The tourist office at Via Alfieri 4, across the park from the main train station (Mon-Sat 9am-6pm, Sun 9am-1pm; tel 0461.983.880), has information specifically on Trento, including copies of Trentino Mese , the monthly guide to life in the town. The regional information centre is at Via Romagnosi 11 (Mon-Fri 9am-12.30pm & 2.30-5pm; tel 0461.839.000) and has details on mountain refuges, transport, hiking and skiing possibilities, and agriturismo in the province. Ask too for their free Guida ai Trasporti nel Trentino , which details all the bus and train schedules in the province.

For accommodation close to the central Piazza Duomo, there are three inexpensive places: Al Cavallino Bianco , Via Cavour 29 (tel 0461.231.542; L60,000-90,000/a?¬30.99-46.48) is mildly shabby, but the cheapest are: the Venezia , Piazza Duomo 45 (tel 0461.234.559, fax 0461.234.114; L60,000-90,000/a?¬30.99-46.48), which is plain but comfortable, with a few rooms overlooking the piazza and others in a thirteenth-century tower, and the rather more luxurious Aquila d'Oro , next door, at Via Belenzani 76 (tel & fax 0461.986.282; L120,000-150,000/a?¬61.98-77.47). Close to the main station, the smart Hotel America , at Via Torre Verde 50 (tel 0461.983.010, fax 0461.230.603; L90,000-120,000/a?¬46.48-61.98), is the only other affordable hotel anywhere near the centre. In Cagnola, in the hills overlooking Trento to the east, the Villa Madruzzo , Via Ponto Alto 26 (tel 0461.986.220, fax 0461.986.361; L90,000-120,000/a?¬46.48-61.98), is good value and also serves regional cuisine; take bus #9 (L1500/a?¬0.77), a twenty-minute journey. For those on a budget there's the friendly youth hostel , Giovane Europa , at Via Manzoni 17 (tel & fax 0461.234.567; L22,000/a?¬11.36 including breakfast), which has a midnight curfew. The nearest campsite is a stiff hike away at the end of a cable-car ride, on Monte Bondone, which overlooks town from across the river .