Innsbruck

Austria's 5th largest city, Innsbruck is known as the Capital of the Alps, which sums up the what this region offers perfectly; a crossroads of Alpine living and winter sports and the history, culture and buzz of urban life. There are no other cities of this size that find themselves nestled among the Alps in quite this way.

Presided over by a Habsburg palace and the majestic Cathedral of St. James, Innsbruck has a wide range of historical attractions, museums, bars, restaurants and galleries.

You can best soak up the atmosphere of the old town as you wander the Maria-Theresien-Straße with its Baroque architecture and outdoor cafes and with mountains towering above the city on all sides you won't forget that you are in the heart of the Alps! 

For panoramic views you can head to the Bergisel Ski Jump, a modern symbol of Innsbruck designed by world famous architect Zaha Hadid at the start of the millenium and a great place to get your bearings ahead of a week of skiing.

Innsbruck is a great resort for those wanting to combine city life with a ski resort, as it takes just a few minutes to get from the town to the high Alpine area. It's a great resort too for those wanting variety as the city is surrounded by a large number of smaller ski areas (totalling almost 270km of pistes) that are great for day trips.

Innsbruck's Olympia Skiworld (covered by the Skiworld Skipass) is formed of 9 resorts: Norkette, Patscherkofel, Axamer Lizum, Muttereralm, Kühtai, Oberperfuss Cable Cars, Glungezer, Schlick 2000 and Stubai Glacier. Patscherkofel and Nordkette, in particular, have superb views over Innsbruck city while the Stubai Glacier - Austria's largest glacial ski resort - is open for skiing from October through to June.

Seefeld - a classic winter holiday resort in Tyrolean style with upmarket hotesl and restaurants - is just 30 minutes west of Innsbruck. Seefeld is one of the best places in Europe for beginner and intermediate skiing with 39km of downhill skiing, including 27km of blue runs and 11km of red runs.

With average summer highs in the mid-20s and a wide range of urban and Alpine activities on offer, Innsbruck is a superb dual-season destination. 

All the city's main attractions are open year-round and the colourful buildings in the historic Old Town are just as captivating when dappled by summer sun as they are under a fresh blanket of snow.

All the classic summer Alpine activities are available in Innsbruck - hiking, climbing, swimming, cycling- and thanks to its valley floor position there is space for golf courses and stables too. Less than 30 minutes’ away is Austria’s largest nature reserve, Karwendel Alpine Park.