Trentino-Alto Adige · Bolzano
Brunico
The largest town of the Pustertal at 838 meters, built around the prince-bishop's castle and the Stadtgasse, with Plan de Corones rising above the valley.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Visiting
- Best time
- May–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 10 min from Bolzano
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 17,157
- J5°
- F8°
- M11°
- A14°
- M19°
- J24°
- J27°
- A26°
- S21°
- O16°
- N10°
- D5°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Brunico, Bruneck in German, sits at 838 meters in the eastern Alto Adige, in the Val Pusteria. The name comes from the castle built above the settlement, and the town below grew up around it rather than the other way round. First documented as Bruneke in 1256, it received weekly market rights and the privilege of high justice, and grew rich in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries on the Augsburg-Venice trade that ran across the valley, the same trade that filled the Stadtgasse with merchant houses.
The town has three distinct layers that sit close together but answer different purposes: the castle above holding the seat of the former prince-bishops, the walled Stadtgasse below as the commercial spine between the four gates, and Teodone at the edge of town, where the Mair am Hof Residence and its rebuilt farmhouses preserve a rural way of life that the town center does not. The mountain above the valley, reached from the town, adds a fourth register entirely, modern and built for a single striking structure rather than for defence or trade. Together these layers show a town shaped by three different economies in three different eras: episcopal power, alpine commerce, and now winter tourism, each leaving its own mark rather than replacing what came before.
How to get there
From Treviso (TSF), about 2 h 46 min by car.
Verona (VRN) is about 2 h 48 min away.
By car from the center of Bolzano 1 h 10 min or Trento 1 h 42 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Castello di Brunico
The castle sits above the town as the former summer residence of the Brixen bishops. The museum inside occupies rooms that still read as a bishop's seat rather than a purpose-built gallery.
Stadtgasse
Pedestrian street between the four gates, its townhouses carrying bay windows and ornate shop signs at close range, the kind of detail that only shows up on foot.
Museo Etnografico Sudtirolese
South Tyrolean Folklore Museum in the Mair am Hof Residence at Teodone, built 1690-1700, with twenty-four rebuilt farmhouses from across the province in its open-air section.
Plan de Corones / Kronplatz
Town mountain at 2,275 meters, with MMM Corones inside the summit ridge, designed by Zaha Hadid and opened in 2015, and a major Dolomiti Superski ski area in winter.
Chiesa Parrocchiale di Santa Maria Assunta
Parish church in the Oberragen quarter just beyond the old east gate, the center of Bruneck since the town became a parish in its own right in 1610, rebuilt after the great fire of 1723.
From the guides
Where to eat and stay
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Atelier Moessmer Norbert NiederkoflerRistorante
Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler has the number 20 spot on the World's 50 Best, three Michelin stars and three Gambero Rosso forks (96/100), among other nods.
AlpiNN by Norbert NiederkoflerBistrot
AlpiNN by Norbert Niederkofler has two Gambero Rosso tables and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
b.localBistrot
b.local carries a Gambero Rosso listing.
3 more places the guides name in Brunico
OberrautTrattoria
Oberraut has two Gambero Rosso prawns to its name.
Falkensteiner Hotel KronplatzHotel
Falkensteiner Hotel Kronplatz holds a Leading Hotels of the World listing.
Hotel PetrusHotel
A place in the Michelin hotel guide, at Hotel Petrus.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Brunico meets 2 of our 3 rules for a small town.
- 17,157 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Bolzano/Bozen, a city of 106,568, is 1 h 10 min by car. Further than our 30 to 60 minutes, a long way for the hospital visit or the monthly shopping.
- 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 17,157, up 7.2% since 2015
- Nearest city Bolzano, 1 h 10 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- A national health service hospital in the comune · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €2,600 to €3,000 per m² to buy, €8.60 to €10.00 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
- Remote
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 4, very low hazard
- Treviso airport (TSF), 2 h 46 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Bolzano, 1 h 10 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
11% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Albania, Kosovo and Germany, against 9% across Italy. 258 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany, Austria and the United States. There are 152 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 20% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Bolzano province ranks 2nd 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 Bolzano, 57 km away. The nearest IB school is Realgymnasium Bozen, 57 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
South Tyrol has its own property tax, IMI, in place of IMU. The town adds nothing to your income tax. 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 €2,940 a month, €610 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 Bolzano, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.52, a meal in a pizzeria €15.14 and a man's haircut €23.58.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone F, the coldest of Italy's six, with no national limit on when the heating runs. 24% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate medium for floods. Under 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
BISHOP'S CASTLE
Built around 1250 by Prince-Bishop Bruno von Kirchberg, the founder of the town, and home since 2011 to Reinhold Messner's MMM Ripa museum.
PLAN DE CORONES
Town mountain at 2,275 meters with MMM Corones by Zaha Hadid at the summit and a major ski area of the Dolomiti Superski circuit.
THE STADTGASSE
Medieval central street between four town gates, lined with merchant houses from the Augsburg-Venice trade and painted facades restored after the 1723 fire.
Common questions
- What is Brunico known for?
- Brunico is the largest town of the Pustertal at 838 meters, built around the prince-bishop's castle and the Stadtgasse, with Plan de Corones rising above the valley.
- Where is Brunico?
- Brunico is a comune in the province of Bolzano, in Trentino-Alto Adige.
- What is the nearest airport to Brunico?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Treviso (TSF), about 2 h 46 min by car.
- Can you get to Brunico without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Bolzano to Brunico?
- About 1 h 10 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Brunico?
- Best in May–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 27 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 17 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Brunico?
- Ariano Irpino, Randazzo and L'Aquila.
- How many people live in Brunico?
- 17,157 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Brunico a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Brunico is a small town that meets 2 of our 3 rules. The nearest city, Bolzano/Bozen, is 1 h 10 min away by car. There is a national health service hospital in the comune.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
The numbers
- Elevation: 838 m
- Population: 17,157
- Surface area: 45 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 Brunico appears in
- The best high-altitude villages with a serious restaurant in Trentino-Alto AdigeTrentino-Alto Adigeabove 800 mserious restaurant6 towns · smallest 820 residents
- The best ski towns you can reach by train in Trentino-Alto AdigeTrentino-Alto Adigeski areaby train6 towns · smallest 3,300 residents
- The best towns you can reach by train in the province of Bolzano/BozenBolzano provinceby train6 towns · smallest 1,106 residents
- The 7 best towns you can reach by train that eat well in Trentino-Alto AdigeTrentino-Alto Adigeby traineats well7 towns · smallest 3,451 residents
- The best ski towns that eat well in the province of BolzanoBolzano provinceski areaeats well7 towns · smallest 1,446 residents
- The best ski towns with a serious restaurant in Trentino-Alto AdigeTrentino-Alto Adigeski areaserious restaurant9 towns · smallest 1,446 residents
Similar
Towns like Brunico
What all six share with Brunico: mountain-valley towns · over 10,000 people
Ariano Irpino
Province: Avellino
both high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres · both have a railway station in the comune
Randazzo
Province: Catania
both high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres · both have a railway station in the comune
L'Aquila
Province: L'Aquila
both high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres · both have a railway station in the comune
Monte Sant'Angelo
Province: Foggia
both high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres
Darfo Boario Terme
Province: Brescia
both have a railway station in the comune
Nicosia
Province: Enna
both high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres
The letter
Brunico is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter: the photo, what is worth eating, and when to turn up. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Brunico comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Chioggia, 177 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.