Summer in Vorarlberg

Summer in Vorarlberg is more than just a season. It is an expression of “Lebensgefühl” (attitude to life). Between the mountains and Lake Constance, movement, architecture, cuisine and culture combine to form a harmonious whole. Those who travel here experience a region that is consciously designed and where everything can be discovered easily and sustainably by public transportation.

Best connections

If you visit Vorarlberg, you don’t need a car. With bus and train the region is well connected. The timetables are coordinated. With the regional guest cards, depending on the region, public transport throughout the country is included from the first night on or from three nights on. You can take your bike with you on most trains. There are also a number of special offers for public transport users. Some event and museum tickets include travel to and from the venue within Vorarlberg. This benefit also applies to those who book a round trip, special or event trip with the ships of Vorarlberg Lines and with the historic ships, the MS OESTERREICH and the DS Hohentwiel. Many other events and destinations are easily accessible by train and bus. Following the hop-on hop-off principle, the whole of Vorarlberg can be explored and circumnavigated. The Silvretta Hochalpenstraße will remain closed until 2030, but the popular Bielerhöhe in the Montafon is still easily accessible and can be experienced without restrictions thanks to the continuously operating Vermuntbahn and tunnel bus also in summer.

Moving experiences

The diverse valley and mountain landscapes allow for beautiful and profound nature experiences and are ideal for hiking and cycling excursions. In some places cable cars shorten the ascent and/or descent. Numerous hiking trails tell stories or are artistically designed, deal with the consequences of climate change or with the surrounding geology or environment. In Kleinwalsertal, for example, the nature explorer adventure expands the interactive offerings for nature lovers. “Respect your limits” is the motto in terms of nature and animal protection. Another educational nature experience is the Natursprünge trail in the Brandnertal with 11 interactive stations. Along the Georunde Rindberg trail in the Bregenzerwald, slanted sculptures amaze visitors, while unusual installations line the Gauertaler AlpkulTour in the Montafon. Among the most popular cycling routes is the Lake Constance cycling route. Escape stories from the years 1938 to 1945 are told on the 100-kilometre-long audio cycling route “Over the border”. In the Bregenzerwald “culinary cycling” connects enjoyment and nature with architectural explorations. Sports enthusiasts, families and connoisseurs will find suitable cycling offers throughout the region – from leisurely e-bike excursions to challenging trail tours. Mountain bikers, e-mountain bike riders, gravel bikers and trail enthusiasts can hire bikes in many places and take part in guided tours. Attractive bike offers include the Bikepark Brandnertal with new trails, its own children’s bike park and a modern 10-seater gondola lift with bike transport, as well as the trail park on the Hochjoch in Montafon. Gravel bike fans will also find ideal conditions between valley and mountain. A highlight alongside the Vorarlberg Gravel Tour is the gravel bike festival “into the wold” in July, which combines sporting challenge with nature experience and community. Golfers of all abilities will find ideal conditions on the six Vorarlberg golf courses – from enjoyable rounds to challenging sporting experiences. Developing and improving their golfing skills while having an impressive alpine backdrop and view. When it gets too warm, the Lake Constance and the numerous (natural) bathing lakes in Vorarlberg invite for a refreshing dip. Whether relaxed swimming or active hours of water sports. The range is complemented by many attractive swimming pools throughout the country.

New impressions

The towns and villages show that Vorarlberg builds and designs differently. Modern, bold, straightforward and with a sense of sustainability, architects and craftsmen go about their work. Wood is their preferred building material. Those who wish to go on an architecture tour can choose from seven routes that are also easily accessible by public transport. The architecture tours lead to remarkable buildings and present the innovative Vorarlberg art of craftsmanship and design. Insights are also provided by village tours and the Walser cultural trails in the Kleinwalsertal. Art also amazes in public spaces, from sculptures on the Lake Constance promenade in Bregenz to the “Skyspace Lech” created by the American artist James Turrell.

Great culinary delights

Vorarlberg spoils its visitors with excellent cuisine in down-to-earth guest houses, mountain inns, alpine huts and in the many restaurants rated by Gault&Millau and the MICHELIN Guide that are renowned for their creative cuisine. Wherever possible, the chefs use regional ingredients. The cheese that gives “Kässpätzle” its excellent flavor, for example, comes from alpine and dairy farms. Fish come from Lake Constance or from sustainable fish farms. Fruit and vegetables thrive in the gardens near Lake Constance. Fine products, from chocolate to brandies, are created in gourmet manufactories. Specialties of all kinds are also available in farm stores and at the weekly markets in the towns and some villages. If you want to combine the pleasures of nature with culinary delights, you can discover the diversity of the region with all your senses on a culinary hiking & cycling tour. At the educational festival “Food Campus Arbogast“, selected producers from all regions of Vorarlberg will come together on 22 and 23 May to present their philosophy and products in person. But this is just one of the many exciting culinary events in Vorarlberg.

Cultivated art of living

Opera on Lake Constance, pop music in Feldkirch, jazz concerts in the Montafon: for culture lovers there is plenty to see and hear. The biggest event is the Bregenz Festival, which performs opera in the open air on the spectacular lakeside stage and is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year. To mark the occasion, there will be the first singalong on the lake as well as an exhibition about the last 80 years. From 22 July to 23 August, Giuseppe Verdi’s “La traviata” will be shown on the lakeside stage for the first time. In the Festspielhaus “The Excursions of Mr. Brouček” premieres on 23 July 2026. With events outdoors and in Feldkirch’s old indoor pool, the pop culture festival poolbar is a hotspot for cultural debates, design and live music. It will take place in 2026 from 8 July to 16 August.

The Schubertiade in Hohenems (April/May, June and October), the world’s largest Schubert festival, has been running for more than 50 years. In April/May and July, the events take place in Hohenems. In June and August/September, concerts and song recitals take place at the Schubertiade’s second venue – in Schwarzenberg in the Bregenzerwald. Music, from folk music to jazz, is performed by the Montafoner Resonanzen from 6 August to 5 September. Jazz and classical music can be heard in Lech Zürs am Arlberg. “Supervised thinking. The new pleasure in tirelessness.” is the theme of the Philosophicum Lech, which will encourage discussion and reflection from 22 to 27 September. The Montforter Zwischentöne is now also available in summer, from 7 to 14 June. The Vorarlberg Symphony Orchestra (SOV) presents itself with the new concert format “Outreach” at various venues throughout the country by free admission. Taking place from 10 May to 27 June, the motto is: Best of classical music. Many other larger and smaller events round off the festival summer in Vorarlberg.

Inspiring exhibitions

Different living environments make the museums and exhibition venues come alive. With changing exhibitions, the Kunsthaus Bregenz impresses all those who appreciate contemporary art. In summer, works by Cyprien Gaillard can be seen (13 June to 4 October). The exhibition by Torkwase Dyson will follow in the autumn (17 November 2026 to 24 January 2027). Also in Bregenz, the vorarlberg museum features several permanent exhibitions as well as changing special exhibitions. For families and those eager to experiment, the interactive experience nature show inatura in Dornbirn is a popular destination. The Jewish Museum Hohenems is showing “The Orientalists. Jewish researchers and adventurers in search of their own identity in the foreign” until 4 October. A new attraction in Hohenems is the Literaturhaus Vorarlberg, which opened in April 2025 and offers a diverse programme for writing and reading enthusiasts. In Hittisau in the Bregenzerwald, the Women’s Museum is dedicated from 30 November 2025 until 28 March 2027 to the exhibition “Doing Peace. On Justice, Democracy and Gender”, exploring the question of what it takes to live, preserve or fight for peace. A few villages away, the Werkraumhaus Andelsbuch shows how lively and future-oriented craftsmanship is in Vorarlberg. In 2026, it takes particular focus, as Craft + Form hosts the competition that takes place only every three years. The award ceremony on 2 October marks the start of a multi-day festival from 3 to 11 October, during which craftsmanship can be experienced in all its diversity. In Au, the Baroque Master Builders Museum tells the exciting story of the masters from the town and the region who built around 800 baroque buildings in southern Germany, Switzerland and Alsace in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Warm hospitality

Vorarlberg is known for its well-kept, mostly family-run hotels and for its hosts who dedicate themselves to their work with great commitment. Many hotels and holiday accommodations also stand out in terms of architecture. Conversions and new builds are largely in the style of contemporary Vorarlberg (timber) architecture. Wooden furniture, woolen fabrics, felt and other natural materials, designed by innovative craftspeople, create a stylish and extremely pleasant atmosphere. Whether renovation or new build: sustainability and energy efficiency take center stage.