You&Me Relax Apartment - Avelengo/Merano 2000 ★★★

A MINI-GUIDE OF AVELENGO Avelengo is a pleasant mountain village immersed in the green of alpine pastures and centuries-old forests. It lies on the sunny plateau of Monzoccolo (Tschöggelberg) and offers a view of the majestic peaks of the Gruppo di Tessa. It consists of four districts, including Avelengo Paese (administrative centre, but also home to hotels and beautiful mountain residences) there is also the "You&Me Relax Apartment" located: the accommodation is only 5 minute’s walk from the bus stop which takes you to the Falzeben (ski) lifts (too reach the Merano 2000 skiing area) or to the nearby tourist spa town of Merano. The other districts are Avelengo di Sopra (home to some of the most luxurious South Tyrolean hotels), Santa Caterina with its charming 13th century church and Falzeben, where the ski lifts start. A few kilometres away, winter sports enthusiasts will find the Merano 2000 ski area, 40 kilometres of slopes, mostly of medium difficulty, a snow park, the Alpin Bob rail toboggan run (the longest in Italy) and the “Outdoor Kids Camp” children's area. ✔ SHOPPING and RESTAURANTS In Avelengo Paese, on the square where the buses stop and immediately after the last gallery, a few minutes' walk from the You&Me Relax Apartment, a Despar supermarket has recently opened (it is medium in size and well stocked). For purchases of food and basic necessities, you can also reach nearby Merano: about ten kilometers away, at the beginning of via Roma (n.276) there is the Interspar Merano (very large, well-stocked and with also good commercial offers); for purchases with good value for money there is Aldi Merano, in via Alpini 25, almost in the center of Merano. In the commercial area of the arcades is the Eurospar Merano (in via Portici 30), not far from the beautiful cathedral and in the middle of the shopping area. Coming down from Avelengo and just before arriving in Merano, you reach the elegant district of Merano Maia Alta, where you can shop for food in various shops (bakery, greengrocer, butcher, etc.). Small supermarkets can also be found in Verano, a town about ten kilometers from Avelengo. For those looking for a high-quality butchery and local gastronomy products, an address not to be missed is G. Siebenförcher located at number 164 in Via Portici of Merano. Specialties of excellent quality, form local producers can also be found at Pur Südtirol Merano, in corso Libertà 35, there it is also possible to have lunch. For a quick lunch or a pizza (also in lactose-free and gluten-free versions) not far from the You&Me Relax Apartment there is the Platzl Café Pizzeria (via Santa Caterina 28). On the square of Avelengo Paese, next to the Despar, there is the "Bistro", a modern place with a large outdoor area, where you can taste local specialties at a fair price. For a more complete meal there are the many restaurants at the hotels in Avelengo: for a good price-quality ratio we recommend the restaurant of the Hotel Sonnenheimn, via Falzeben 63. There are also various possibilities to eat in the mountain huts and refuges in the area. Do you fancy sweets? Go to Cafe König in Corso Libertà 57 in Merano: for over a century it has been offering sweets from the Viennese patisserie, and this institution is among the best in the area. Otherwise, we recommend the more modern Cafè Konditorei Confiserie Pöhl, also in Corso Liberta (at no. 152) in Merano. Along the arcades of Merano there are fashion shops (but not only) for all budgets, some decidedly luxury, others - including international brands and chains – with lower prices. On Fridays the town hosts a nice weekly market, where you can find everything from local handcrafts to clothes and food. ✔WHAT TO DO / SEE Avelengo is the perfect starting point for trips and excursions, on foot or by mountain bike, with both easy and challenging routes: in the You&Me Relax Apartment you will find information, illustrating the most suggestive routes. An itinerary not to be missed is the walk that leads to viewing points equipped as real cinemas, complete with reclining chairs and where the screen is the view given by the splendour of the surrounding mountains. The most famous of these viewpoints is the Knottn-kino, at 1,417 meters above sea level. “Knotten” in South Tyrolean dialect means rocks and “Kino” in German means cinema: it is an imposing outdoor cinema with 30 seats (30 wooden and metal chairs, like those of a cinema) created by the South Tyrolean artist Franz Messner from which to one can admire a unique scenery ofnthe entire Adige Valley, surrounded by the peaks of the Gruppo di Tessa and the wonderful terrace of Mount Penegal and the Corno Bianco. Avelengo is also the home to the blond Haflinger horses, a strong and rustic breed to which a 2 kilometre long path has recently been dedicated too from Avelengo village (3 minutes’ walk from our apartment) to the centre of Santa Caterina. There you will find the homonymous church, but also the Sulfner riding school, the birthplace of the Haflinger horses. In the area there are various riding schools that organize horse and carriage rides and even riding courses. About 10 kilometres from Avelengo you will find Merano, a charming tourist town with a characteristic medieval historic centre (with iconic arcades offering shops and elegant boutiques), and also known for its thermal baths which offer numerous swimming pools, various types of saunas, they can also be accessed only for a few hours of relaxation. ✔ HOW TO REACH AVELENGO BY CAR: Brenner A22 motorway - BOLZANO SUD motorway exit. Follow the signs for the highway to MERANO and then continue on the same until the SINIGO exit. Take the latter way and proceed right towards Merano; after about 2 km you will arrive at a roundabout, with signs to the right for SCENA / AVELENGO / TIROLO. Take the latter direction, then following the signs for AVELENGO. Go up for about ten km and after a series of tunnels you arrive in AVELENGO PAESE, at the roundabout take immediately on the right. After the town hall, a school and the fire brigade building, turn left, after the Der Mesnerwirt hotel you will arrive at the Panorama Residence (where the You&Me Relax Apartment is located), in via Paese 2G. ✔ BY PUBLIC TRANSPORT: By train to Bolzano and then from bus station 204 to Avelengo Paese Or by train to Merano and then from the station line 255 to Falzeben, which also stops in Avelengo Paese. ✔ MOVING IN THE SURROUNDINGS WITH PUBLIC TRANSPORT A few minutes walk from the You & Me Relax Apartment you can reach the bus stop leading to Merano (line 255 towards Falzeben) and Bolzano (line 204). Trains and buses leave from the Merano station to various South Tyrolean tourist resorts. Various advantage cards are available (BusCard, MobilCard, museumobil Card, bikemobil Card, FuniCard Merano and surroundings and Guestcard) for which you can ask for information at the local tourist offices. There are also various ski lifts with which to reach some of the most beautiful mountain resorts: we point out the Falzeben cable car, the Merano 2000 cable car, the Mittager chair lift and the Postal-Verano cable car, whose departures are just a few kilometers from the apartment. The parking space of the You & Me Relax Apartment is located right next to the entrance door of the building. It can be reached by going straight and to the end, after having passed the driveway gate leading to the property.