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June to September is the best time for swimming, boat trips and cycling. The Bregenz Festival runs in July and August, so book rooms early. Spring and autumn are milder and quieter. Winters are cool and often foggy by the lake, but the Pfänder offers views above the cloud on clear days.

• Pfänder is the town mountain, reached by cable car in minutes. It has a panoramic view over the lake and the three countries, and an alpine animal park.
• Kunsthaus Bregenz is an art museum in a glass cube designed by Peter Zumthor.
• vorarlberg museum covers the history, nature and culture of Vorarlberg.
• Seepromenade Bregenz is the lakeside walkway, which leads to the festival stage and harbour.
• Burg Hohenbregenz is a ruined castle above the town.
• Zisterzienserabtei Mehrerau is a Cistercian abbey on the edge of town.
• Stadtpfarrkirche St. Gallus is the parish church of the old town.
• Herz Jesu-Kirche is a neo-Romanesque church close to the lake.
• Seebad Bregenz is the lido and a good swimming spot.
• The Martinsturm in the upper town has the largest onion dome in central Europe.

• See an opera at the Bregenz Festival on the floating stage.
• Ride the Pfänder cable car at sunset.
• Cycle the lake path toward Lindau.
• Swim or sail in summer.
• Take a lake boat to Konstanz or Lindau.

• Lindau in Germany is a small island town, about 15 minutes by train.
• Feldkirch is a medieval town, about 30 minutes by train.
• Dornbirn is a city with a museum quarter and a cable car, about 15 minutes by train.
• Schruns is a Montafon resort, about 1 hour 15 minutes by car.
• Lech is the Arlberg ski village, about 1 hour 30 minutes by car.
• St. Gallen in Switzerland is about 45 minutes by train.

• Feldkirch and Schruns are the closest preferred places in Vorarlberg.

• By air: Zurich Airport is about 1 hour 30 minutes away by train. Friedrichshafen is closer, with limited flights. Innsbruck and Munich are alternatives.
• By train: Bregenz is the end of the Vorarlberg line. Zurich takes about 2 hours, Munich about 2 hours 30 minutes, Innsbruck about 2 hours 15 minutes. Check times on ÖBB.
• By boat: Boats run between Bregenz and other towns on Lake Constance.
• By car: The A14 motorway runs through the town.

The old town and lakefront are small and walkable. Buses cover the rest of the town. The station is next to the lake. Cycling is easy. The Pfänder cable car starts close to the centre.

A car is not needed in town. Traffic can be heavy on the lakeside road in summer. Parking garages are close to the centre. Motorways in Austria need a vignette.

Vorarlberg food mixes Alpine and Swiss influences. Try Käsknöpfle, small cheese dumplings, and lake fish such as whitefish (Felchen). Local wines grow around the lake. Bregenzerwald cheese is sold in markets.

Bregenz is very safe. Be careful when swimming or on boats in changing weather. Tap water is clean and safe to drink. The emergency number is 112.

Bregenz began as the Roman town of Brigantium. In the Middle Ages the counts of Bregenz built a castle above the town. The Bregenz Festival began in 1946 with performances on boats on the lake, and the large floating stage has been built since the 1980s.

Quick practical facts for Austria at a glance: