Bolzano Transportation

I was waiting outside Bolzano/Bozen train station for the bus that would take me up to Castelrotto. The bus driver parked his bus and came outside to have a cigarette and wait.

He had the most incredible resemblance to Richard Gere that I have ever seen.
Funny thing was that he had no idea who Richard Gere even was, but he was more than amused
when I told him how much he looked like the actor.

Has anyone else seen this bus driver?

Fun things you see waiting for the bus!

When you are on the Trenitalia website trying to find a way to get to this area you will see that
you enter Bolzano in the search phrase and it will come up with nothing.

This is because all names in this area are listed in both languages. hence you put in Bolzano Bozen and you will find what you are looking for.

Bozen/Bolzano has a train station that connects the city with all major cities in Italy. There are 3 tracks and there are trains to Meran, but also international trains to Munich or other places. In the entrance hall you have ticket counters.

The bus station is right next to the train station and the Bahnhofstrasse leads directly into the center of Bozen.

2 more images

One of the first sights in Bozen/Bolzano was this bicycle rent station not far away from the central train / bus station. My first thought was that I had to take a picture for my VT friend Nemorino, and so I did!

Bozen seems to be very bicycle friendly - there are numerous tours offered by the tourist office, so do check them out! On our way from the river back to town we even passed a bicycle counting station - around 2 p.m. there had already been more than 3000 bike passing this station on that particular day!!!

WOW!

Bolzano/Bozen is perfect to walk - it is absolutely flat and so walking is very easy! Since it is surrounded by mountains it is difficult to walk up there - but then they do have buses and funiculars to get to the surrounding castles.

Just be sure to wear good walking shoes, because walking on the pavement - even if it is flat - is quite tiresome to your feet!

Since we stayed in Nova Levante/Welschnofen in the Dolomites, we took a bus to Bolzano. It only took half an hour - through a stunning landscape, so this was a real treat!

The bus station is right next to the train station and not far from the center of Bolzano.

We had obtained a weekly pass for public transportation in the Bolzano region (for incredible 8 €), so we only had to punch our ticket in the bus and off we went!

Bolzano is easily reached by train from Brennero, Austria, and Germany in the north and Trento and Verona is the south. When you arrive at the train station, you are within walking distance to the major sites like Piazza Walther and the Duomo. The castles require additional walking. Buses may serve those places, but I'm not sure. There are parks near the train station where you can relax.

In wintertime there is a bus stop directly in front of Hotel Portillo. So you don't have to drive with your own car during your stay. For the bus you get your free ticket from the Hotel!

More pics taken in March 2001 see my travelogue