The new thermal spa centre, on the opposite bank of the river Passirio, was opened during the 1970âs and is furnished with the most modern equipment for therapeutic treatment. It also houses an indoor swimming-pool filled with thermal water and the natural radio-activity in this water has a most beneficial pathological effect. The spa centre is open all year round and specialises in a vast selection of curative treatments.
The horse race-course is one of the most beautiful in the world and is especially famous for the Grand Premium steeple-chase in September, which is run in connection with a rich national lottery.
There are also a large number of public open-air swimming-pools, an ice rink, 15 tennis courts of which 4 are covered for use in winter, a horse-riding and jumping school and a mini-golf course.
The river Passirio, which flows through the centre of the town, is often chosen to host international and world-class slalom and down-hill canoe races. It was the scene of the 1971 World Championship, the 1980 European Cup and the 1983 World Championship competitions.
The Tappeiner Walk, named after the doctor who planned it and laid it out and who, later in 1892, gave it to the town, is a walk meanders pleasantly along the sides of the gentle slopes of the glacial hill of Mount St. Benedetto as far as the Gilf, a ravine on the river Passirio.
Merano is also a good base for walking enthusiasts and mountain climbers.
There are excellent winter sports facilities too nearby, with good ski-runs at Merano 2,000, on the Hirzer mountain and in the Ultimo valley. Less than an hour away by car, the Senales valley with its permanent glacier and snow field, is the ideal place for summer skiing.