The First Grand Route
The Goethe Route
Innsbruck – Brixen-Bressanone – Bolzano – Merano – Molveno – Riva del Garda – Limone Sul Garda – Toscolano Maderno – Salò – Verona – Venice – Lido di Jesolo – Ferrara – Bologna
In September 1786, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe left his life in Germany and quietly crossed the Alps into Italy. He was in his late thirties, successful on paper, but inwardly restless. He travelled under a false name, stayed in modest inns, and spent his days walking, observing, sketching and writing.
The road from Innsbruck to Bologna became more than a line on a map. It was a turning point: a way to step out of his old role, look at his life from a distance, and slowly grow into a new chapter.
We call this line the Goethe Route.
We see it not as a museum piece, but as a living invitation: a route for people who want their travels to mean something in the second half of life.
Walking in his footsteps today
The Goethe Route, as we imagine it, is not about dressing up in the 18th century. It's about:
- Taking enough time, instead of rushing from highlight to highlight
- Letting landscape and cities do their quiet work on you
- Using travel as a moment to reconnect, recover, reinvent or celebrate
- Staying in places where people still know your name in the morning
From Innsbruck, through Brixen-Bressanone, Bolzano and Merano, along the northern lakes from Molveno down to Salò, and onward via Verona, Venice, Lido di Jesolo and Ferrara to Bologna, the route weaves together:
- • Alpine panoramas and gentle lake shores
- • Arcaded streets, churches, squares and markets
- • Family-run hotels, long-lived cafés and simple trattorias
- • Stories of innkeepers, artisans and local characters
For some, this might become a once-in-a-lifetime journey. For others, it might simply be a beautiful, well-deserved break.
In both cases, we want it to feel like a new beginning, not just another trip.
The first Grand Route
The Goethe Route is the first "Grand Route" in the FOOTSTEPS universe.
By Grand Routes we mean:
- Historic lines of travel that already exist in our cultural memory
- Re-imagined for today's 55+ traveler who wants depth instead of speed
- Built around "string-of-pearls" itineraries: a small number of stays, joined with care
- Designed with the psychology of later-life travel in mind (energy, comfort, meaning)
On the Goethe Route, we focus on one clear corridor: Innsbruck → Brixen-Bressanone → Bolzano → Merano → Molveno → Riva del Garda → Limone Sul Garda → Toscolano Maderno → Salò → Verona → Venice → Lido di Jesolo → Ferrara → Bologna
We don't try to cover "all of Italy". We try to do this line well – in a way that feels human, not industrial.
How we curate the Goethe Route
We don't see ourselves as a price comparison site. Our work on the Goethe Route is more like editing a good book.
Hand-pick family-run hotels and small guesthouses
Places with history, personality and hosts who enjoy speaking to guests, not just processing them.
Pay attention to tempo and energy
Some travelers want gentle stays in one or two places. Others enjoy a few well-planned moves. We use the quiz to understand this, then design route examples accordingly.
Listen to access and comfort needs
Stairs, terrain, location and public transport matter more as we age. The Goethe Route is meant to feel doable, not heroic.
Work with storytellers
Photographers and writers help us bring the route to life – not just the "must-see" sights, but also the craft workshop around the corner, the view from the breakfast room, the way the city feels at dusk.
Over time, this becomes a living, evolving route: new partners, new stories, and new ways for Silver-Age travelers to experience a classic journey.
Who the Goethe Route is for
We imagine the Goethe Route for people roughly between 55 and 75 who:
- • Have more freedom in their calendar, but want to spend it well
- • Prefer characterful places over anonymous complexity
- • Want a journey that respects their energy and their curiosity
- • Feel that this stage of life is a beginning, not a winding-down
Some are travelling as couples. Some are travelling with friends or grown-up children. Some are travelling alone, perhaps for the first time in a while.
What they share is a wish for:
- Beauty (landscapes, cities, light)
- Honesty (hosts who are themselves, not scripted)
- Meaning (a sense that this trip fits the chapter they're in)
The Goethe Route is our way of honoring that wish.
For family-run hotels along the route
If you run a small hotel, inn or guesthouse somewhere between Innsbruck and Bologna, the Goethe Route is a framework that helps your future guests understand why your place matters in their story.
We see you as:
- • A host, not just a room provider
- • A guardian of a certain view, atmosphere or tradition
- • A living part of the route's "string of pearls"
We work with a limited number of founding partner hotels along the Goethe Route. We help tell your story, show your place at its best, and bring you guests whose expectations match what you truly offer.
For photographers and writers
The Goethe Route is also a long, continuous scene.
We invite photographers and writers who:
- • Enjoy working with natural light, real people and lived-in places
- • Are interested in later-life travel, not just youth adventure
- • Want to create work with lasting value – not just social media content
Your images and words help travelers feel the route before they go. They also help hotel partners see themselves through new eyes.
In return, we offer you:
- • A thoughtful editorial context (not just "send us pictures")
- • A community of readers who appreciate careful work
- • A place in the wider Grand Routes story we're building over time
Where we are now
Right now, the Goethe Route is in its foundations phase.
We are:
- • Talking to travelers 55+ to understand what this journey should feel like
- • Listening to family-run hotels along the corridor from Innsbruck to Bologna
- • Connecting with photographers, writers and local guides who want to be part of it
- • Gradually shaping the first edition of the Goethe Route as a clear, bookable experience
"One only sees what one already knows and understands."
If you're curious, you can:
Walk the quiz
"Walk the First Steps of Goethe's Italian Journey" – explore what kind of Grand Routes traveler you are.
Join the Grand Routes Society
Receive occasional letters from our travel avatar, Enzo, and early glimpses of how the Goethe Route is taking shape.
This is just the start. The Goethe Route is the first thread in a larger tapestry of Grand Routes across Europe.
We'd be honored to have you with us from the beginning.