Plenty to discover!

A botanical garden – a world of experiences. Around Trauttmansdorff Castle, a favourite place of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, the gardens of the same name stretch over an area of 12 hectares. The gardens form an amphitheatre where flights of steps and paths wind up and down and afford views and glimpses at over 100 metres of altitude into the diversity of the gardens. More than 80 gardens of different styles with plants from almost everywhere in the world, including themed gardens, experience stations, artistic pavilions, a variety of water courses, ponds and animals make the gardens a popular destination for large and small.

The castle houses the regional museum of tourism, the Touriseum. In the blink of an eye it tells the thrilling history of 200 years of tourism in the region.

The thermal baths constructed in 2005 gave the venerable town of Merano an elegant monument. The striking cube, designed by the prominent architect, Matteo Thun, is placed in the very centre of the lively town, as a place where peace and quiet reign, inviting you to slow down. From pure relaxation to bathing in the healing spring water, open 365 days in the year, the new thermal baths want to offer more than an extensive wellness centre: 25 indoor and outdoor pools, various saunas, spa and vital areas, a medical spa, a fitness centre and most especially the 52,000 m2 of the thermal spring park are intended to give the feeling that you have arrived in a totally different world, where the hands of the clock turn more slowly. On warm summer days you can lie under centuries-old trees with a good book or gazing up at the peaks of the Alps and simply relax. In winter you can warm up in the sauna and lie on the comfortable sun-loungers around the pool and forget the hustle and bustle of the world.

You feel almost as if you have arrived in fairyland when you curve through the picture-book scenery around the lakes in Appiano. Gently sloping hills, blue lakes, good wine. Oltradige is about 20 minutes from Cermes and from there short paths lead towards Appiano and the Monticolo Lake, surrounded by pretty woods and very inviting for sunbathing in the summer. Lago di Caldaro with its sophisticated lido lies below the vineyards. The pleasant wind, which daily entices surfers on to their surf boards, is refreshing even on the hottest summer days. If you enjoy bathing in natural water, your best choice is the Gargazzone ecological swimming pool. This relatively new facility uses absolutely no chlorine or other chemicals and can also be reached comfortably by e-bike from Cermes.