What is the Trento self-guided walking tour?
The Trento self-guided walking tour gives you a storyteller without putting you in a group: open the World City Trail app, follow the map, and recorded narration begins at each landmark on the way. The route has 10 stops and is 4 km long; plan on roughly 3 hours, and expect to be on your feet for only 46 minutes of them. The stories run from the prince-bishops and the Council of Trent to Renzo Piano's science museum of 2013.
At Piazza Dante the narration explains why a statue of the poet, unveiled in 1896 while Trento still belonged to Austria, was a statement of Italian identity. Buonconsiglio Castle brings in the prince-bishops who lived there for about five centuries and the execution of Cesare Battisti in its moat in 1916, and at Port'Aquila you hear about the Cycle of the Months, painted inside the Eagle Tower around 1400. Santa Maria Maggiore and the cathedral of San Vigilio lead to the Council of Trent, solemnly opened in the cathedral in 1545, and on its north side you look for the round window shaped like a wheel of fortune.
- Durationabout 3 hours
- Walkingabout 46 min · 4 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch
How the walk unfolds
Stop and listen
Reach a stop and the narrator takes over: when the place came about, who left a mark on it, which legend goes with it and what to look out for. Prefer reading? The full text is on screen too.
On to the next stop
Google Maps shows each next leg, 46 minutes of walking over 4 km in all, and nobody sets the speed but you.
Stop when it suits you
Sit down for a coffee, spend an hour in a museum or call it a day: the walk resumes exactly where you paused, later on or on another day.
Make the route yours
Tips on local food and shops come with each section, and the app lets you begin at a different stop or put the stops in another order.
See the route and attractions →
How it works
- Book online Choose the number of people. Your booking reference arrives by email straight away.
- Get the app Download the World City Trail app from the App Store or Google Play and enter your booking reference.
- Walk when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.
Made for these visitors
Curious minds
If you want to know why a square has its shape or who paid for a church, the narration has the answer.
Couples and friends
Everyone listens on their own phone, yet you walk together and talk over what you have just heard.
Short stays
About 3 hours covers the centre, and the rest of your day stays free.
Good to know
- Bring a charged smartphone with mobile data; a power bank helps.
- No entry tickets needed: everything happens outside the buildings. Going inside is optional and paid separately.
- Family friendly; children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Not suitable for wheelchair users and difficult with strollers.
- Groups of up to 5 work best; larger groups split up, one ticket per person.
- Every purchase helps support stray cats and dogs in Greece.
From the castle of the prince-bishops to Le Albere
10 stops · about 46 min walking · start: Piazza Dante · finish: Palazzo delle Albere
The walk starts in the garden of Piazza Dante, opposite the station, and heads to Buonconsiglio Castle and the old gate of Port'Aquila beside it. From Piazza Venezia you turn into the old town, along Via Belenzani with Palazzo Thun and its painted palaces, to Santa Maria Maggiore and Piazza del Duomo with its Neptune Fountain and the cathedral. The last leg takes you out to the Le Albere district, past Renzo Piano's MUSE, to the Renaissance Palazzo delle Albere. Every stop is outdoors, and the app lets you change the order.
Open the route map ↗
1Piazza DanteStart
This square and garden in front of the railway station is named after the poet Dante Alighieri, whose monument by Cesare Zocchi was unveiled in 1896, when Trento still belonged to Austria. The statue was a statement of Italian identity, and the Palazzo della Provincia, seat of the autonomous province, faces the garden.
2Buonconsiglio Castle
For about five centuries the prince-bishops of Trento lived in this castle, which grew from the 13th-century Castelvecchio to the Renaissance Magno Palazzo built for Bernardo Cles. In 1916 the Austrian authorities executed the irredentist Cesare Battisti in its moat, and today the castle is a museum.
3Port'Aquila
Port'Aquila is the old city gate beside Buonconsiglio Castle, where the Torre Aquila, the Eagle Tower, rises over the gate. Inside the tower is the Cycle of the Months, one of the best-known late-Gothic fresco cycles, painted around 1400 and showing courtly and rural life through the year.
Read the full story →
4Piazza Venezia
Piazza Venezia is a square on the eastern edge of Trento's historic centre, a short walk from Buonconsiglio Castle and Port'Aquila. From here the route turns into the old town, towards the Renaissance palaces of Via Belenzani.
Read the full story →
5Palazzo Thun
Palazzo Thun on Via Belenzani has been Trento's town hall since the 19th century, after the noble Thun family had it rebuilt in the 16th century. Via Belenzani itself is lined with Renaissance palaces, several of them with painted façades.
6Santa Maria Maggiore
Prince-Bishop Bernardo Cles had this church rebuilt in Renaissance style from 1520, replacing an older church on the same site. During the Council of Trent, held between 1545 and 1563, it hosted meetings of the council, which shaped the Catholic Counter-Reformation.
7Piazza del Duomo
Trento's cathedral square is framed by the cathedral, the Palazzo Pretorio with its civic tower and the Case Cazuffi-Rella, two houses whose façades are covered with 16th-century frescoes. In the middle stands the Neptune Fountain, built in the 1760s.
8Trento Cathedral
The Cathedral of San Vigilio, dedicated to the city's patron saint, was begun in 1212 under the master builder Adamo d'Arogno in Romanesque style. The Council of Trent was solemnly opened here in 1545, and on the north side a round window shaped like a wheel of fortune shows figures rising and falling.
9MUSE
MUSE, Trento's science museum, was designed by Renzo Piano and opened in 2013 in the new Le Albere district, built on the site of a former Michelin factory. Its sharp, sloping roofs echo the shapes of the surrounding mountains.
10Palazzo delle AlbereFinish
This Renaissance villa was built around the middle of the 16th century for the Madruzzo prince-bishops, on a square plan with corner towers and once surrounded by a moat. It takes its name from the poplars, albere in the local dialect, that lined the avenue leading to it.
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.