this river center, and the side valley to the west holds the art project among the meadows, so the town reads in three layers: the water level where the old houses face each other across the river, the height of the watchtower on the hill, and the separate, quieter valley given over to the works in natural materials. The valley was the front line in 1915 to 1916 and much of the historic center was rebuilt after the war, so the painted facades standing over the water today are largely a twentieth-century reconstruction of a much older river town.
How to get there
From Verona (VRN), about 2 h 1 min by car.
Treviso (TSF) is about 2 h 8 min away.
By car from the center of Trento 49 min or Bolzano 1 h 24 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming by train into Trento? Borgo Valsugana is about 48 min away by road.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Castel Telvana
Medieval castle on Mount Ciolino above the town, built around a square watchtower five meters per side and twenty-six meters high.
Ponte Veneziano
Fifteenth-century bridge over the Brenta crowned by two aedicules with graffiti inspired by seventeenth-century works of Jacopo Fiorentini.
Arte Sella
Open-air contemporary art project in the Val di Sella since 1986, with works in natural materials around Malga Costa, including the Cattedrale Vegetale.
Centro storico sul Brenta
Old town on both banks of the Brenta, the only such configuration in Trentino, with painted houses reflected in the water and historic bridges.
Sentieri della Grande Guerra
Trail network through the World War I front-line positions above the valley, where Italian and Austro-Hungarian lines faced each other from 1915 to 1916.
Living here
Could you live here?
Borgo Valsugana meets all 3 of our rules for a small town.
- 7,147 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Trento, a city of 118,640, is 49 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
- A station of its own. Trains are the overlooked way to get around Italy: no parking, straight into the center.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 7,147, up 2.7% since 2015
- Nearest city Trento, 49 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- A national health service hospital in the comune · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,500 to €1,900 per m² to buy, €3.00 to €3.80 per m² a month to rent
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- In-between
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 96% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Venice Marco Polo airport (VCE), 1 h 55 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Trento, 49 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
11% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from China, Romania and Albania, against 9% across Italy. There are 206 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 28% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Trento province ranks 1st of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
There is an emergency room in the comune. The nearest major one is in Trento, 27 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Trento, 27 km away. The nearest IB school is Realgymnasium Bozen, 49 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is H-Farm International School Rosà, 44 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
Trento has its own property tax, IMIS, in place of IMU. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Trentino-Alto Adige spends about €2,620 a month, €500 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €302 a year for water, on the Trentino-Alto Adige average. In Trento, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.41, a meal in a pizzeria €13.90 and a man's haircut €24.84.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone E, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from October 15 to April 15, up to 14 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 83% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate medium for floods. 1% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
THE BRENTA TOWN
Only town in Trentino with its historic center on both banks of a river, with painted facades over the water and historic bridges across the Brenta.
ARTE SELLA
Open-air contemporary art project in the Val di Sella since 1986, with works in natural materials including the Cattedrale Vegetale at Malga Costa.
CASTEL TELVANA
Medieval castle on Mount Ciolino above the valley, with a square watchtower twenty-six meters high dominating the historic center.
Common questions
- What is Borgo Valsugana known for?
- Borgo Valsugana is the valley town built on both banks of the Brenta in lower Valsugana, with a hilltop castle above and a contemporary art project in the side valley.
- Where is Borgo Valsugana?
- Borgo Valsugana is a comune in the province of Trento, in Trentino-Alto Adige, at 380 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Borgo Valsugana?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Venice Marco Polo (VCE), about 1 h 55 min by car.
- Can you get to Borgo Valsugana without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Trento to Borgo Valsugana?
- About 49 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Borgo Valsugana?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 28 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 22 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Borgo Valsugana?
- Capranica, Chiusi and Arpino.
- How many people live in Borgo Valsugana?
- 7,147 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Borgo Valsugana a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Borgo Valsugana is a small town that meets all 3 of our rules. The nearest city, Trento, is 49 min away by car. There is a national health service hospital in the comune. Full fibre reaches 96% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 380 m
- Population: 7,147
- Surface area: 52.37 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Borgo Valsugana appears in
- The 6 best hidden towns you can reach by train in Trentino-Alto AdigeTrentino-Alto Adigeby trainhidden6 towns · smallest 1,106 residents
- The best hill towns in Trentino-Alto AdigeTrentino-Alto Adigehill town6 towns · smallest 2,061 residents
- The best hill towns within 75 minutes of TrentoNear Trentohill townwithin 75 min6 towns · smallest 2,061 residents · closest 4 min away
- The best towns you can reach by train within an hour of TrentoNear Trentoby trainwithin 60 min6 towns · smallest 1,111 residents · closest 4 min away
- The prettiest villages in the province of TrentoTrento provinceprettiest villages8 towns · smallest 266 residents
Similar
Towns like Borgo Valsugana
What all six share with Borgo Valsugana: inland, away from the coast · between 3,000 and 10,000 people · hill towns · have a railway station in the comune
The letter
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Chioggia | Everyone is wrong about this town
It’s not an alternative to Venice
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