Merano’s events calendar reflects its dual identity as an Alpine spa town with Mediterranean flair. The festival year runs in two distinct halves: winter revolves around the Christmas Market and thermal spa culture, while spring through autumn brings garden shows, wine festivals, music performances, and the famous Merano Horse Racing. Here are the key events and festivals in Merano, with dates, locations, and what to expect.
Merano Events and Festivals: Spring
Merano Spring Festival (Meraner Fruhlingsfest)
Held over a weekend in mid-April, the Merano Spring Festival transforms the Kurhaus and its riverside gardens into a celebration of the season. The event includes a market of regional food producers (speck, cheeses, wines, honey), flower displays, gardening workshops, and live music from South Tyrolean folk groups. The Trauttmansdorff Gardens usually time their seasonal opening to coincide, and many hotels offer spring packages that include garden entry and a Kurhaus concert ticket. Free entry to the outdoor market. The Kurhaus concerts are ticketed (EUR 15 to 35). Dates announced in January each year at merano.eu.
Merano WineFestival (Spring Edition)
The spring edition of the Merano WineFestival, typically the first weekend of May, is a more intimate affair than the main November event. Held at the Kurhaus, it focuses on organic and biodynamic wines from South Tyrol, Trentino, and Alto Adige. Around 80 producers pour at the walk-around tasting. Tickets: EUR 35 for a day pass including tasting glass. The event includes guided tastings (EUR 15 to 25 per session) and a cheese and wine pairing workshop (EUR 40). Advance online booking is strongly recommended; the spring edition has been growing in popularity.
Merano Events and Festivals: Summer
Merano Music Festival (Meraner Musikwochen)
Running from late May through September, the Merano Music Festival is South Tyrol’s longest-running classical music series, held mainly in the Kurhaus Kursaal. The programme includes symphony orchestra concerts, chamber music recitals, piano evenings, and occasional jazz and world music performances. The summer 2025 schedule included the Russian National Orchestra, the Haydn Orchestra of Bolzano and Trento, and solo recitals by international pianists. Concerts typically start at 20:30. Tickets range from EUR 20 to EUR 60 depending on the programme and seating. The full schedule is published in March at meranofestival.com. The Kurhaus cafe serves pre-concert aperitivi from 19:00.
Gardens by Night at Trauttmansdorff
Every Thursday evening from mid-June through late August (18:00 to 22:00), the Trauttmansdorff Castle Gardens stay open late with live music performances scattered across the garden stages. Pathways are softly lit, the water lily pond is illuminated, and the views from the castle terrace over the valley at sunset are spectacular. The evening format lets you experience the gardens at their most atmospheric and temperatures at their most pleasant (typically 22 to 25°C / 72 to 77°F at 19:00). Entry: EUR 10 (separate from the daytime ticket). The castle cafe serves cocktails and light dinners. Bring a light jacket; it cools quickly after sunset at 325 metres elevation.
Merano Grand Prix (Gran Premio di Merano)
The Merano Grand Prix is an annual professional road cycling race held on a Sunday in mid-September, part of the UCI Europe Tour. The 165-kilometre course starts and finishes in Merano, climbing the Passo dello Stelvio (2,758 metres, the highest paved pass in the Eastern Alps) at its midpoint. The race draws professional teams and large crowds to the start/finish line on Corso della Liberta. The weekend also includes a Gran Fondo (amateur race) on Saturday, with a 100km and 150km option (EUR 60 to 80 registration including jersey and post-race pasta party). Spectating at the Stelvio summit requires driving up the pass early (the road closes at 10:00). Dates confirmed in January at granpremiomerano.it.
Merano Events and Festivals: Autumn
Merano Grape Festival (Traubenfest)
The Merano Grape Festival on the third weekend of October (Saturday and Sunday) is South Tyrol’s oldest harvest festival, running since 1886. The town closes Corso della Liberta to traffic for a parade of floats decorated with grapes, marching bands in traditional Tracht costume, and brass bands from across the region. Wine stalls line the streets serving the year’s new wine, local cheeses, speck, and schuttelbrot (crispy rye flatbread). The festival is heavily attended by locals and draws around 30,000 visitors over the weekend. Hotel rooms book out 2 to 3 months ahead for this weekend. Free entry to the street festival; food and drink paid per item.
Merano WineFestival (Main Edition)
The main Merano WineFestival takes place over 4 days in early November (typically the first full weekend) and is one of Italy’s most prestigious wine events. It draws over 500 producers from across Italy and Europe, with a strong focus on South Tyrol, Trentino, and Alto Adige wines. The event is structured in tiers: the “Selection” tasting (EUR 60, Friday and Saturday) features wines that passed a pre-selection jury, and the “Catwalk” (EUR 85, Saturday only) showcases top-scoring wines. The Kurhaus is the main venue, with satellite tastings at Hotel Therme Meran. Masterclasses (EUR 30 to 50) cover vertical tastings of local producers like Alois Lageder, Elena Walch, and Franz Haas. Full programme published in September at meranowinefestival.com. Hotels sell out city-wide; book by September.
Torggelen Season
Torggelen is a South Tyrolean tradition running from late September through early November: visiting farmhouse inns (Buschenschanke) in the hills around Merano to sample the season’s new wine (Sußer, a cloudy, lightly fermented grape must), roasted chestnuts (Keschtn), speck platters, apple fritters, and homemade sausages. The inns are marked with a bush or wreath hung above the door (the “Buschen”) and are typically open Thursday through Sunday from midday. Popular Torggelen areas include the villages of Avelengo (Hafling), Verano (Voran), and Scena (Schenna) in the hills above Merano. A Torggelen afternoon costs roughly EUR 15 to 25 per person including food and wine. Buses run from Merano’s train station to the hillside villages; Bus 225 serves Avelengo, Bus 231 serves Scena.
Merano Events and Festivals: Winter
Merano Christmas Market (Meraner Advent)
Merano’s Christmas Market runs daily from the last weekend of November through December 23 along the Passirio riverside promenade (Passeggiata Lungo Passirio). Around 80 wooden stalls sell handcrafted Christmas ornaments, wool products, beeswax candles, wooden toys from Val Gardena, South Tyrolean food products (speck, cheeses, honey, grappa), and warm Gluhwein (EUR 3.50 to 4.50 per mug, with a EUR 3 deposit). The market opens daily from 10:00 to 19:30 (until 20:00 on Friday and Saturday). The adjacent Thermenplatz hosts a children’s programme on weekend afternoons with puppet shows and gingerbread decorating (EUR 5). The ice rink at the Kurhaus gardens (EUR 6 including skate rental) operates from late November through mid-January. Free entry. The opening weekend is the busiest; visit on a weekday morning for the most relaxed experience. For more winter planning, see our Merano weather guide.
Merano Horse Racing (Merano Galoppo)
The Merano Horse Racing season at the Maia racecourse (Ippodromo di Maia, Via Scena 47) is a highlight of the autumn social calendar, with the showpiece event being the Gran Premio di Merano steeplechase on the last Sunday of September. The Maia racecourse, opened in 1900, is one of Italy’s premier horse racing venues with a stunning mountain backdrop. The season runs from late June to late September, with 6 to 8 race days. Gran Premio day draws around 10,000 spectators. Grandstand entry: EUR 15 to 25 on regular race days, EUR 30 to 50 for Gran Premio day. The racecourse is 2km from the town centre; the Number 1 city bus runs every 15 minutes from Merano station.
For a complete overview of the best months to visit for specific events, check our best time to visit Merano guide. Our where to stay guide has recommendations for every budget and season.
