South Tyrolean Cuisine Experience
Bolzano, Italy
About This Activity
South Tyrolean cuisine is a unique fusion of Italian and Austro-Hungarian traditions, shaped by centuries of Alpine life and cross-border exchange. A meal in a traditional Stube (wood-paneled dining room) might begin with speck — the region's prized lightly smoked cured ham, quite different from prosciutto — and a selection of local cheeses with dark rye bread. Main courses include Schlutzkrapfen (half-moon pasta stuffed with spinach and ricotta), Tafelspitz (boiled beef with horseradish), and Gröstl (a hearty potato-and-meat hash). Dessert is apple strudel, made here with the storied Val Venosta apples grown in the high valleys north of Bolzano. The region's white wines — Gewürztraminer, Pinot Bianco, and Müller-Thurgau — are the natural pairing.
Seasonal note: Year-round; summer best for outdoor activities; December for Christmas markets
See This in an Itinerary
This activity appears in 19 of our curated itineraries.
Best 3 Days in Italy — from Bolzano
Bolzano
Best 3 Days in Italy — from Bolzano (Saturday Start)
Bolzano
Best 3 Days in Italy — from Bolzano (Sunday Start)
Bolzano
Best 3 Days in Italy — from Bolzano (Monday Start)
Bolzano
Best 5 Days in Italy — from Bolzano
Bolzano → Rome → Florence
Best 5 Days in Italy — from Bolzano (Saturday Start)
Bolzano → Rome → Florence
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Alto Adige Winery Visit & Tasting
Taste Italy's finest white wines at a South Tyrol winery with panoramic Dolomite views
South Tyrol Wine Route (Alto Adige DOC)
Sample world-class Gewürztraminer and Pinot Noir along the vineyards encircling Bolzano
Free time in Bolzano
Explore Bolzano at your own pace — cable cars, alpine villages, or cycling the valley floor