Hotel Regina in Vienna, next to the Votive Church which Francesco Giuseppe had built after he escaped an assassination attempt; Hotel Sole Paradiso, in San Candido Innichen, in the province of Bolzano, which has a bust of Francesco Giuseppe in the hall; the Ristorante Museum Stube Bagni Egart in Töll Parcines, in the province of Bolzano, which has dedicated a hall to the Habsburg and which, every five years, celebrates the birthday of Francesco Giuseppe with an “imperial” evening.
With walls and beams from the fifteenth-century inn and spa – the oldest in Tyrol – it has three mineral-water springs, tubs for bathing while eating, as was the custom in the Middle Ages, a chapel, a small room with portraits of the Hapsburgs and a family tree, and hundreds of ancient objects from the valley. This extraordinary place was appreciated by Empress Sissi, who came for the curative waters, as did Emperor Franz Joseph, John of Austria and Archduke Ferdinand. Since 2008, it has also become the K.u.K. – König und Kaiser – Museum, one of the museums of Alto Adige that are open to the public.
Inspired by the glorious tradition of Italian hospitality and still run by the same family, the Viennese Hotel Regina still preserves a unique, historic menu. At midday, it indicated “Maximilianplatz”, but the evening meal had a hand-written “Adolf Hitler Platz”. The day was 13 March 1938, that of the Anschluss, when the Republic of Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany. Ironically, the square is now named after President Roosevelt. Originally a beer house, just a stone’s throw from the university, it has always been a meeting place for intellectuals.
A very big 19th century Chalet, it opened at the same time as the Railway Vienna - San Candido - Merano. This helped in promoting the Val Pusteria with tourists arriving from Cracow, Budapest, Rome and Vienna. Field-Marshal Badoglio renamed The Park Hotel "Sole Paradiso". Impeccable service and cordial hospitality - typical of Austrian hoteliers - are found here. Four generations.
