These three towns were, or currently are, where I’m staying. Brixen was only one night. Bruneck was two. Toblach is five nights.

I liked Brixen a lot. I wasn’t there very long and that’s actually a shame. The town was a bishopric and has lots of churches. I think there’s a convent or something there as well because I saw a monk and a nun walking through town at some point. It had a distinct Austrian flavor, more so than any of the other towns. Brixen and Meran are the only two places I’d consider going back to. The youth hostel, while not offering much of a breakfast, did have nice rooms and the bathroom was fairy recently overhauled. 

Bruneck I didn’t get much of a feel for. I stayed in St Lorenz in the exceptional Gasthof Traube with the massive bathtub, couch, porch, and a good breakfast. I did attempt to find the Altstadt of Bruneck. What I saw didn’t do anything for me. I don’t think I even got an ice cream there. St Lorenzen, where I stayed, doesn’t have much for restaurants, but the one I did eat at, Gasthof Sonne, had really good food. The other place I tried on the main square didn’t have available outdoor seating the night I tried, but they must have been good because they and a ton of business. 

Toblach was my final set of overnight stays. I picked Toblach because it is reasonably close to the Drei Zinnen, the Langen Weg der Dolomiten, the Pragsser Wildsee, and the Gsiesertal, all places I wanted to visit. The hostel here is a hot mess and I would not recommend it to anyone. The breakfast is a joke, the place is literally rotting. The shower leaks all over the floor (and given the condition of the caulk, I’d say that water is getting other places it shouldn’t besides the floor....) The veranda outside my window has significant wood rot. The massive old stairs creak something awful as you walk up them. It reminds me of the lodge in the classic movie Smowball Express. This is definitely the type of place you would expect to find a fish in your water (if you haven’t seen this movie, you really should.) I’ve no doubt this place was once something very grand. Maybe 100+ years ago when royalty overnighted here. As for the rest of the town, there’s not a lot here outside of hotels. There isn’t a big selection of restaurants, at least not ones that a sweaty cyclist would feel comfortable in. There’s Hans pizza place and a sort of fast food place. A grocery store, 2 ATMs. A few places to rent bikes. I found one place with ice cream. The bakery was closed when I tried to patronize it and it appeared to only sell sweets. If you need to be conveniently located, I guess it’s fine, but don’t expect Toblach to be anything more than a place to stay the night. It’s a pretty small town. Noederdorf appears to have more selection and is not that far away.

So in summary, Brixen good, Bruneck not sure, Toblach no thanks.