Tirano – an amazing escape to a European winter wonderland is the third part of our fantastic trip during spring break. We will leave St. Moritz and head for Italy.
Bernina Express through the Alpes
Many years ago, while watching a travel program, I learned about the Bernina Express. A panoramic train that takes you throughout the Swiss Alpes while you can enjoy amazing views and of course, it was added to my ever-growing travel bucket list.
We left St. Moritz in the morning and our destination was Tirano in Italy. There are about 20 stops between the two towns, and the journey will take about 2.5 hours. We were looking forward to this experience on the most scenic train ride in Switzerland.
The train itself is very nice and you want to make sure you book your seats in the panoramic car as not all train cars have this feature. The seats were very large as well as comfortable, and there is enough space for luggage.
St. Moritz has an altitude of 1775 meters (5823 feet). The highest point on this train journey is at Ozpizio Bernina at 2253 meters (7392 feet), and the lowest point is of course Tirano at 429 meters (1407 feet) over sea level. Once in a while, you could definitely feel the high altitude during this train ride. The views are absolutely spectacular, and I can promise you a lot of great photo opportunities.
Surprisingly there is not a restaurant on this train, but the conductor sells coffee, soft drinks, water, and small bottles of wine for you to enjoy during the journey. We shared a bottle of red while enjoying the gorgeous views.
The Town of Tirano
The town of Tirano is located in Valtellina, which is a valley in the Lombardy region in northern Italy. There are only 8788 people living in this town but since the start of the Bernina Express, which was established in 2008, they now get a lot of tourists visiting throughout the year.
Hotel Bernina in Tirano
For being such a small town, there are quite a few hotels to be found in close proximity to Tirano. We booked Hotel Bernina due to its close location to the train station. We just had to walk across a small square, and we arrived at our hotel, which is quite small with 29 rooms, but it was perfect for one night. The most interesting detail of the room was the hairdryer, a true antique & rare piece, or so I thought, but I would be proven wrong.
The breakfast buffet was very good, and a lot of locals came in for brunch the morning we were there. You could order a very nice cappuccino to go with the amazing breakfast pastries.
Sightseeing in Tirano
Palazzo Salis e Museo Senza Frontiere
One of the must-sees in Tirano is the Salis Palace or Palazzo Salis in Italian. You can visit this beautiful palace if you travel between April and October, as it is closed the rest of the year. I contacted them to see if they would open upon request, but they only do this for groups and not private people. Maybe another time as I would have loved to see it.
Sanctuary of the Madonna di Tirano
The first thing we did during our stay in Tirano was to go to the amazing basilica, Sanctuary of the Madonna di Tirano. From our hotel, it was a short 10-minute walk down the main street. When we got there, all doors were locked. Was it closed to visitors? We decided to sit down and have a gelato while deciding what to do next. Luckily, before we left someone opened the church and we were able to go inside.
The church is built on the very same spot where the Virgin appeared in front of local resident Mario Omodei on 29 September 1504. This church is beautiful, and the stunning interior has to be experienced in person as every detail is amazing.
Chiesa di San Martino
Another church to see is Chiesa di San Martino, which turned out to be a very tranquil and peaceful place to visit in the old town of Tirano.
Plozza Vini Tirano
One of the activities we had planned to do in Tirano was to go & enjoy a wine tasting at a local vineyard, Plozza Vini Tirano, which is within walking distance from town. My husband had done all the research, and it was time for our visit. As we entered the foyer of the winery we could not see anyone. We heard some voices, but no one was at the reception. It took about 5-10 minutes before anyone came out to speak to us, and the greeting was simple “What do you want?”…
Well, we had hoped for a very nice experience tasting their wines, but apparently, they had suspended them for the time being. No explanation, no apologies, and I felt we were just disturbing them. Although we had looked forward to this experience, we just left. The winery has really good reviews, so we ended up buying a few bottles from a local store in town.
Museo Etnografico Tiranese
This museum is one of the only museums in Tirano. Located close to the basilica, a visit would give us the opportunity to learn a little bit about this town and area. When we got close to it, we were greeted by large demising walls and it turns out this museum was under some kind of reconstruction. This was just one more thing not available to do in Tirano. Needless to say, we went during the low season, and as it turns out most things are closed.
Food and Drinks in Tirano
We truly enjoy trying new food & drinks while traveling. You will be able to find many restaurants. I had done some research on what is available in Tirano. There was one restaurant that stood out, and the reviews were very good for Posteria del Rosso.
Bar Gelateria Yogurteria La Piazza
We stopped at this gelato cafe’ when both the Basilica and Museum were closed. The weather was fantastic with the sun shining, so we were able to sit outside on the piazza enjoying our gelato. I had chosen nocciola & amarene, which can be translated as hazelnut & black cherries. It was so good, and a great combination. Here we are in Italy, sitting outside in February while enjoying a gelato. What more can you wish for?
Margi Bar
After finding out the winery had suspended its tastings, we decided to sit down at another outdoor cafe. Close to our hotel, you can find Margi Bar. We sat down and ordered a glass of wine, which came in a jug, and it was actually very good.
We looked through the menu and decided to order a slice of pizza each. When they brought the pizza, it turned out that one slice was in fact 12 small squares. It tasted very good although it was a bit too much for us. Had we known, we would have shared one “slice”. We sat outside enjoying the sun, wine, and pizza for a few hours until the sun went down.
Posteria Del Rosso Tirano
As mentioned before, there are a lot of restaurants in Tirano despite being such a small town. I had discovered this particular one, and as they had very good reviews I decided to contact them to make a reservation. It is located on a side street, so we would most likely not have walked by it. Posteria del Rosso is a restaurant/wine shop and tables can be found on two floors. We sat upstairs, and we had an overview of the entire place.
They specialize in wine pairing with the seasonal food they offer so we decided to let them choose our wine after all, they are the experts. In spite of the small menu, which they change it based on the ingredients available, it was all simply amazing. We started with an Onion & Whiskey soup with rye bread & local cheese crouton, and the soup was definitely very tasty. The entree we chose was a grilled local venison saddle with pumpkin puree & cocoa powder, and all of it was delicious. We tried different wines with the main course and the pairing was a perfect match.
The dessert looked like a piece of art, being a perfect ending to a perfect meal. If I would come back to Tirano, I would without a doubt return to this restaurant. It was one of our highlights during our short stay, which was coming to a quick end.
Tirano visit coming to an end
On the whole, we had a short and nice visit to Tirano and it went by fast and before we knew it it was time to bid farewell. At this time, we were to start the transfer to our final destination for this entire trip. You can read more about Livigno here.
If you would like to read about the earlier parts of this trip, click here for Zurich and here for St. Moritz. The read more about our other travels, follow this link.
