Trento travel guide
The Council of Trent's city, frescoed facades and Alpine lakes by train
Trento is a prosperous, walkable Alpine city on the Brenner line between Verona and Bolzano, with a frescoed castle, a fine cathedral square and lakes a short train ride away. Late spring, September and the Christmas market season are the best times; two days is enough. Prices are high, and many passports get 90 days without a visa.
Hemmed in by mountains on the Adige, Trento is where the Brenner railway leaves the Alps and the Italian lowlands begin. For three decades in the 16th century the Catholic Church met here for the Council of Trent, and the buildings it used still frame the centre: the Duomo, the Palazzo Pretorio and the fortress-palace of the prince-bishops.
Austria held the city until 1919. You can taste it in the dumplings and strudel, and see it in the tidy, painted housefronts of the pedestrian centre. Trento is also one of Italy's wealthiest and best-run cities. Its university keeps the bars full, Renzo Piano's science museum MUSE anchors a new riverside quarter, and lakes or ski slopes are under an hour away.
A pleasant surprise for many: some of Italy's best sparkling wine comes from these valleys. Trentodoc, made by the traditional method, is poured in every bar, alongside local Teroldego and Nosiola.
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A prince-bishops' castle with one of Europe's great medieval fresco cycles, a Romanesque cathedral and a science museum by Renzo Piano.
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Best time to visit Trento
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
Orchards in leaf, Monte Bondone open for hiking and the Feste Vigiliane in late June.
Grape harvest in the Val di Cembra and Piana Rotaliana, crisp weather for the castle and Doss Trento.
Wooden stalls of the Christmas market in Piazza Fiera; cold but bright days.
In late June the Feste Vigiliane, for Trento's patron saint Vigilius, fill the old centre with historical games and parades.
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Getting there
Brenner line from Verona or Munich
Trento sits on the main rail line between Italy and Austria and Germany, which makes the train the natural way in. Verona is 50 to 80 minutes south by regional train, Bolzano about 45 minutes north with around two trains an hour, and a handful of direct trains a day come down from Munich (about 4.5 to 5 hours) and Innsbruck.
- From Verona
- Regional train, 50 to 80 minutes
- From Bolzano
- About 45 minutes, two trains an hour
- From Munich
- Direct trains, about 4.5 to 5 hours
- Verona airport (VRN)
- Shuttle to Porta Nuova, then train
- Bergamo, Venice and Munich airports are further but have more flights.
- The Valsugana line runs east to Bassano del Grappa, with a couple of through trains to Padova and Venice, and drivers use the A22 Brenner motorway.
- Ticket machines may offer first class on regional trains that have none; buy second class.
- Validate paper regional tickets on the platform before boarding.
Where to stay
Old centre or along the river
The station, the old centre and most hotels sit within a 15-minute walk of each other, so the choice comes down to the street. Piazza Duomo is quiet at night, the station area has the hostel and plain mid-range rooms, and Piedicastello across the Adige is cheaper.
- Centro storico
- Around Piazza Duomo and Via Belenzani; quiet at night, the shortest walk to everything
- Piazza Dante and station
- Next to trains and buses, with the hostel and plain mid-range hotels
- Le Albere
- Modern quarter beside MUSE, near the river, ten minutes south of the centre
- Piedicastello
- Across the Adige below Doss Trento, cheaper and local
Getting around
On foot, bike and cable car
The centre is largely closed to traffic and easy to walk end to end in 20 minutes. Bikes suit the flat valley floor: a public bike scheme has stations around town, including one by the tourist office on Piazza Dante, and the cycle path along the Adige runs for miles in both directions.
- Cable car
- Riverside to Sardagna in a few minutes
- Trentino Trasporti buses
- Monte Bondone, lakes and valleys
- Valsugana railway
- Lakes Caldonazzo and Levico
- Bike
- Adige cycle path and city bike stations
- Trentino Trasporti's blue buses leave from the bus station between the railway and Piazza Dante for the mountains and lakes.
- A cable car climbs from the riverside to the village of Sardagna in a few minutes, the fastest viewpoint over the city.
- The Trento-Malè and Valsugana railways reach the valleys and the lakes of Caldonazzo and Levico.
Know before you go
What makes Trento worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- Torre Aquila in the Castello del Buonconsiglio, painted with the Cycle of the Months, a rare picture of everyday life around 1400.
- Piazza Duomo at dusk, with the Neptune fountain, the cathedral's flank and the frescoed Casa Cazuffi-Rella lit up.
- The cable car to Sardagna, a few minutes from the riverside to a balcony over the whole valley.
Good to know
- Most museums close on Mondays, including the Buonconsiglio and MUSE.
- Christmas market weekends are busy; book rooms early for December.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Trento, month by month
Trento's monthly figures come from the Trento Laste station of the provincial environment agency (Agenzia Provinciale per la Protezione dell'Ambiente); select a month to compare temperature and rain.
Climate figures are approximate long-term averages for Trento Laste (Agenzia Provinciale per la Protezione dell'Ambiente, via Wikipedia).
Buonconsiglio, MUSE and the Sardagna cable car
Spend the first morning in Piazza Duomo. Go into the Romanesque cathedral of San Vigilio, where the Council of Trent issued its decrees, then walk up Via Belenzani, lined with palaces whose facades are still painted. Continue to the Castello del Buonconsiglio, the prince-bishops' residence, and save time for Torre Aquila and its Cycle of the Months.
In the afternoon, walk south along the river to MUSE, Renzo Piano's science museum, whose glass and timber roofline copies the mountains behind. Finish with a Trentodoc aperitivo back in the centre.
On day two, cross the Adige in the morning and climb Doss Trento to the white mausoleum of Cesare Battisti, the local patriot executed by Austria in 1916. Take the cable car up to Sardagna for the opposite view. After lunch, either ride the Valsugana train to Lake Levico for a swim in summer, or take the bus up Monte Bondone for an alpine walk. Rovereto, 20 minutes south by train, is an alternative if you prefer the MART modern art museum.
Canederli, strangolapreti and a glass of Trentodoc
Trento's kitchen sits between Austria and Italy. Canederli, bread dumplings with speck or cheese, are served in broth or with melted butter, and strangolapreti, the local spinach and bread gnocchi, come with sage butter and grated Trentino cheese. Tortel di patate, a crisp potato cake, is a mountain-hut favourite worth hunting for.
Polenta appears beside game, mushrooms and sausages in autumn. For dessert, the cake shops sell apple strudel made with Melinda apples from the Val di Non, best with an afternoon coffee.
Alla Grotta on Vicolo San Marco, a pizzeria-restaurant that has fed the old centre for decades, is a reliable stop for a plain meal. Wine matters here. Look for Teroldego Rotaliano, a deep red from the plain north of the city, the white Nosiola, the sweet Vino Santo and, above all, Trentodoc, the region's bottle-fermented sparkling wine. Wine bars pour it by the glass with plates of cheese and cured ham.
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How we research our Trento travel guide
Brenner line trains, the Sardagna cable car and Trento's castle and museums are checked against the Comune di Trento website and Italia.it.
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Checked against trusted sources:
Official website of TrentoItalia.itUNESCO World Heritage Centre
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting Trento.
Getting there
Verona Villafranca (VRN). Take the shuttle bus to Verona Porta Nuova and a train to Trento, 50 to 80 minutes.
About 45 minutes, with around two trains an hour.
Yes, a few direct trains a day run over the Brenner in about 4.5 to 5 hours.
A few minutes on foot, and most of the centre in between is pedestrian, so there is no need for a bus or taxi.
General
The 16th-century council of the Catholic Church that met in Trento over several sessions to respond to the Protestant Reformation.
Two days: one for the centre, the castle and MUSE, and one for Doss Trento, Sardagna and a lake or mountain trip.
Yes. Lakes Caldonazzo and Levico are reachable by train or bus and have swimming areas.
Canederli, strangolapreti, tortel di patate and apple strudel, with a glass of Trentodoc or Teroldego.
The city's science museum, designed by Renzo Piano, covering Alpine nature, geology and evolution; it closes on Mondays.
The centre is largely closed to traffic and easy to walk end to end in 20 minutes. Bikes suit the flat valley floor: a public bike scheme has stations around town, including one by the tourist office on Piazza Dante, and the cycle path along the Adige runs for miles in both directions.
Timing & weather
From late November into early January, with wooden stalls around Piazza Fiera and the old centre.
The best time to visit Trento is May to Jun, Sep to Oct, Dec. Mountain walks and lake swims in late spring and early autumn, the Christmas market in December.
- Late spring: May - June (Orchards in leaf, Monte Bondone open for hiking and the Feste Vigiliane in late June)
- Early autumn: September - October (Grape harvest in the Val di Cembra and Piana Rotaliana, crisp weather for the castle and Doss Trento)
- Christmas: Late November - early January (Wooden stalls of the Christmas market in Piazza Fiera; cold but bright days)
July is the warmest month in Trento, with average highs of 29°C, and January the coolest, with lows of -2°C. October is the wettest month, at about 117 mm of rain; February is the driest. Trento's monthly figures come from the Trento Laste station of the provincial environment agency (Agenzia Provinciale per la Protezione dell'Ambiente); select a month to compare temperature and rain.
Visa & documents
Schengen rules apply in Italy. Citizens of the EU and of many other countries, including the US, UK, Canada and Australia, can visit visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180-day period; other nationalities need a Schengen visa. The EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) records non-EU travelers' fingerprints and a photo at the border.
Health & safety
Violent crime against visitors to Italy is rare. Pickpocketing is the main problem, especially on buses and metros in Rome (bus 64 is notorious), at Roman and Florentine sights, and at Termini and Naples Centrale stations. Wear your bag across your body and zip it, and use only licensed white taxis or official ride apps.
