A day in Innsbruck.

A day in Innsbruck

There are many different ways to spend a day in Innsbruck, my next recommendations will be a tour designed for people who want to experience some of the very interesting cultures that Innsbruck has to offer while making the most of its fresh mountain air. Everywhere I am going to mention has actually already been described in my previous post on Top 10 Places to visit in Innsbruck. Before you begin a day in Innsbruck I would highly recommend getting an Innsbruck card, as it will save you a lot of money on entry to all these different places. Otherwise, this could become quite an expensive day.

In all my time in Innsbruck, I never really went to any cafes so I can't in all honesty recommend a good one. What I do know is that there are many cafes right outside the Golden Roof. So I would pop into one of those to grab a bite to eat for breakfast before you begin the day properly.

Your First stop will be the Golden Roof, right in the center of town, not only is it a very nice and relaxing way to start the day but its also one of the most central places in the city. So if you're meeting multiple people from different hotels it makes an excellent meeting point. Here you'll learn a bit more about the city that you're going to spend the next few days in and the person who made it as impressive as it is today. Kaiser Maximillian I.

From there all you need to do is walk to the main train station and get on a bus towards the next stop on the tour: Schloss Ambras.  This will be the final culture stop for the day. Here you'll be able to wander the halls of the old castle whilst looking at the exhibits of what is arguably the oldest museum in the world. Once you're done inside the castle I would recommend wandering through the beautiful gardens that overlook the city. Then its time to get back on the bus towards the city center.

Now I would say it's about time for lunch. Continuing on our theme of culture I would recommend going to Stiftkeller. Here you will find an excellent range of Austrian cuisine, so it's a nice opportunity to taste some of what Austria has to offer. I would recommend the Wiener Schnitzel, which is a dish that Austria is stereotypically famous for. If you're looking for something less well known, the Käsespätzle is definitely worth a try.

Now for some more fun activities that make use of the mountain air. Your next stop will be taking the funicular from the congress station (just behind Stiftkeller) to the midway point, where you'll get off and go to the Zoo. The zoo is an interesting look into the wildlife that you can find in Austria and other Alpine climates, hence it being called the Alpenzoo. While there you also have a magnificent backdrop of the Inn valley. Once you've seen all the animals it's time to go back to the funicular and ride it all the way to the top this time.

Once you get to the top, you're still not done yet, because now you should get into the cable car that will take you up the Nordketter, which is the mountain that overlooks the city. Once you're at the top you'll get some beautiful views of the city that are next to impossible to beat. Ther is also a nice cafe/restaurant at the top where you can an early supper with a view if you want. There is also some very nice places to go walking once you're up there, of you feel like you need to do something a bit more active. If the weather is right you can even get a second cable car that will take you even higher to get some truly unbeatable views. 

At this point, I feel like you've done quite a lot in just a single day, so I think once you've done all of those it will be time to head back to wherever you're staying a have a well-deserved rest. But if you still have a bit more left in you, maybe you could go to one of the many bars that are around Innsbruck. Such as Tribaun which is a very nice venue that serves its own beers

Tyrol

Tyrol

My Top Ten Places in Tyrol

For this week I will be counting down my top ten places that I would recommend visiting in Tyrol, obviously due to the fact that I have been living in Innsbruck since October, going to uni there and then the Coronavirus happened, many of my recommendations will be in and around Innsbruck because I didn't explore the rest of Tyrol as much as I would have liked to.

10. Bergisel Ski Jump

Originally built in the 1920s and rebuilt in 1964 for the Winter Olympics that took place that year in Innsbruck. It was then reused for the Olympics that took place 12 years later. It's most recent world stage event was at the end of last year for 2020 winter World cup that took place in Innsbruck. So this jump has had world-class ski jumpers from all over the world come to take a crack at it. When it's not in use it is a beautiful landmark that can be seen from all over Innsbruck and presents wonderful views for those who wish to go and have a look from its observation deck.

9. Tyrolean Folk Art Museum

The Tyrolean Folk Art Museum is considered one of the finest regional heritage museums in Europe. Located next to the Hofkirche and across from the Hofburg in the Altstadt section of Innsbruck, Austria, the museum contains the most important collection of cultural artifacts from the Tyrol region. It provides a really interesting overview of how Innsbruck and its people have developed throughout the ages. It is also home to the very impressive empty tomb of Kaiser Maximilian I.

8. Hall Im Tyrol

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Hall in Tirol is a famous historic town located just 10km east of Innsbruck. It began as salt mine almost 800 years ago, with history going back all the way to 1232 AD. Personally I never actually spent much time there,  I only stop there briefly on my way to the Crystal museum, that we'll talk about more in a bit. However, I have many friends have been and spent more time there than I, and they highly recommend going there and just walking through the town and just getting a feeling for what it would have been like. Also the mining museum is apparently very good and is an interesting look into what it may have been like to be a medieval minor.

7. Achensee

Lake Achen is the biggest lake in the state of Tyrol, and once again I haven't actually been there (this is the last time I promise). It's located in the beautiful scenic Achen valley. It is a beautiful place for all kinds of peaceful activities like swimming or hiking. If you're into a bit more lively activities you can go surfing or water skiing on the beautiful blue waters. If you get bored of the lake the mountains that surround have just as many things in them to distract you for a good few days as the lake below them.

6.  Swarovski Kristalwelten

Ok, we're back to places that I've actually been for the remainder of this list. I went here with my grandparents when they came to visit me once. The Swarovski crystal world is a beautiful experience where you walk through and see all the amazing things that can be achieved by cutting crystals in a very special way. As you go through they even have markings on the floor which will show you the best places to take pictures so that you get the best opportunity to show off what you seen in the most aesthetically pleasing way as possible.

5. The Alpen Zoo

The alpine zoo is located in the upper part of the city of Innsbruck, it is one of the highest zoos in Europe. It is about 750m above sea level. The zoo specializes in alpine species of animals, in total it has around 2000 different animals, from 150 different species. The zoo even has a bear and my personal favorite of the animals that I saw there, lynxes. As you walk through the zoo admiring the animals, make sure you look the other and look out over the Inn Valley below you, because you get amazing views of the city and its surrounding area from up there.

4. Schloss Ambras

I've spoken about Schloss Ambras here before. It is a scenic castle that dates all the way back to the 14th century. What makes it really noteworthy today is what kaiser Maximilian did with it when he lived there in the 15 hundreds. He turned this relic of a castle into the first modern-day museum. He collected oddities, trinkets, and art from all around him and stored them inside the castle so that all who would come to visit him could marvel at hos collection. To this day you can still see the items that he collected. Not only is it a museum but you can also walk around the grounds and look at the castle and its architecture.

3. Die Goldenes Dachl

Located almost perfectly in the center of the city the Golden Roof is the staple for tourist attractions in Innsbruck. Built in 1500 for Maximillian I. Any trip to Innsbruck wouldn't be complete without at least one picture with the golden roof in the background. If you decide to go inside it is actually quite an interesting museum (good for kids too) which details the history of Emperor Maximilan I and the Hapsburg family. It's a great way to start a trip to Innsbruck because it's a nice short way to digest a basic level of history about what makes Innsbruck the city that it is today.

2. Stubai glacier

The Stubai glacier was one of my favourite places that I went to in Innsbruck. Although it was quite a trek for me to get there, it takes about an hour and half by bus from the main station in Innsbruck to get to the base of the glacier. I loved it because I am an avid skier and the glacier is one of, if not the biggest resort in Tirol. With an impressive (for tirol) 41 Km of slopes there's something for every type of skier here. And if like me you like to go off the beaten trail, then Stubai has a whole lot more to offer you. Of skiing isn't your thing, you can always come back in the summer where you'll have access to some amazing hiking terrain, or mountain biking if that's more to your liking.

1. Nordkette, Jewel of the Alps

The place that I would most recommend making sure you go and visit if you are in Tyrol is the top of Nordkette mountain range. You can easily get up to the top by taking the funicular from the city center, then taking the cable car up to the peak. In the summer it's a lovely green landscape with views over the Inn and the city. It has lovely hiking trails and mountain biking tracks. Then in the winter is when it truly shines, in my opinion. It turns into a ski resort that can be accessed within 20min from the city and even has one of the hardest and steepest ski runs in the whole of Europe.