Trentino-Alto Adige · Bolzano
Meran
A Habsburg spa city on the Passer river, palm-lined promenades below 3,000-meter peaks and the gardens where Empress Sissi spent her winters.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 29 min from Bolzano
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 41,498
- J9°
- F12°
- M14°
- A17°
- M21°
- J26°
- J28°
- A28°
- S24°
- 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
Merano sits in the basin where the Passer river meets the Adige, at the entrance to the Passeier and Vinschgau valleys, with mountains rising to 3,335 meters around it. The town was the capital of the County of Tyrol from the thirteenth century until 1420, when the Habsburgs moved the residence to Innsbruck. Empress Elisabeth of Austria began wintering here in 1870 for the climate and the mild basin air; her stays turned Merano into a late-Habsburg spa destination, drawing Kafka, Rilke and Richard Strauss.
The Kurhaus, an Art Nouveau pavilion on the Passer promenade, and Castel Trauttmansdorff, where Sissi stayed and which now holds twelve hectares of botanical gardens and the Touriseum, anchor the imperial layer of the city. Merano was annexed to Italy in 1919 under the Treaty of Saint-Germain. The bilingual city today is the center of South Tyrolean wine and apple farming, host of the Merano WineFestival each November at the Kurhaus.
How to get there
From Verona (VRN), about 2 h 6 min by car.
Milan Bergamo (BGY) is about 2 h 51 min away.
By car from the center of Bolzano 29 min or Trento 1 h.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Verona?
Coming by train into Trento? Meran is about 1 h away by road.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Giardini di Castel Trauttmansdorff
Twelve hectares of botanical gardens around the castle where Empress Elisabeth wintered, with eighty landscapes over a hundred-metre slope and the Touriseum tourism museum.
Kurhaus
Art Nouveau pavilion on the Passer promenade, the spa-town centrepiece of nineteenth-century Merano and venue of the Merano WineFestival each November.
Passeggiata Lungo Passirio
Spa promenade along the Passer river through the center of the city, lined with palms, flowers and the Wandelhalle, the covered Art Nouveau walking gallery.
Duomo di San Nicolò
Gothic parish church in the old town, with a sixty-five-metre bell tower and the late-medieval frescoes that mark Merano's medieval Tyrolean center.
Sentiero di Sissi
Forty-minute walking trail from the historic center to the Trauttmansdorff gardens, passing the Passirio promenades, the Wandelhalle and the winter walk.
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.
In Viaggio - Claudio Melis Ristorante dell'Hotel Villa IrmaRistorante
In Viaggio - Claudio Melis Ristorante dell'Hotel Villa Irma has two Gambero Rosso forks (83/100) to its name.
Prezioso del Castel FragsburgRistorante
Prezioso del Castel Fragsburg holds two Gambero Rosso forks (81/100).
SissiRistorante
Sissi holds two Gambero Rosso forks (86/100).
2 more places the guides name in Meran
Castel FragsburgHotel
Castel Fragsburg holds two Michelin Keys.
Villa Eden The Private RetreatHotel
Villa Eden The Private Retreat has two Michelin Keys to its name.
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?
Meran meets 1 of our 2 rules for a small town.
- 41,498 people, above our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: big enough that it can split into neighborhoods.
- Bolzano/Bozen, a city of 106,568, is 29 min by car. Closer than our 30 to 60 minutes: handy for everything, so check the town still keeps a life of its own.
- 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 41,498, up 5.7% since 2015
- Nearest city Bolzano, 29 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- A national health service hospital in the comune · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €3,200 to €4,700 per m² to buy, €10.70 to €15.70 per m² a month to rent
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
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 4, very low hazard
- Verona airport (VRN), 2 h 6 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Bolzano, 29 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
18% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Albania, Germany and Kosovo, against 9% across Italy. 800 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany, Austria and Switzerland. There are 172 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 19% 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, 25 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Bolzano, 25 km away. The nearest IB school is Realgymnasium Bozen, 25 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 0.1% to your income tax, with nothing due on income under €28,000. 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 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. 26% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate medium for floods. 2% 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.
Thermal baths in town: Therme Meran, Terme di Merano.
Known for
SISSI'S SPA
Empress Elisabeth wintered here from 1870, drawing Kafka, Rilke and Richard Strauss and turning Merano into a late-Habsburg health resort.
TRAUTTMANSDORFF GARDENS
Twelve hectares of botanical gardens around the castle where Sissi stayed, with eighty different landscapes and the Touriseum museum of tourism.
MERANO WINEFESTIVAL
International wine and spirits gathering at the Kurhaus each November since 1992, the most important wine event in the Italian Alps.
Common questions
- What is Meran known for?
- Meran is a Habsburg spa city at 324 meters on the Passer river, palm-lined promenades below 3,000-meter peaks and the gardens where Empress Sissi spent her winters.
- Where is Meran?
- Meran is a comune in the province of Bolzano, in Trentino-Alto Adige.
- What is the nearest airport to Meran?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Verona (VRN), about 2 h 6 min by car.
- Can you get to Meran 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 Meran?
- About 29 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Meran?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 28 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 18 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Meran?
- Anagni, Todi and Castiglion Fiorentino.
- How many people live in Meran?
- 41,498 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Meran a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Meran is a small town that meets 1 of our 2 rules. The nearest city, Bolzano/Bozen, is 29 min away by car. There is a national health service hospital in the comune.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 324 m
- Population: 41,498
- Surface area: 26.34 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 Meran appears in
- 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 in the province of Bolzano/BozenBolzano provinceby train6 towns · smallest 1,106 residents
- 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 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 towns worth staying overnight in the province of BolzanoBolzano provinceworth staying overnight9 towns · smallest 1,446 residents
Similar
Towns like Meran
What all six share with Meran: inland, away from the coast · over 10,000 people · hill towns · have a railway station in the comune
The letter
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