Dornbirn brings together two very different themes for planning a trip: its industrial and urban history, and a landscape shaped by water over a long period of time. There is also an interactive natural history museum and activities on the Karren. You can plan your days around your interests – with a visit to exhibitions, a cable car ride or a hike through the gorges.

Urban history at the Market Square and along the route

The Dornbirn City Museum is housed in a 200-year-old patrician house right on the Market Square. Across three floors, it displays selected objects and works of art relating to key chapters in the city’s history. The Red House on the Market Square was built in 1639 and is an example of the timber construction that once prevailed in the area.

If you would like to explore the city’s history beyond an exhibition, “Traces of the City: Industry and Change” offers a route with 15 stops. It tells a story of rise and decline, continuity and change. You can walk the route in sections, so you do not need to plan to visit every stop in one go. The range of topics also offers opportunities for special tours focused on architecture, technology or social history. Special exhibitions and events on regional, cultural-historical and contemporary topics complement the City Museum’s permanent exhibition; the programme may change.

Nature and science at inatura

At inatura, research, natural science and technology are brought to life through interactive experiences. Experiments, exhibits, films and images introduce the habitats typical of Vorarlberg: mountains, forests and water. The human body is another key focus. This makes a museum visit a way to explore nature and technology, rather than focusing your stay exclusively on historical exhibitions or outdoor trails.

Karren: cable car ride, views and trails

The ride on the Karren cable car takes five minutes and offers panoramic views of the Swiss mountains, the Rhine Valley and Lake Constance. At the mountain station, you’ll find the Karren-Kante: a 12-metre-long glass walkway with views in every direction. The “Karrengold” treasure hunt is also available along the family hiking trail on Karren.

The mountains near Dornbirn invite you to hike and are also well suited to mountain biking. Another way to cross the area around Karren is via a broad forest road through wooded terrain. It leads from the mountain station to the valley station of the Karren cable car, which is located at an altitude of 455 metres. These descriptions cover different ways to experience the mountain landscape; the forest road is described as a route between the two stations.

Gorge hikes with different routes

The Rappenloch and Alploch gorges were formed over hundreds of thousands of years, as flowing water from the Dornbirner Ach carved into the hard limestone. A hike through the Rappenloch Gorge leads to Lake Staufensee, goes around the lake and then returns to the starting point along the same route. Another gorge hike starts in Dornbirn-Gütle and runs through the Rappenloch Gorge, past Lake Staufensee and through the Alploch Gorge, ending at the Schmitte bus stop on Ebniter Straße at an altitude of 695 metres.

For the guided Rappenloch tour, the 2026 programme lists bus route 177 for travel from Dornbirn main railway station or Dornbirn Town Hall. Check the timetable before setting out. When choosing between the two hiking routes described, the endpoint is a practical difference: one route returns to the starting point, while the other ends at a bus stop.

Discover more destinations: Hohenems, Lustenau.

Go to the main travel overview: Dornbirn.