Almost 300,000 visitors a year make the uphill trek to the mountain observation station of Pfänder, west of Bregenz. Pfänder is accessible by road (a meandering distance of 10km/6 1/2 miles) or via the Pfänderbahn cable car (a straight-line transit of 4km/2 1/2 miles) from the center of Bregenz. Celebrated as the second-oldest cable car in Austria, it was originally built in 1927 and was massively upgraded with almost double its original capacity in 1994. Operating year-round daily from 8:30am to 7pm, it departs from its lowest station, about 460m (1,509 ft.) east of the Kornmarkt I Bregenz, and takes about 7 minutes to reach its summit. Round-trip fare is 10€ ($17) for adults or 3€ ($4.80) for ages 6 to 15. Call tel. 05574/42160 for information about departure times.
At the summit, you'll find a scattering of shops and restaurants along with the Pfänder Wildlife Park tel. 0664/9053040. The owners emphasize that it is not a zoo. The park's large fenced-in areas are devoted to herds of red deer, wild boar, mountain goats, and wild sheep. Access to the Wildlife Park is free; it takes about 20 minutes to wander through its 10 hectares (26 acres) of rocky terrain. One of the highlights of the park is the twice-daily Greifvogel-Flugschau (Birds of Prey Show), during which ornithologists display the age-old hunting techniques of trained falcons, eagles, owls, and vultures. The 45-minute shows are presented from May to early October at 11am and 2:30pm. Tickets to the show are 4.80€ ($7.70) for adults and 2.40€ ($3.90) for children.
To get to this alpine complex by car from Bregenz, travel east of town (toward Lindau, Germany) along a narrow, twisting road through the mountains. Turn right, toward Lochau, where you'll pass a parish church, and turn right onto a secondary road leading to Pfänder. Cars usually park at a large lot near the summit. From here, you'll walk about 10 minutes to reach the panorama from the Berghaus Pfänder. From the Berghaus, an additional 15-minute walk leads to another, much smaller, alpine house with its own simple restaurant and a different panorama, the Schwedenschanze Belvedere.
