In a nutshell
- Bludenz: The perfect base for exploring Vorarlberg — and right across from the train station, there’s a Milka chocolate factory with a seriously good outlet store.
- Klostertal: A beautiful area for hiking. Our top pick is the summit hike to Muttjöchle — totally doable even for beginners, with stunning mountain views the whole way.
- Brandnertal: Home to the Lünersee, one of the most beautiful mountain lakes in the region — hike all the way around it for some seriously impressive scenery.
- Großes Walsertal: The standout here is the Sommerkulinarium — a hiking route with three food stops along the way, combining great mountain scenery with delicious local food.
Where is Vorarlberg?
Vorarlberg is located in the far west of Austria.
The state borders Germany, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein.
Since Vorarlberg sits right next to Bavaria, it’s also not far from the Bavarian Alps.
Depending on where you’re starting from, a drive to Munich takes about two to three hours by car.
Vorarlberg also borders Lake Constance (Bodensee) — Lake Constance and Konstanz are only about 100 kilometers away.
Our Base: The Alpine Town of Bludenz
Our home base for all our day trips was the alpine town of Bludenz. Picturesquely set in a valley, Bludenz is home to around 15,000 residents and is the sixth-largest city in Vorarlberg.
Bludenz is directly accessible by train from Germany, making it a great starting point even if you’re not traveling by car.
Our Sweet Treat Tip in Bludenz
The moment we stepped off the train, we were greeted by an irresistible scent of chocolate that followed us for the next several days. The culprit was easy to find: right across from the train station sits an enormous Milka chocolate factory.
And the best part: there’s a factory outlet where you can stock up on chocolate by the boxful. The best deal is the packs of eight 300-gram bars for just 7 euros. The bars come in plain packaging, though, so you won’t know which flavors you’re getting — half the fun, honestly.
Our Cultural Tip in Bludenz
Since 2015, Bludenz has hosted a very special event every summer: Shakespeare am Berg (Shakespeare on the Mountain). Between July and August, one of Shakespeare’s plays is performed on the highest open-air stage in Europe.
The atmosphere up there was seriously amazing, and we can’t recommend a visit enough. Before the show, you can enjoy a delicious meal at the Alpengasthof Muttersberg while taking in the stunning sunset views!
More info about Shakespeare am Berg
Our Hotel Tip in Bludenz
We stayed at the Schlosshotel Dörflinger. This family-run hotel perches on a hill above the city and offers wonderful views over Bludenz. The rooms were newly renovated, and even though the hotel looks fairly traditional from the outside, the interior had a pleasantly modern feel.
The beds were so comfortable that Jenny would have happily taken the mattress home with her — she barely managed to restrain herself. Guests also get free e-bikes, which we of course immediately tried out.
More info about Schlosshotel Dörflinger
Day Trip to the Klostertal: Hike to the Muttjöchle
Our first day trip took us to the Klostertal valley, about 20 kilometers east of Bludenz. We headed up by cable car to the Sonnenkopf, where the first highlight of the day was already waiting: a mountain breakfast.
At the Bergrestaurant Sonnenkopf, a fantastic breakfast buffet is served at an elevation of 2,000 meters. In glorious sunshine, we enjoyed it on the terrace with sweeping views of the mountain panorama — seriously hard to beat.
You’ll need to reserve the mountain breakfast by the day before at the latest — you can find all the details on the Sonnenkopf Restaurant website.
Freshly fueled up, we set off toward the Muttjöchle. The hike takes about two to three hours round trip and was very manageable for us as beginner hikers — though it was definitely more than just a stroll.
The trail passes through blooming meadows and small mountain lakes, and behind every hill a new breathtaking vista opens up. Truly stunning!
Day Trip to the Brandnertal: Hike Around the Lünersee
After completing our very first hike ever on the way to the Muttjöchle, we headed straight out again the next day. Our second destination was the Brandnertal valley, about 20 kilometers south of Bludenz.
The Lünerseebahn cable car took us back up to around 2,000 meters, where one of the most beautiful lakes in Vorarlberg was waiting for us. The Lünersee was once the largest natural mountain lake in Austria — in the 1950s, a dam was built there.
A wonderful hiking trail winds all the way around the lake. Our tip: when you get off the cable car, go left around the lake. You’ll start by crossing the dam wall. After that comes a short, steep section, and once you’ve tackled that, the path continues around the lake with no major elevation changes.
Beyond the turquoise color of the water, what impressed us most was how dramatically the weather shifted up there. Within just a few minutes, it went from brilliant sunshine and blue skies to thick fog that completely swallowed the lake — then cleared again just as quickly. Absolutely striking!
Our tip: If you visit the Lünersee on a Friday in July or August, you can round off the evening in style with a Frööd Mountain BBQ.
We took the bus to Brand, then rode the Dorfbahn up to 1,390 meters, and from there continued on the Panoramabahn to the Burtschasattel at 1,680 meters — and that’s where Frööd is located.
The name, by the way, isn’t a made-up word — it means “joy” in the Vorarlberg dialect. What we loved about Frööd, beyond the delicious food and the beautiful setting, is that it operates in a climate-neutral way and runs entirely on renewable energy. Really cool! You can find more info here: Restaurant Frööd.
Day Trip to the Großes Walsertal: Hiking with a Culinary Twist
Good things come in threes, so on our third day in Vorarlberg we headed out on our third hike. This time, our destination was the Großes Walsertal valley, about 20 kilometers northeast of Bludenz.
This outing wasn’t just about hiking, though — it was mainly about the food. The so-called Sommerkulinarium is a hiking route with three stops along the way, each offering something delicious to eat.
At the Alpe Steris, you kick things off with a tasty snack platter of mountain cheese and bacon. Next, at the Breithornhütte, there’s a warm lunch and a shot of schnapps, and to finish things off, a delicious slice of cake awaits you in the valley.
The hike is quite demanding for inexperienced hikers, but it’s a lot of fun, and the food is the perfect reward for the effort.
You can book the Sommerkulinarium on the Alpenregion Vorarlberg website. It costs 30 euros, with drinks and cable car tickets extra.
Even More Day Trip Destinations in Vorarlberg
On our trip, we only got to explore a small part of Vorarlberg. Luckily, we weren’t the only ones out there discovering the region.
At the same time, five other blogger teams were traveling through Vorarlberg alongside us, each in a different area.
Note: Once the other blogs’ articles have been published, we’ll link to them here.
Bregenz Lake Constance Region
Kathi and Romeo explored Bregenz on Lake Constance. On their blog Sommertage, they show you everything there is to discover there and even wrote two articles about their time in Vorarlberg:
#1 Bregenz on Lake Constance: Sights & Tips.
#2 A Weekend on Lake Constance in Vorarlberg: Highlights & Tips
Lech-Zürs Region
Marco and Sara traveled through the Lech-Zürs region and had quite a lot of adventures there — including spending the night in a remote hut on a mountain summit.
Lech Zürs am Arlberg: Hiking in Vorarlberg’s Most Beautiful Corner
Montafon Region
Ania and Daniel explored the Montafon region and got plenty of hiking in as well.
Bregenzerwald Region
Katrin and Mandy headed to the Bregenzerwald and had some real adventures there — including rock climbing and paragliding. Exciting!
Vorarlberg in Summer: Outdoor Activities in the Bregenzerwald
Kleinwalsertal Region
Rebecca and Lukas were in the Kleinwalsertal, right on the German border. You can find their article here: It’s So Lush and Green: Culinary Hiking in the Kleinwalsertal.
Our Tips for Beginner Hikers
Before our trip to Vorarlberg, we were truly complete hiking novices. We had no idea what gear we’d need or what to expect up on the mountain.
If you’re in the same boat, here are our best pointers for first-time hikers.
First things first: You need good shoes. A proper pair of hiking boots is absolutely worth its weight in gold. Especially on unpaved trails, you need solid grip — and we strongly recommend ankle-high shoes to prevent rolling your ankle. Before our trip, we went to an outdoor specialist for an in-depth fitting session. We spent a good two hours there and each tried on at least ten pairs before finding the right one. We were genuinely so glad we had those shoes with us.
Tip #2: You need a good daypack. Unfortunately, we were less well-prepared on this front and only had the daypacks we normally use around the city. On the mountain, though, you just sweat way too much with those. Our fellow bloggers Sara and Marco were much smarter about it and brought along a backpack that doesn’t rest directly against your back: the Tatonka Vento. Next time we go hiking, we’ll definitely be bringing one too.
And the third tip: Rain jackets. Mountain weather can turn on a dime. We experienced it firsthand at the Lünersee, watching the sky completely close in within just a few minutes. Luckily it didn’t rain on us, but we were really glad to have two lightweight rain jackets along as backup.
In the interest of transparency: We were invited on this trip by Vorarlberg Tourismus. That said, our opinions are, of course, entirely our own.
