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With its boulevards, birdsong and oleanders, the city of Merano feels like a northern Italian Shangri-La. Known for its sunny microclimate, this poignantly pretty town was a Habsburg-era spa and the hot destination of its day, favored by the Austrian royals plus Freud, Kafka, Wand Pound. The city's therapeutic traditions have served it well in the new millennium, with a new generation hotel Giardino Marling which is surrounded by apple orchards.