Lake Constance and the Rhine Valley Attractions

In the northwest of the province the landscape and climatic patterns are set by Lake Constance and the wide valley of the Alpine Rhine. In this area are found the larger settlements of Vorarlberg, including the provincial capital of Bregenz, beautifully situated at the foot of the Pfänder. The gateway to the province from the west, Bregenz attracts large numbers of visitors to its historic old town and its summer Festival on the shores of the lake.

The main route into the interior of Vorarlberg is the broad and fertile Rhine valley, with its meadowland and expanses of reeds - the home of many species of birds - still largely unspoiled. In Lustenau and particularly in Dornbirn, Vorarlberg's largest town, there is a happy mingling of town and countryside, of industry and agriculture. Attractive districts of villas extend into the garden-like landscape, gradually giving way to farming villages. Above Dornbirn the valley of the Rhine takes on a more imposing aspect, with old castles perched on steep crags rising suddenly out of the plain.

There is a school museum in Wolfurt.