Bregenz, the capital of Vorarlberg, hosts one of Europe's most distinctive opera festivals: the Bregenzer Festspiele, held each July and August on a floating stage on Lake Constance. Productions are mounted at operatic scale with no roof and the Swiss Alps as backdrop; the stage has hosted some of the most visually ambitious opera productions anywhere. Outside festival season, Bregenz is a small, walkable city with a medieval hilltop Oberstadt, a modern lakefront, and the Pfanderbahn cable car giving panoramic views across Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. About 1.5 hours from Innsbruck by train and 1 hour from Zurich.