"Bressanone:A nice,old town in a beautiful area" Bressanone by christine.j

Bressanone Travel Guide: 38 reviews and 92 photos

Looking down at Bressanone/Brixen - Bressanone

Bressanone/Brixen: A bilingual town

Bressanone (Italian) or Brixen (German) is situated in a beautiful valley in the Italian alps. It's a bilingual town, all street signs are in Italian and German and all people speak both languages.In fact, they actually speak three languages, as among themselves they use their local dialect, when dealing with German tourists they switch to standard German and dealing with Italian tourists they speak Italian. All this is done with complete ease. I've even heard small children switching languages matter-of-factly , really amazing.
But it's only people who are bilingual. I was walking down one of the small alleys when an old lady next to me surprised me with some loud Italian phrases. There was nobody else around, so I assumed she was talking to me and I was going to tell her that I hadn't understood. She smiled at me and said she had been talking to her dog. He didn't understand German, she said. Her dog, a German Shepard, looked at us as if he was saying:"What else do you expect me to learn?"
The picture was taken on one of my hikes. You can see the town in the valley. Since I was there late September, early October, the leaves were changing colour, really beautiful.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Hiking, history and good food
Cons:If you don't like hiking, it can be boring
In a nutshell:It deserves to be better known

Last visit to Bressanone: Oct 2005
Intro Updated Oct 31, 2005
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Reviews (9)

Would you like to drive here? - Bressanone

Walking Transportation (2)

For exploring Bressanone/Brixen it's best to walk. The old part is off-limits to cars anyway. Many alleys are really... more travel advice

Hiking Trails Warnings Or Dangers (2)

When I was in Bressanone/Brixen, there were about 2 or 3 more weeks of the hiking season left, depending on the weather.... more travel advice

Sudden Flood Waves Warnings Or Dangers (2)

While I was walking near the river, I noticed these signs, warning people of sudden waves.As the signs were up on the... more travel advice

History Part Two Things to Do (4)

You can find lots of old mural paintings in Bressanone/Brixen. Some very interesting ones in the arcades next to the... more travel advice

Hotels (1)
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Comments (15)

willy_wonka Nov 15, 2010 at 11:00 PM Report Abuse

sounds like an interesting place, and a beautiful one, especially in that opening pic!
scottishvisitor Jan 16, 2009 at 8:43 AM Report Abuse

Looks like my kind of place here Your story on the dog had me laughing here :) I often talk to my dog in a different language and she always seems to understand!
robertgaz Jan 5, 2009 at 3:19 PM Report Abuse

What a postcard perfect intro photo!
Nemorino Apr 9, 2008 at 1:01 PM Report Abuse

I always like these bilingual places; very interesting to hear who talks which language to whom. I've never seen a warning sign like that, but I saw a flash flood once, in New Mexico, & I have great respect for them. (JLBG has a photo on one of his tips.)
Kuznetsov_Sergey Feb 14, 2008 at 12:11 PM Report Abuse

German Shepards understand not only German and Italian - they are multilingual essences, I believe (they understand Russian as well)! Bressanone reminded me Baden-Baden. Thanks Christine for sharing!
evaanna Jan 20, 2008 at 2:10 AM Report Abuse

Lovely little town in the heart of the mountains, and multilingual too. Loved the painting of the horsey elephant and the 'Italian-speaking' dog.
nickandchris Nov 19, 2007 at 3:02 AM Report Abuse

Looks a beautiful area. Thanks for birthday wishes and ratings. Yes, the Furness train line is running as normal, now.
Trekki May 21, 2007 at 10:29 AM Report Abuse

Ah, you make me curious about this gorgeous part of Italy :-) I was in Mauls very often and loved it :-) And I have still tears in my eyes from laughing about the Schäferhund speaks Italian story :-) Hihi, that's Südtirol :-)
fabrice May 13, 2007 at 12:31 AM Report Abuse

the best part of italy , close to germany, austria and venice
craic May 6, 2007 at 9:08 AM Report Abuse

I like hiking - so cool