Bludenz: old town & Muttersberg cable car

Bludenz (588 m) received its town charter in 1274 and lies where the Walgau, Montafon, Brandnertal, Klostertal and Großes Walsertal meet – hence its nickname, the town of five valleys. The small, car-free old town offers arcades along Werdenbergerstraße, the Oberes Tor gate housing the town museum, the parish church of St Laurentius with its onion dome, the Nepomuk fountain of 1730 and, above it, Gayenhofen Palace with its reopened garden. On many days the air smells of chocolate – the former Suchard factory, now Mondelez, has been making Milka here since 1888. On the edge of town the Muttersberg cable car (running since 1956, an 8-seater gondola since 2002) glides up to 1,401 m in eight minutes, to a mountain inn with a panoramic terrace and a huge indoor play area.

We recommend combining the two: old town and market in the morning (Wednesdays and Saturdays), cable car up the Muttersberg at midday, then easy paths to the Tiefenseesattel in the afternoon – or simply the view of the Rätikon and the Walgau. In summer the Freizeit-WildPass covers the cable car; from May to October there is a guided town walk with tower climb on Tuesdays, and in August the Alpinale short film festival. Bludenz is 22 km / 29 minutes from our house; the easiest way is bus 650 to Schruns and the Montafonerbahn onwards (19 minutes) – the station is at the edge of the old town, and town bus 501 takes you to the cable car's valley station. Drivers park in the Parkgarage Zentrum or at the station.

Last updated: 13 Sep 2026