NORTH ITALIAN DELIGHTS
I am so excited to be travelling to this great Italian region for an early summer break in May!
With easy and convenient flights from London Stansted to Memmingen (Munich airport on Ryanair) or to Innsbruck, we are going to be met by our Austrian friends for a swift and panoramic 2-hour car journey from Innsbruck to beautiful Merano (German= Meran).
The poignantly pretty town of Merano (and one-time Tyrolean capital) was a Habsburg-era spa and the hot destination of its day, favoured by the Austrian royals, Kafka and Freud.
With its leafy boulevards, birdsong, oleanders and cacti, Merano feels like you've stumbled into a valley Shangri-La, long lauded for its sunny microclimate.
Here you will stumble across Jugendstil buildings, famous spas and a medieval town centre.
German is spoken widely here, sausage and beer stalls dot the streets and an annual open-air play celebrates Napoleonic-era Tyrolean freedom fighter Andreas Hofer. Despite the palm trees, you're far closer to Vienna than Rome.
Apart from shopping, sightseeing and visiting fantastic historic spas, this region is also well known for its more active leisure pastimes. Our little group is going to hire various types of mountain bikes to explore lower mountain ranges on two wheels. Great hiking trails for all fitness levels can be found, too, and you could even 'hire' your own local guide for the day!
The area of Merano is also famous for its many award-winning wines and trips to local vineyards along the famous 'wine route' are highly recommended. We will be sampling wines and get them delivered to the UK via their courier company.
I can't wait to tuck in to all those yummy Italian specialities and have a glass of the famous South Tyrolean 'Gewurztraminer' white wine after our days out biking and sightseeing.
We found a fantastic, very reasonably priced 4* hotel in the villages of Partschins, overlooking Merano down in the valley - offering an outdoor swimming pool, hot tub, spa treatments, sauna and steam room as well as a fully stocked road and mountain bike shop offering bike hire. The half-board option allows us to take in a generous breakfast before heading off for the day and to sample numerous local specialities in the form of a 4 -course dinner accompanied by great wines and gelati.
So, if you are interested in more details of this holiday or would like to do a similar trip, please get in touch with me for a personalised itinerary, with many recommendations along the way.