VIPITENO WITH KIDS – How to Spend an Afternoon

How to Spend Your Afternoon in Vipiteno

Arrival and Parking – I drove into town and parked in the Centro Storico lot (here). I used the Easy Park app (one of my favorite Italy travel apps), but you can also pay with coins.  It’s less than 100 meters on foot to get to the city center – a perfect short distance for kids, and it’s also stroller-friendly. If you don’t see any free parking spaces in this lot, keep driving around town looking for the blue signs with white ‘P’s.  There’s plenty of parking available around town, so don’t stress.

Read about Parking in Italy

Good To Know:  The parking lot I used is also right next door to a grocery store, great if you need to buy water, snacks, diapers, etc. 

Train vs Car:  If you want to travel by train, you can.  It’s actually quite easy to arrive by train if you’re coming from Austria (remember, Vipiteno’s really close to the Italy/Austria border).  The train station is about a 12-minute walk for adults, and a bit more for little-legs.

Stroll the Main Drag – Via Città Nuova – This is the colorful pedestrian street that runs through the center of the town and is lined by the colorful, photo magnet buildings.  You may want to check out:

• The porticoes (Side Note:  Are your kids drawn to porticoes too?  They’re highlights for them in places like Bologna and Bolzano.)
• Torre delle Docici – The big clocktower in the main piazza (Piazza Città).  Unfortunately, you can only climb it during special events like at the Christmas Market. 
• Latteria Vipiteno / Milchhof Sterzing – This dairy shop is a must if you can’t make it out to the Vipiteno dairy factory just outside town (more on that below). 
• Athesia Stationery Shop – This is a fun stationashop and I’d need to drag my 8-year-old out of here!  Inside, you’ll find gifts, cards, pens, notebooks, magnets, and kid-friendly trinkets.  It’s also a book shop, but since the books are almost exclusively in German, you’ll want to stick to the other goodies.
• Pfiff Toys – small but full toy shop that’s fun to browse
• The Smurfs – Look in front of the tobacco shop (#22)
• Schölzhorn – The place to shop if you’re in the market for a mini dirndl or lederhosen.
• Water refills – Let your kids fill their water bottles from the lions at the south end of the porticoes.

Good To Know:  If you need basic kids clothing, there’s an OVS in town (similar clothing to what you’d find at Target).

Head to Vipiteno’s Best Playground – The Sportzone Sterzing (just outside of the pedestrian area… walkable but easier to drive with kids) is a fantastic little playground.  It has a zipline, different types of swings, slides, a rock climbing wall, a little kids play area, and more.  The playground has shade and picnic tables.  There’s paid parking next to the soccer stadium.

Here’s a quick look at the playground:

Good To Know:  If you are in town and need some green space for your kids, there’s a nice lawn by the theater and I saw kids there playing with a ball and other families relaxing on blankets.  However, know that there are robot mowers – not great if you’re with small kids.

Tour the Vipiteno Latteria – This place makes my favorite yogurt, and if you’re staying in a hotel in the Dolomites, you’ll likely get to sample the yogurt at breakfast.  You can drop in and see the shop (dairy products that you could take back to your accommodation if you have a fridge).  Or, check out the website in advance and make a reservation to do a tour.  This has been on my to-do list for years and we were a few days too early this trip!  They also have kid-friendly events during the summer. 

Other Things to See & Do in the Area if You Have More Time:

• Take the cable car up to Monte Cavallo
• Skytrek Adventure – ropes course
• Castel Tasso / Burg Reifenstein