Must-See Events Of Bolzano-Bozen’s Spring: The Wine Tasting Exhibition And The Flower Market Festival

Between March and April, Bolzano Bozen hosts two events that highlight the city’s defining character. The first, which for almost one hundred years has marked the beginning of spring, is the Wine Exhibition. Now in its 99th edition, the Weinkost, as it is known locally, celebrates Bolzano’s long-standing winemaking tradition and is showcased in its historic setting: Castel Mareccio-Schloss Maretsch.

From 26 to 29 March, visitors will have the opportunity to taste the finest wines produced by South Tyrolean winemakers, take part in seminars, taste workshops, guided tours, dinners at the castle, and many other special events.

The Flower Festival is more than a tradition; it is an event that has marked the arrival of spring in the city since 1888. At that time, for farmers from the city basin and surrounding areas, the market fair was an opportunity to sell flowers and vegetable plants and was held in Market Square, where seedlings ready for planting were transported on carts. Thanks to growing participation, over the years the fair expanded along via Argentieri-Silbergasse and later via della Mostra-Münstergasse, eventually settling permanently in Walther Square, the vibrant heart of the city.

On 30 April and 1 May 2026, as every year, this colorful garden will fill the square, where floriculturists and gardeners from the South Tyrolean Floriculturists’ Association will be happy to offer advice on the types and care of the plants on display. During the 136th edition of the Flower Market Festival, the much-anticipated presentation of the “plant of the year” will also take place. The Flower Market Festival (Festa dei Fiori–Blumenmarkt) is also an important educational moment, during which gardeners and floriculturists present new ideas, varieties, and original combinations of flowers and plants suitable for gardens and vegetable plots, as well as for balconies and other green spaces within the urban environment, promoting the culture and care of both private and public greenery.

What makes the Bolzano-Bozen Flower Market Festival unique is its great variety: geraniums and petunias have long been the hallmark of South Tyrolean balconies, but due to climate change and the high temperatures reached in summer, the range on offer has expanded considerably, allowing everyone to find plants suitable for greening their outdoor spaces. The festival is not aimed solely at gardening enthusiasts: alongside the colors and fragrances of the plants, visitors will also find handcrafted products, concerts, painting workshops, and other activities for the whole family.

Highly appreciated by both residents and tourists, the event is the result of a long-standing collaboration between the Bolzano Tourism Board and the South Tyrolean Floriculturists’ Association.

Image: 135th Flower Festival, Courtesy of the Bolzano Bozen Tourism Board