Vorarlberg

Independent-minded Vorarlberg features tranquil lakes, thundering waterfalls, foresty hills, wintry crags, castles, and lots of cheese. The Bregenzerwald is a bedevilling land of velvety hills, granite spires, and villages studded with dairies. Mouthwatering Alpine cheeses are produced along the Bregenzerwald Cheese Road. The route is not so much a single road as a local network linking farms, dairy farms, shops, and restaurants involved in making and preparing these local delicacies.

Nudging up against traditional wooden farmhouses are modernist buildings made out of pale wood, glass walls, and straight edges. Interesting architectural features can be discovered all over Vorarlberg’s towns and villages. Many hotels have undergone a thorough facelift and now present themselves in a new design, always incorporating natural, sustainable materials from the region.

The cosmopolitan cultural scene in Bregenz and surroundings is set off beautifully by the region’s breathtaking nature. The annual Bregenz Festival in July and August has been a magnet for music lovers for years. Taking place on an elaborately designed floating stage, operas are performed against the magnificent sunset over Bodensee lake. The annual Schubertiade in the villages Schwarzenberg and Hohenems attracts chamber music ensembles from around the world. Patrons come for the excellent performances as much as the pastoral beauty of the surrounding hills.