South Tyrol Törggelen Road Trip + Map: Chestnuts and New Wine in 4 Days
There’s a stretch of South Tyrol where autumn does something odd to the calendar. The vines turn copper, the chestnuts drop, the farmers open their cellars, and half the region seems to spend a few weeks walking between hillside farms eating roasted chestnuts and drinking wine that was grapes about ten minutes ago. That’s Törggelen, and it’s one of my favourite reasons to visit anywhere.
The word comes from “Torggl,” the old wine press, and the ritual is simple. You hike or drive up to a Buschenschank (a farm that’s allowed to serve its own food and wine for part of the year), you sit at a long wooden table, and you work through barley soup, Schlutzkrapfen, speck, a plate of smoked sausage, and then chestnuts and new wine until you can’t feel your face. It’s rural, it’s a bit chaotic, and it’s completely brilliant. The heartland is the Eisacktal (Valle Isarco), the valley running north from Bolzano up to Brixen, and the whole thing links up in a way that suits a slow four-day drive perfectly.
Here’s why it works as a road trip. The distances are tiny. You’re never doing more than about an hour and a half behind the wheel, the villages sit close together, and the days are built around eating well and wandering rather than covering ground. It suits couples, food people, slow travellers, and anyone who likes their hikes to end at a table. I’d not bring young kids expecting theme-park pace, but honestly they’d probably love the chestnuts.
You’ll want your own car. The farms and the plateau villages sit out in the hills where buses give up, so this trip lives or dies by having wheels. If you’re getting to the region first, you can compare trains and buses into the valley, but I’d sort your hire car in Bolzano early so you get a decent price and something that handles the winding bits without complaint. And if you want to fall down a wider planning rabbit hole first, my travel inspiration hub is a good place to start.
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South Tyrol Törggelen Road Trip Road Trip: Quick Facts at a Glance
- Start: Bolzano (Bozen), the South Tyrol capital
- End: Brixen (Bressanone), top of the Eisacktal
- Best length: 4 days (5 if you want to slow right down)
- Total distance: Around 150 km (about 95 miles)
- Best for: Food lovers, couples, slow travellers, walkers who like a table at the end
- Driving difficulty: Easy. Short hops, a few narrow mountain roads up to the farms
- Best time to go: Chestnut and new-wine season, when autumn kicks in and the farms open their cellars
- Car needed: Yes. The hillside farms are where the buses give up
- Main route: Bolzano → Ritten → Klausen → Villanders → Feldthurns → Brixen → Val di Funes
The Route: What to Expect
The shape is dead simple. You start low in Bolzano, then work your way north up the Eisacktal, gaining a bit of height and a lot of chestnut farms as you go, until you land in Brixen at the top. No loops, no backtracking, and the valley changes character on the way up. The bottom is city and vineyards, the middle is riverside villages and terraced hills, and the top is cathedral town plus one gorgeous Dolomites detour to finish.
Two of the four days barely involve the car at all. Day one is a Bolzano walking day, and the last day is a short there-and-back into a dead-end valley for the mountain view. The middle two days are your proper Törggelen days, and even those are gentle. The longest single drive on the whole trip is well under two hours, so build in plenty of table time and you’ll be grand.
← Swipe to scroll on mobile
| Day | Route | Drive time | Vibe |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Around Bolzano | Walking only | Capital city, wine bars, the Iceman |
| 2 | Bolzano → Ritten → Klausen | ~1.5 hrs | Plateau views, riverside village |
| 3 | Klausen → Villanders → Feldthurns → Brixen | ~1 hr | Chestnut farms, new wine, long tables |
| 4 | Brixen → Val di Funes → Brixen | ~1.5 hrs | Dolomites finish, quiet valley |
South Tyrol Törggelen Road Trip Itinerary
Day 1: Bolzano (Bozen)
Driving: None today. You arrive, you dump the bags, you walk.
Bolzano is a soft landing and a slightly confusing one, in a good way. It sits right where Italy and the Alps argue about who’s in charge, so you get espresso bars and Aperol next to Tyrolean gables and speck, and everyone flips between German and Italian mid-sentence. Spend the day on foot. The old centre is small, the arcaded Via dei Portici is made for a slow wander, and Waltherplatz is where you’ll end up for a coffee no matter what you planned. Ease into it, because the eating starts properly tomorrow.
Things to do:
- Wander Via dei Portici and Waltherplatz, right in the centre, give it an hour or two of pure pottering
- Visit the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology to meet Ötzi the Iceman, about 5 minutes’ walk from Waltherplatz, allow 1.5 to 2 hours
- Browse the Piazza delle Erbe market stalls, a couple of minutes on from the main square, 30 minutes is plenty
- Stroll the Talvera river path for the first proper vineyard views, straight off the old town, half an hour there and back
- Settle in somewhere for an early evening glass of Lagrein, the local red, and call it a warm-up
Timing tip: The Ötzi museum gets busy through the middle of the day and works on timed entry when it’s full. Go first thing or late afternoon, and you’ll get the quiet, slightly eerie version rather than shuffling past him in a scrum.
Where to Stay in Bolzano
Day 2: Bolzano → Ritten (Renon) → Klausen (Chiusa)
Driving: Ritten is about 20 km from Bolzano (roughly 40 minutes up a winding road). Klausen is another 30 km on (about 45 minutes). Call it a 50 km day, an hour and a half of actual driving with the plateau loop.
First driving day, and it’s a gentle one that buys you a big view early. The road up to the Ritten plateau twists a fair bit, so take it steady, but the payoff is a green shelf of meadows and old farms sitting high above the valley with the Dolomites lined up across the way. The plateau’s odd party trick is its earth pyramids, tall spikes of clay left standing by erosion with a boulder balanced on top of each one, and they’re genuinely strange to stand next to. After a slow morning up top you drop back down and follow the Eisack north to Klausen, a skinny riverside village that keeps turning up on “prettiest in Italy” lists and mostly earns it.
Things to do:
- Drive up to the Ritten plateau for the meadow-and-Dolomites views, around 40 minutes from Bolzano, give the top a couple of hours
- Walk out to the earth pyramids near Lengmoos, a short signed stroll once you’ve parked, 45 minutes there and back
- Catch a stretch of the old narrow-gauge Rittner Bahn tram if the timing lines up, a fun 20-minute ride across the plateau
- Roll down into Klausen and walk the single long main street, about 45 minutes from Ritten, an hour to soak it up
- Look up at Säben Abbey perched on its crag above the village, a steep 40-minute climb if your legs fancy it, or just admire it from below
Weather note: The valley floor can be mild and sunny while the plateau up top is a good bit cooler and windier, especially once the autumn air moves in. Keep a warm layer on the back seat, because you’ll feel the difference the second you step out at altitude.
Where to Stay in Klausen
Day 3: Klausen → Villanders (Villandro) → Feldthurns (Velturno) → Brixen (Bressanone)
Driving: Villanders is about 8 km from Klausen (15 minutes uphill). Feldthurns is 15 km on, across the valley (about 25 minutes). Brixen is a final 10 km (15 minutes). Roughly 35 km and an hour behind the wheel, but you’ll spread it across the whole day.
This is the day the whole trip is built around, so don’t rush it. You’re climbing up onto the terraces above the Eisack, where the Keschtnweg (the Chestnut Trail) threads between farms, chestnut groves and vineyards, and where the Buschenschank places throw open their doors for the season. Villanders and Feldthurns are two of the best villages for it, all sloping lanes and farmhouses with a wine press in the barn. The move is to park up, walk a stretch of the trail between farms so you earn it, then settle in at a long table for chestnuts, speck, barley soup and a jug of the cloudy new wine. Roll into Brixen in the evening pleasantly wrecked, which is the correct state to arrive in.
Things to do:
- Drive up to Villanders and walk a section of the Keschtnweg through the chestnut groves, about 15 minutes from Klausen, give the walk an hour or two
- Book a table at a farm Buschenschank for the full Törggelen spread, plan for a long lazy two to three hours here
- Cross to Feldthurns for a second village and its castle, around 25 minutes over, an hour to look around
- Buy a paper cone of hot roasted chestnuts to eat as you wander, a two-minute job and non-negotiable
- Drop down into Brixen and walk the cathedral square and cloister before dinner, 15 minutes from Feldthurns, an hour in the old town
Tinker’s Tip: Real farm Buschenschank places only open on certain days and they fill up fast with locals who’ve been coming for years. Ring ahead and book, and pick a farm you have to walk to rather than one you can park outside. The ones at the end of a track are almost always the better feed, and one of you needs to stay off the new wine to drive back down.
Where to Stay in Brixen
Day 4: Brixen → Val di Funes (Villnöss) → Brixen (finish line)
Driving: Santa Maddalena in Val di Funes is about 25 km from Brixen (roughly 40 minutes each way). It’s a dead-end valley, so you head out and back. Around 50 km all in, an hour and a half of driving with the return.
Easy, pretty last day. Give Brixen a proper morning first, because it’s the oldest town in Tyrol and the arcaded centre plus the painted cathedral cloister deserve more than a glance. Then point the car up Val di Funes, a quiet side valley that ends in one of the great Alpine views: the little church of Santa Maddalena in the foreground, the jagged Geisler (Odle) peaks of the Dolomites rising straight up behind it. It’s the shot you’ve seen a hundred times and it still stops you dead. Walk a bit, breathe the cold mountain air, then drift back to Brixen to raise a last glass to a very well-fed trip.
Things to do:
- Walk Brixen’s old town, cathedral and painted cloister over a slow morning, all central, give it an hour or two
- Drive up to Santa Maddalena for the classic church-and-mountains view, about 40 minutes from Brixen, an hour or more with photos
- Take the short meadow walk to the St Johann in Ranui chapel for the other famous angle, 30 to 40 minutes there and back
- Grab a coffee or a plate of dumplings at a valley inn before the drive back, an easy hour
- Head back to Brixen and toast the finish with a glass of Eisacktaler white, whenever you feel like it
Check this first: Val di Funes gets popular and the roads and car parks near Santa Maddalena and Zannes can be capped or ticketed at busy times to keep the crowds down. Check the valley’s access rules before you set off, have some coins or a card for parking, and go early to get a space and the light.
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Where To Stay For This South Tyrol Törggelen Road Trip
You only shift base twice on this one, which keeps the packing and unpacking sane. Aim for central spots in each town so you can walk straight out to dinner and a glass, and pick somewhere with easy parking since the car needs somewhere to sit while you eat. Here’s how I’d split the nights.
Bolzano (night 1): Stay in or right beside the old town so Ötzi, the arcades and the wine bars are all on foot. It’s a small centre, so you don’t need to be bang on the main square, and a quieter side street a couple of minutes out is often better value and calmer at night.
Klausen (night 2): The village is tiny and lovely, so stay on or just off the main street and you’ll be able to wander out for dinner with the river running past. It makes a peaceful, small-town break between the two busier towns, and puts you close to the chestnut villages for the morning.
Brixen (nights 3 and 4): Base yourself near the cathedral square and the arcaded centre. Two nights here lets you do the Törggelen day, sleep it off, and still have the Val di Funes day without moving hotels. It’s the biggest, best-served town at the top of the valley, so you’ve got the widest choice of places to eat when you roll back in.
Pit Stops & Side Detours
The core route already flows, but there are a few easy add-ons if you’ve got a spare afternoon or fancy stretching it to five days. Keep them short so they don’t eat into your table time.
- Neustift Abbey (Kloster Neustift / Novacella) just north of Brixen, a working monastery with one of the oldest wineries in the region and a cellar worth a tasting
- Barbian (Barbiano) and its waterfalls, a short hop from Klausen, plus the odd little Dreikirchen (three churches under one roof) hidden up in the woods
- Villanderer Alm, the high pasture above Villanders, for a bracing walk and a hut lunch if the weather holds
- The Ritten narrow-gauge tram and the Rittner Horn cable car, if you want more of the plateau than day two allows
- Latzfons, a quiet farming village above Klausen with more Buschenschank options if the first ones are booked out
Skip: trying to bolt on a big Dolomites pass drive like the Sella or Gardena on a four-day plan. It’s a different, longer trip and it’ll leave you rushing the chestnuts. Save it for its own visit.
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Browse the shopLocal Eats Worth Chasing
South Tyrolean food is Alpine comfort cooking with an Italian streak, and in autumn it’s exactly what you want after a walk in the cold. Come hungry and say yes to the second plate. For more regional ideas, my destination guides have plenty more.
- Roasted chestnuts (Keschtn), the whole point of the season, eaten hot from a paper cone with your fingers
- New wine (Nuier or Suser), cloudy, half-fermented and dangerously easy, which is the joke of Törggelen
- Schlutzkrapfen, spinach-and-ricotta half-moon pasta with brown butter, comfort in a bowl
- Gerstsuppe, a thick barley and smoked pork soup that basically is a hug
- Speck and Kaminwurzen, the local cured ham and thin smoked sausages, sliced onto a board with dark bread
- Schlachtplatte, the big farm platter of sausage, kraut, dumplings and cured meats served at the Buschenschank
- Krapfen for pudding, warm doughnuts filled with chestnut, poppyseed or jam, and yes you do have room
Road Trip Playlist
Podcasts to Queue Up
The driving days are short but the climbs are twisty, so something good in your ears makes the switchbacks fly by. A quick mix for the mountain roads.
- A history show digging into the strange dual identity of South Tyrol, half Austrian, half Italian, and how it got that way
- A food-and-drink podcast on natural and low-intervention wine, which pairs neatly with a valley full of new wine
- A long-form interview show for the slower stretches where not much is happening out the window
- A short daily news round-up to feel vaguely connected to the outside world between farms
- An audiobook you’ve been saving, ideal for the quiet run up Val di Funes on the last day
Quick win: Download the playlist. Use zero data, and you dont need to worry about signal!
Road Trip Essentials
Nothing exotic here, just the bits that make an autumn drive through the Alps smoother. A couple of these I learned the annoying way.
A proper hire car with a bit of poke. The trip doesn’t work without your own wheels, and some of the farm roads are steep and narrow, so a gutless rental will have you crawling. I’d book your Bolzano hire car early for a better price and something that climbs without wheezing. A compact is fine, and it’s easier to park in the tight village lanes than a big estate.
An eSIM so the maps never die on a hairpin. Signal drops in the side valleys and up on the plateau, which is exactly where you don’t want your sat nav giving up. I keep a backup Italy eSIM loaded and download the whole area offline on Google Maps the night before, so a lost signal is a shrug rather than a crisis.
Travel insurance, because driving abroad invites plot twists. A scuffed wing mirror on a tight lane, a slip on a wet chestnut path, a phone left at a farm table. I’d sort travel insurance before you go rather than gamble on it all being fine, since medical bills abroad are a horrible surprise.
A designated driver plan and a bit of cash. The whole point of a Buschenschank is the new wine, so if you’re both drinking you’ll need a taxi back down or a bed up in the village. Some smaller farms and car parks are still cash-only too, so keep a little stash in the door pocket. If you’d rather skip the car for the airport run at either end, you can also pre-book an airport transfer into Bolzano.
Comfy shoes and a warm layer. Every village is best on foot and half the Törggelen fun is walking the trail between farms, so your feet rack up miles. Autumn up here swings from warm sun to sharp cold fast, so don’t fully trust a bright morning. For more of what I pack, have a nose through my favourite travel planning resources and a few handy travel tips.
Good to know: If your flight in or out gets delayed or cancelled, you might be owed money under EU rules. It’s worth knowing you can claim flight compensation rather than just eating the cost and grumbling about it.
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Nick Harvey
Hi, I am Nick! Thank you for reading! The Travel Tinker is a resource designed to help you navigate the beauty of travel! Tinkering your plans as you browse!
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