Castel Roncolo

The walls are the reason to come. The tournament room carries jousts, a ball game, hunting, fishing and dancing; the bathing room has ladies, knights, naked men and animals; another cycle tells the story of Tristan and Isolde. All of it was painted from 1388 for the Vintler brothers by artists nobody has identified, and it is the largest surviving cycle of secular frescoes anywhere, which is what earned the castle its nickname: the illustrated castle, Bilderburg in German. Unlike many South Tyrolean castles, made over heavily in later centuries, Castel Roncolo kept its medieval fabric. Reviews describe well-preserved painting in room after room, and the two deep wells inside the walls that collected water off the roofs.

• Time inside: one visitor saw the whole castle in an hour and a half.
• On site: a restaurant, a garden and an observation platform looking out over the mountains.
• Captions: many of the exhibition notes are written in English as well, so the rooms explain themselves.

You arrive at the bottom, not at the gate. From the car park the walk up takes 15 to 20 minutes, all of it uphill, and one visitor called the route scenic — count it into the visit rather than treating it as a transfer. Information boards stand along the last stretch, so the history starts before the ticket desk. The castle sits on its spur at the mouth of the Val Sarentino, on the edge of Renon and close to Bolzano, which makes it easy to add to a day in the city; the bus stop nearby carries the castle's name in both German and Italian.

Best: Tuesday to Sunday, at whatever hour suits — reviews describe a castle without crowds, one visitor finding more staff than visitors, so there is no rush hour to dodge.

Avoid: Monday, when the castle does not open at all.

The frescoes are indoors, room after room, so rain costs you nothing here except a wetter walk up from the car park.