Trentino-Alto Adige · Bolzano
Glurns
A ringed sixteenth-century circuit of walls encloses a city of 933 inhabitants near the Swiss border.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Glurns is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia.
Subscribe and you get Glurns's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- May–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 25 min from Bolzano
- Population
- 933
- J4°
- F8°
- M9°
- A13°
- M18°
- J23°
- J26°
- A25°
- 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
The town sits at 907 meters in the upper valley, twenty minutes by car from both the Austrian and Swiss borders, on the Adige river at the southern entrance to the national park. City status was awarded by Emperor Henry of Bohemia in 1304, an honor that has stayed attached to the place ever since even as the population inside the walls stayed under a thousand.
After the Battle of Calven in 1499, the Habsburgs under Emperor Maximilian I rebuilt the town as a bulwark against the forces of the Three Leagues of Graubünden, and it is that rebuilding which produced the fortification standing today. The walled core and the church outside it mark the two halves of the town: the streets and Lauben arcades, paved in cobble, enclosed within the ring of walls, and the parish church standing apart on the riverbank, holding its own late Gothic frescoes away from the defended center.
A city built for defense against the Three Leagues of Graubünden still reads, in its layout, as a place organized entirely around the line where the walls stand and the ground just beyond them: the guarded interior on one side, the river and the open approach to the mountains on the other.
How to get there
From Verona (VRN), about 3 h 2 min by car.
Milan Bergamo (BGY) is about 4 h 3 min away.
By car from the center of Bolzano 1 h 25 min or Trento 1 h 55 min.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Mura cittadine
Walls built under Emperor Maximilian I after 1499, following the Battle of Calven, as a bulwark against the forces of the Three Leagues of Graubünden. The patrol path still runs continuous along the inside face.
Centro storico
Walled core of unbroken three-storey Lauben arcades along the two main streets, paved in stone and listed on the Borghi più belli d'Italia.
Chiesa di San Pancrazio
Parish church just outside the walls on the bank of the Adige, with a Gothic nave and a series of late medieval wall frescoes inside.
Parco Nazionale dello Stelvio
Italy's largest alpine national park, with Glorenza listed as one of ten gateway communes at the southern entrance from the Val Venosta.
Torri delle mura
Seven watchtowers along the city wall, each tied to one of the three gates, with the patrol path running between them along the inside face of the wall.
From the guides
Where to eat
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.
FlurinBistrot
Two Gambero Rosso tables, at Flurin.
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?
Glurns is at the end of the road.
- A village of 933. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Malles Venosta/Mals, is 17 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Bolzano/Bozen, a city of 106,568, is 1 h 25 min by car. Further than our 30 to 60 minutes, a long way for the hospital visit or the monthly shopping.
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 933, up 4.9% since 2015
- Nearest city Bolzano, 1 h 25 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Silandro, 16 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €2,400 to €2,700 per m² to buy, €7.00 to €7.60 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Very remote
- Pharmacy: none mapped
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 4, very low hazard
- Verona airport (VRN), 3 h 2 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Bolzano, 1 h 25 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
6% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Germany, India and Switzerland, against 9% across Italy. 22 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany, Switzerland and Austria. There are 158 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 26% 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
The nearest emergency room is in Silandro, 16 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Bolzano, 64 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Sondalo, 39 km away. The nearest IB school is Realgymnasium Bozen, 64 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. 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. They show no residents in a high landslide zone.
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 INTACT WALLS
Sixteenth-century circuit of city walls with three gates and seven watchtowers, the only complete medieval fortification in South Tyrol.
SMALLEST CITY
Granted city status in 1304 and still classified as such, despite a population of fewer than a thousand inside the walls.
STELVIO PARK GATEWAY
One of the ten gateway communes of Italy's largest alpine national park, on the southern entrance from the upper Val Venosta.
Common questions
- What is Glurns known for?
- Glurns is a ringed sixteenth-century circuit of walls encloses a city of 933 inhabitants near the Swiss border.
- Where is Glurns?
- Glurns is a comune in the province of Bolzano, in Trentino-Alto Adige, at 907 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Glurns?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Verona (VRN), about 3 h 2 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Bolzano to Glurns?
- About 1 h 25 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Glurns?
- Best in May–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 26 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 19 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Glurns?
- Alfedena, Sadali and Cimbergo.
- How many people live in Glurns?
- 933 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Glurns a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Glurns is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Malles Venosta/Mals, is 17 min away. The nearest city, Bolzano/Bozen, is 1 h 25 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Silandro, 16 km as the crow flies.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
The numbers
- Elevation: 907 m
- Population: 933
- Surface area: 13.22 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 Glurns appears in
- The 9 best small high-altitude villages that eat well in Trentino-Alto AdigeTrentino-Alto Adigeabove 800 meats wellsmall9 towns · smallest 266 residents
- The best small mountain towns within 90 minutes of BolzanoNear Bolzanomountainwithin 90 minsmall9 towns · smallest 933 residents · closest 41 min away
- The 10 best high-altitude villages within 90 minutes of BolzanoNear Bolzanoabove 800 mwithin 90 min10 towns · smallest 933 residents · closest 43 min away
- The best mountain towns in the province of Bolzano/BozenBolzano provincemountain10 towns · smallest 933 residents
Similar
Towns like Glurns
What all six share with Glurns: mountain-valley towns · under 1,000 people · high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres
The letter
Glurns 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 Glurns comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Chioggia, 209 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.