Discover Vandans: Nature, Trails and Montafon Building Culture

Vandans combines impressive natural experiences with a distinctive village history. Those looking for a holiday apartment or other accommodation for their holiday will find a variety of opportunities here for shared discoveries: guided tours on alpine natural hazards, trails through the landscape, distinctive churches, regional markets and insights into Montafon building culture.

Experience nature and choose trails consciously

The Montafon Natural Hazards Experience Area in Vandans offers guided tours on alpine natural hazards as well as on the historical development and current functioning of flood and avalanche protection. This makes landscape change and dealing with natural hazards an informative topic for travel planning that goes beyond mere viewpoints.

The Vandans Legends Trail is suitable for families. The route takes around three hours and has an elevation gain of 380 m. Take this approximate duration and elevation gain into account when planning. The Alpine-Coaster-Golm offers a different kind of experience: it runs along an approximately 2.6 km route from Latschau to Vandans; the ride takes around eight minutes.

The Rell Valley, a nature and plant conservation area with numerous gypsum sinkholes that shape the landscape, lies near Vandans. From Vandans, the Rell Valley can be reached on foot in around four hours or by hiking bus. The hiking bus runs daily from mid-July to the beginning of October and takes 40 minutes. Depending on your preferred daily rhythm, you can therefore choose between a longer hike and the bus journey.

Montafon History, Churches and Building Culture

There is also plenty to discover in the village itself. The four mountain streams Auenlatsch from Golm, Almustrik from the Rell Valley, Mustergiel from the Valkastiel Gorge and Ladritschbach from the Vensertobel have shaped the character of Vandans. The Building Culture Trail uses typical Montafon buildings to show how architecture is influenced by the way of life of the people and by different forms of economic activity.

The parish church of St John the Baptist has an octagonal floor plan. Its walls are structured in a louvre-like pattern by coloured concrete-glass window slits. Vandans Cemetery Church is a listed monument; the first chapel at the current location was built in 1479. Sacred concerts are also held in the Cemetery Church. Those interested in religious history can also include the pilgrimage chapel in Vens in their travel plans. It was built in 1613 out of gratitude that the plague had been halted.

Regional Products and Special Market Days

The Gmes Market offers an opportunity to discover regional products. There you can purchase homemade delicacies as well as spices, olive oil products, schnapps, alpine cheese and natural soaps. The market days differ in how they are organised: the Friday Gmes Markets take place in the church square, offer food and drink and feature musical entertainment. The Saturday markets are purely sales markets held in front of the municipal offices.

When choosing your holiday apartment in Vandans, you can therefore consider what kind of holiday days you prefer. If nature and longer trails are your main interests, the information on the Rell Valley and the Legends Trail provides useful orientation. If you are more interested in local history, architecture, sacred spaces and regional products, the Building Culture Trail, churches and Gmes Market offer different focal points. For arrival, the Vandans stop is served by the Montafonerbahn on the route from Bludenz to Schruns.

More local pages for orientation: Silbertal, Gaschurn, Stuben Am Arlberg, Ludesch Municipality, Brand, Braz, Lech, Bludenz.

To the higher-level travel overview: Bludenz.