The capital of Tirol is one of the most beautiful towns of its size anywhere in the world, owing much of its charm and fame to its unique location. To the north, the steep, sheer sides of the Alps rise, literally from the edge of the city, like a shimmering blue-and-white wall—an impressive backdrop for the mellowed green domes and red roofs of the baroque town tucked below. To the south, the peaks of the Tuxer and Stubai ranges undulate in the hazy purple distance.
Squeezed by the mountains and sharing the valley with the Inn River (Innsbruck means "bridge over the Inn"), the city is compact and very easy to explore on foot. Reminders of three historic figures abound: the local hero Andreas Hofer, whose band of patriots challenged Napoléon in 1809; Emperor Maximilian I (1459–1519); and Empress Maria Theresa (1717–80), the last two responsible for much of the city's architecture. Maximilian ruled the Holy Roman Empire from Innsbruck, and Maria Theresa, who was particularly fond of the city, spent a substantial amount of time here.
The gastronomic scene of Austria's westernmost provinces is as varied as its landscape: first-rate gourmet restaurants, traditional inns, rustic local taverns, as well as international chains and ethnic cuisine are all part of the mix. In small towns throughout the region restaurants are often the dining rooms of country inns, and there are plenty of these.
Most restaurants housed in hotels and resorts will be closed in the off-season, usually November and April. In ski season breakfast is typically served early enough so that you can hit the slopes, and dinner early enough for the tired-out to get to bed and rest up for the next day.
Restaurants range from grand-hotel dining salons to little Wirtshäuser, rustic restaurants where you can enjoy hearty local specialties like Gröstl (a skillet dish made of beef, potatoes, and onions), Knödel (dumpling) soup, or Schweinsbraten (roast pork with sauerkraut), while sitting on highly polished wooden seats (rather hard ones!). Don't forget to enjoy some of the fine Innsbruck coffeehouses, famous for their scrumptious cakes and cappuccino.
In Innsbruck travelers do not seem to stay long, so there is a fast turnover and, almost always, a room to be had. Travelers opt to set up their base not in town but overlooking it, on the Hungerburg Plateau to the north, or in one of the nearby villages perched on the slopes to the south. In any case, the official Innsbruck Reservation Center, online at www.innsbruck.info or www.ski-innsbruck.at, offers a booking source for Innsbruck and the surrounding villages.
Innsbruck Reservations Office. If you arrive in Innsbruck without a hotel room, check with the Innsbruck Reservations Office. The downtown office, in the main tourist office in the Old City, is open weekdays 10–6 and Saturday 8–12:30. The main train station branch is open in summer daily and in winter Monday through Saturday 9–6. Burggraben 3, Innsbruck, Tirol. 0512/562–0000. www.innsbruck.info.
Book in advance if you're traveling in the region, especially Vorarlberg, in the winter high season and in July and August. Room rates include taxes and service and, almost always, a breakfast buffet. In the resort towns dinner will be included. Halb pension (half-board), as plans that include breakfast and dinner are called, is usually the best deal. Hotel rates vary widely by season, the off-peak periods being March–May and September–November. Most hotels now take credit cards. Note that the most expensive hotels in the posh resort towns of Zuers/Lech, Kitzbühel, St. Anton, and Sölden rooms can occasionally reach as high as €400. If you're out for savings, it's a good idea to find lodgings in small towns nearby rather than in the bigger towns or in the resorts themselves; local tourist offices can help you get situated, possibly even with accommodations in pensions (simple hotels) or Bauernhöfe (farmhouses).
Keep in mind that in hotel saunas and steam baths, nude people of both genders should be expected. Children under certain ages are usually not admitted.
The Ötz Valley. Outdoors enthusiasts love hiking through this region because of rich green pastures in summer and glittering expanses of white in winter.
Fancy skiing areas. Known around the world for its posh resorts, Tirol is where high-society types gather to experience the good life.
Tyrolean Stuben. These warm and cozy wooden parlors, often found today in hotels and restaurants, are traditionally part of old farmhouses in Tirol.
Bernstein in Bregenz. With the sun setting over Lake Constance and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra striking up the overture of West Side Story on the world's biggest floating stage, this is an unparalleled place to see an opera or a musical.
See four countries at once. Take the cable car up Pfänder, the mountain behind Bregenz; the views are incredible: Swiss mountains on your left, German rolling hills on your right, Liechtenstein to your left in the Rhine valley, Austria below your feet, and the glittering expanse of Lake Constance stretching 40 miles into the hazy distance.
Experience top hospitality in a top village. The Gasthof Post is a bit like Lech itself—full of charming understatement. Teatime in overstuffed armchairs for all houseguests will prepare you for a delicious dinner. You'll never want to leave.
original on fodors.com
Squeezed by the mountains and sharing the valley with the Inn River (Innsbruck means "bridge over the Inn"), the city is compact and very easy to explore on foot. Reminders of three historic figures abound: the local hero Andreas Hofer, whose band of patriots challenged Napoléon in 1809; Emperor Maximilian I (1459–1519); and Empress Maria Theresa (1717–80), the last two responsible for much of the city's architecture. Maximilian ruled the Holy Roman Empire from Innsbruck, and Maria Theresa, who was particularly fond of the city, spent a substantial amount of time here.
The gastronomic scene of Austria's westernmost provinces is as varied as its landscape: first-rate gourmet restaurants, traditional inns, rustic local taverns, as well as international chains and ethnic cuisine are all part of the mix. In small towns throughout the region restaurants are often the dining rooms of country inns, and there are plenty of these.
Most restaurants housed in hotels and resorts will be closed in the off-season, usually November and April. In ski season breakfast is typically served early enough so that you can hit the slopes, and dinner early enough for the tired-out to get to bed and rest up for the next day.
Restaurants range from grand-hotel dining salons to little Wirtshäuser, rustic restaurants where you can enjoy hearty local specialties like Gröstl (a skillet dish made of beef, potatoes, and onions), Knödel (dumpling) soup, or Schweinsbraten (roast pork with sauerkraut), while sitting on highly polished wooden seats (rather hard ones!). Don't forget to enjoy some of the fine Innsbruck coffeehouses, famous for their scrumptious cakes and cappuccino.
In Innsbruck travelers do not seem to stay long, so there is a fast turnover and, almost always, a room to be had. Travelers opt to set up their base not in town but overlooking it, on the Hungerburg Plateau to the north, or in one of the nearby villages perched on the slopes to the south. In any case, the official Innsbruck Reservation Center, online at www.innsbruck.info or www.ski-innsbruck.at, offers a booking source for Innsbruck and the surrounding villages.
Innsbruck Reservations Office. If you arrive in Innsbruck without a hotel room, check with the Innsbruck Reservations Office. The downtown office, in the main tourist office in the Old City, is open weekdays 10–6 and Saturday 8–12:30. The main train station branch is open in summer daily and in winter Monday through Saturday 9–6. Burggraben 3, Innsbruck, Tirol. 0512/562–0000. www.innsbruck.info.
Book in advance if you're traveling in the region, especially Vorarlberg, in the winter high season and in July and August. Room rates include taxes and service and, almost always, a breakfast buffet. In the resort towns dinner will be included. Halb pension (half-board), as plans that include breakfast and dinner are called, is usually the best deal. Hotel rates vary widely by season, the off-peak periods being March–May and September–November. Most hotels now take credit cards. Note that the most expensive hotels in the posh resort towns of Zuers/Lech, Kitzbühel, St. Anton, and Sölden rooms can occasionally reach as high as €400. If you're out for savings, it's a good idea to find lodgings in small towns nearby rather than in the bigger towns or in the resorts themselves; local tourist offices can help you get situated, possibly even with accommodations in pensions (simple hotels) or Bauernhöfe (farmhouses).
Keep in mind that in hotel saunas and steam baths, nude people of both genders should be expected. Children under certain ages are usually not admitted.
The Ötz Valley. Outdoors enthusiasts love hiking through this region because of rich green pastures in summer and glittering expanses of white in winter.
Fancy skiing areas. Known around the world for its posh resorts, Tirol is where high-society types gather to experience the good life.
Tyrolean Stuben. These warm and cozy wooden parlors, often found today in hotels and restaurants, are traditionally part of old farmhouses in Tirol.
Bernstein in Bregenz. With the sun setting over Lake Constance and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra striking up the overture of West Side Story on the world's biggest floating stage, this is an unparalleled place to see an opera or a musical.
See four countries at once. Take the cable car up Pfänder, the mountain behind Bregenz; the views are incredible: Swiss mountains on your left, German rolling hills on your right, Liechtenstein to your left in the Rhine valley, Austria below your feet, and the glittering expanse of Lake Constance stretching 40 miles into the hazy distance.
Experience top hospitality in a top village. The Gasthof Post is a bit like Lech itself—full of charming understatement. Teatime in overstuffed armchairs for all houseguests will prepare you for a delicious dinner. You'll never want to leave.
original on fodors.com
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