Excursions

The Bregenz Festival is a must for any culture vulture, with a varied programme of opera performances, orchestral concerts, music and poetry presentations at its outdoor stage, the Festspielhaus (festival hall) and the Lake Studio.

Michelehof is a farm that’s been run by the Büchele family from Hard for generations. Processing their own fruit has always been part of the daily routine here, and now in recent years Albert Büchele has made this his passion and has brought the distillation of fine spirits to perfection with traditional methods. 

It is claimed the monastery of St. Gerold dates back to the 11th century. Today, the priory, which belongs to the Benedictine monastery of Einsiedeln in Switzerland, is considered the spiritual and cultural centre of the Great Walser Valley.

Werkraum is home to various forward-thinking and traditionally-rooted craftspeople from the Bregenzerwald area. The visionary building was designed by world-famous architect Peter Zumthor but built and fitted out by the collective might of the local craftsmen themselves.

The cheese cellar in Lingenau is the place to not only buy and taste cheese but also to see it mature. Cheese and wine tastins with a sommelier is available to groups on inquiry.

The little sister of the elegant Hohentwiel steam ship has been back gracing the waters of Lake Constance since May 2019. The MS Oesterreich is a motor ship first launched during the 1920s golden age, and was considered a luxury liner at the time. 

The truly picturesquely Lünersee (“Lunar Lake”) at an altitude of 1,970m sits at the foot of the Schesaplana mountain and is surrounded by various peaks. There’s a wonderful circuit along the lake’s shore that takes about three hours and is relatively flat.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Pfahlbauten tells the story of life in the Stone and Bronze Ages. You start your visit with a virtual 360° dive in the Archeorama. Here, the life and building structures under water are made visible.

Austria is famous for its schnapps production, and there’s none finer than here in Vorarlberg. The local Prinz distillery in Hörbranz offers a unique behind-the-scenes look of how their spirit is produced. Visitors are able to watch master distillers at work and gain fascinating insights into the fine art of distillation. 

Around 130 animals from 23 different species live here spread across an area of 10 hectares. Visitors can experience and observe numerous alpine animals first-hand during a walk in the Ardetzenberg Wildpark. 

The cityscape of Bregenz is strongly defined by this iconic museum, which draws crowds as much for its architecture as its exhibitions.

The only Women’s Museum in Austria plays host to varying exhibitions on women past and present, from a regional or supra-regional perspective. Frauenmuseum Hittisau aims to make clear the cultural contributions of women throughout history and in present day, and as such has hosted over 30 exhibitions to date on various topics. 

The Waldwelt Skywalk Allgäu allows visitors to wander around the treetops and canopies at 25 to 40 metres above the ground. The barrier-free structure takes people through the greenery and serves up fantastic views across the region where the borders of four countries meet all the way to Lake Constance.

This 8km-long hiking trail takes visitors all the way along the Pfänder ridge, from the cable car station to Eichenberg and Möggers, with various culinary stop-off points. Twelve boards along the way present hikers with interesting facts about the production of Vorarlberg cheese. 

Every child knows that cheese is made from milk. But hardly anyone knows how milk is turned into cheese. So why not finally get to the bottom of this mystery and, while doing so, take the opportunity to nibble a little of your favourite dairy product?