Excursions

Mainau, the botanical “Flower Island”, nestles like a multi-coloured jewel within the blues and greens of Lake Constance. The majestic castle complex, an outstanding example of southern Germany’s baroque style of architecture, harmonises effortlessly with one of Europe’s most beautiful botanical parks.

The museum landscape based around the yearly Schubertiade Festival is a delightful mix of small and historically significant spaces. First and foremost are the Franz Schubert Museum and Schubertiade Museum where visitors can get a comprehensive overview of the stories of the great composers. 

The centuries-old Martinsturm tower in Bregenz is the main landmark of Vorarlberg’s capital. One of the must-see historical sights on Lake Constance, its baroque onion-shaped dome towers over the roofs of the city. 

Vorarlberg is blessed by an abundance of water. From glacial ice to the shores of Lake Constance, the crystal-clear wet stuff seeks its way, is collected, filtered, drunk and – increasingly – is converted into electricity.

Here in Dornbirn, experienced Austria Guides offer fascinating views of the city and stories from its industrial past. This walking tour takes visitors through Dornbirn’s most beautiful and impressive places.

The Bregenzerwald railway line, affectionately known locally as the Wälderbähnle, used to link Bregenz to the mountain village of Bezau. This 35-kilometre stretch was covered by a narrow-gauge track just 760 millimetres wide. 

Vorarlberg has a long and proud history of beer brewing. In fact, in years gone by almost every inn brewed its own beer. A number of these traditional breweries are still active today, such as the Fohrenburger brewery in Bludenz, the Mohren brewery in Dornbirn, the Egg brewery and the Frastanz brewery cooperative.

This charming steam train began life as a genuine service railway, but today is used solely for visitor trips. The track runs along the Rhine embankment from the Rhein-Schauen Museum in Lustenau and through the nature reserve to the mouth of the Rhine at Lake Constance. 

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?

The Stoffels Sawmill Museum is an open-air museum in Hohenems with a unique cultural-historical documentation of 2000 years of mill technology. On display here is the historical and technical development of saws and mills from their origins to modern times.

Karren is Dornbirn’s emblematic local mountain, towering over the city and offering panoramic views of the Swiss mountains, the Rhine Valley, and over to Lake Constance. It can be reached on foot in around an hour, or by a few minutes’ cable car ride lifting passengers up to a height of 976 metres.

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. 

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.

With around 5,000 m² of exhibition space, a visit to the FFA Museum is an experience with numerous highlights such as the flight or car simulator, on-site maintenance of aircraft and vehicles and exhibits from the Swiss Army and the British Rolls-Royce production.

The largest waterfall in Europe, the Rhine Falls offer visitors a truly magnificent spectacle. Over a width of 150 metres and a height of 23 metres, 700 cubic metres of concentrated water per second plunge over the rocks here.