We don’t get a lot of rainy days, but when we do it’s easy to feel a bit trapped. It’s spring now here in Trento, the rainiest time of year. It has been raining for a week straight. Without a doubt the town lives off of the mountains and most activities in the area are to be done outdoors. So when the sun isn’t shining it’s been a lot of time spent inside at home. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t find something to do on the occasional rainy day. Here’s a list of ideas:
Bar or cafe – This is an obvious one, but a rainy day can be a nice chance to relax and sip your favorite drink whether that’s coffee or booze. I’ll follow up at some point with a post on my favorite of each. For the moment, I would suggest Pappare and La Vie En Rose for cafes. Gatto Gordo, Bookique and Cafe de La Paix are great bars for beer. If cocktails are more your thing there is Nunu and dasQ. Finally, if you’re a wine drinker the della Mal’ombra wine bar is very original.
Cinema – There are two cinemas in Trento the Nuova Roma (by the Aldi in Corso iii Novembre) and Vittoria (in the center). Both are run by the same company. While it’s quite tricky to find the language information on the cinema site, the ticket sales site shows pretty clearly which language the films are shown in. Just click on the title of the film you’re interested in. Keep an eye for the little red “lingua originale” banner as often this means English. Keep an eye on this page also.
Bowling – Unfortunately, there is no bowling alley directly in Trento but there are two that are close-ish. One is in Levico in Levicoland a strange sort of cross between an amusement park and a restaurant. It’s about a 25-minute drive. Bowling cots 8,50€ per game per person. They seem to be on a slow decline. They used to have laser tag too but it doesn’t seem operational anymore. I’m also certain I have seen signs for bowling while driving through Dro, but I can’t seem to find this place online… Maybe they closed?
Go karting – If this sounds fun and you don’t mind a longer train ride or drive there is an indoor karting arena in Affi. Prices start at around 17€. They’re open in the afternoon until quite late in the evening on some nights up until 1:30am. If you’re into this there is also a nicer place which is closer, just south of Roveretto. It is outdoors though so shouldn’t be considered for rainy days.
Indoor bouldering – If you haven’t checked out Infinity Boulder yet a rainy day is a great time to do so. Infinity is south of Trento, 10 minutes by car, and also accessible by bus. The bouldering gym has a lot of routes for every level. They rent climbing shoes and you don’t need much more. The entrance is around 10€€ at the time of writing.
Museums – Again this one is worthy of another post all on it’s own but there are several good museums to visit. The most important ones are the MUSE and MART. Check out also the MART’s branch in Trento, which has some excellent exhibitions which in my opinion are often more avant-garde and interesting than the MART itself. The Tridentum is a very interesting museum that literally takes you beneath the streets of Trento to discover the Roman history of the city. The Piedecastello Tunnel and of course the Buonconsiglio castle should also be mentioned.
Wine tasting – Several wineries in the area offer tours and tastings. See for example the Cantina Bailoni or a little further away the Cantina Tramin. In general, I would recommend googling Strada del Vino e dei Sapori del Trentino. Especially in the summer, I would recommend you make a reservation as this is a popular activity with tourists. There is also a cider maker in Trento which I have been wanting to check out. They do offer tours and have a tasting room but I am not sure it’s open all the time so I would call ahead.
Billiard – Circolo Biliardi Tridentum is the place to go for a game of billiards or pool. There are plenty of tables, the games are cheap and so are the drinks.
Indoor swimming – There are a few public indoor pools in town. There is a pool in the sports complex by the river south of San Pio X which also houses the skating rink. Info here: https://www.asis.trento.it/it/. You can also check out the Rari Nantes next to Sanba here: http://www.rarinantes.it/. Another alternative is the Acquapark in Andolo on Paganella. This is more like a family-focused mini water park. Details here: https://www.andalo.life/acquapark
Ice Skating – The skating rink has public skating hours in the evening usually three days a week. Their season runs from the fall until the end of March every year. You can also check if you can go to see a hockey game here as sometimes they play. Prices are pretty reasonable. The entrance and rental will set you back around 10€. Info is here: https://www.asis.trento.it/it/.
Spa / Therme – While most of the spas in the region focus on alleged medical treatments at exorbitant prices, there are a few where you can just hang out and bathe in the hot water for a reasonable price. The Terme Merano is an enormous complex with indoor and outdoor pools. They have day tickets starting from 25€. This is a good bit away from Trento about an hour by car. It’s also not super easy to reach by train, unfortunately. You can find more information here: https://www.termemerano.it/en/rates-info/rates. The Acquapark in Andalo also has a wellness area and saunas open some days of the week for around 25€. Check here for info: https://www.andalo.life/it/spa-wellness-acquain-9. Another interesting one to keep in mind is the QC Terme in the Dolomites. It’s quite expensive most of the time but they have a special deal where you can go for free within a weeks time of your birthday if you bring a paying friend.
Trampoline park – This one is a bit further away in the Town of Egna. The trampoline park is called EasyJump. They have a bunch of huge indoor trampolines and a pit with foam blocks. While the place is definitely crowded with kids there are usually a few other adults who never grew up. On the weekend I suggest making a reservation as they are often at maximum capacity. It’s about 25 minutes by car. You can also go by train but it will take around 45 minutes. More info here: https://goo.gl/maps/FbeNEZzSL3r5S5wf8.