If you’ve ever wondered how Ötzi the Iceman lived, we have the perfect place for you: the archeoParc in the Val Senales valley
Image gallery: archeoParc Val Senales
In the genuine Val Senales valley, strictly speaking in Madonna di Senales, there is a special destination for families, called archeoParc. In this archeological open-air museum and interactive museum you can not only retrace the life of Ötzi, but also experience various activities on your own. It shows on a surface of 8,000 sqm the permanent exhibition on Ötzi and his contemporaries and includes the open-air area with huts of the Neolithic period. In between there are plants of those times, that is to say from more than 5,000 years ago. In fact, every detail in the park has been adapted to the period of the Iceman. From here, you can also enjoy a great view of the Giogo di Tisa pass on the Similaun Glacier, where the glacial mummy was found in 1991.
You have two possibilities to discover the museum: Take a quick glance at the time of Ötzi along the course 1 (indoor exhibitions, houses of the Alpine Valleys with demonstration area, nature path). It requires about an hour. Or get a real insight into the Neolithic period along the courses 1, 2 and 3 in three to four hours. Beside the course 1, you can explore also the houses of the North Alpine Foreland, the workshop area, the houses of the Po Plain, the canoe stop and the archery area. The bookshop and the cafeteria are ideal for concluding a great day on holidays.
If you would like to visit the glacial mummy, you can do so in the main town of South Tyrol. The South Tyrol Museum of Archeology in Bolzano custodies the Iceman in a cold storage cell. And how to reach the archeoParc Val Senales or archeoParc Schnalstal? It is located in Madonna di Senales, approx. 30 km away from Merano, and offers a parking space. The bus line 261 runs between Naturno in Merano and surroundings, and Madonna di Senales in the Val Senales valley.
Contact info
- Madonna di Senales / Unser Frau 163 - 39020 - Senales / Schnals
- +39 0473 676020
- info@archeoparc.it
More information
The archeoParc Val Senales stays open every year from March resp. April to early November, except during the maintenance works in June, closed in winter. Season start 2025 on April 12.