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48 hours in innsbruck
By David Whitley
Home to some of Europe’s finest peaks, Innsbruck has developed a reputation as a winter wonderland for good reason. But you don’t need to be a skier to enjoy all that it has to offer – snow or no snow, this pretty Austrian city will set your pulse racing.
08.30: Every other building in Innsbruck seems to be a coffee house, but the Art Nouveau Café Central is the most attractive place to get your caffeine fix. People lounge around in it for hours, reading newspapers under dramatic chandeliers; even with limited time in the city, it’s best to enjoy your espresso before jumping on a bus to Bergisel.
09.30: By Innsbruck’s standards, Bergisel is a mere pimple on the landscape. Still, the hill is worth visiting for the striking Zaha Hadid-designed ski jump. It’s an extraordinary sight, with a stadium wrapping around the base of the slope and a funicular taking you up to the sleek tower that the jumpers set off from in the winter months. Before ascending, take a tour of the photographic exhibition at the base – some of the images of open-mouthed Austrians zipping through the air on skis are fabulous. Once you reach the tower, head out to the terrace adjoining the second-floor restaurant. From here, you can see down the slope towards the city. It’s a somewhat sadistic scene: immediately after the end of the jump is a large graveyard...
10.30: Across from the Bergisel ski jump, the centrepiece of the Tirol Panorama museum is the Riesenrundgemälde: a gigantic 360-degree painting of a major 19th-century independence battle. A 3-D effect is created by having the weapon and rubble-covered ground on different levels – it feels as if you’re on the mountain where the fight took place. Which, technically, you are – Bergisel was the focal point of the battle. Skip the attached regimental museum – there are much better things to see in Innsbruck.
12:00: Once you’re back down in the city, the Old Town is a pleasure to walk around. It’s small but is packed with vaulted arcades, medieval houses and the occasional building that looks like an absurdly decorated wedding cake. Goldenes Dachl, the golden roof at the end of Herzog-Friedrichstrasse, is regarded as a symbol of Innsbruck and the sensitively modernised Café Katzung is a good place for lunch in full view of it.
14:00: If you have time, nip into St James Cathedral – the roof frescoes give the illusion of non-existent domes and the Baroque decorative flourishes are some of the finest you’ll come across in Austria. But the Hofburg – the Imperial palace – is Innsbruck’s star. Built largely by Emperor Maximilian I in the 15th century, the palace was attacked with stucco and gilding brushes in the 1700s. Each room seems to compete with the previous one for effect, leading to one in blazing pink and another giant hall covered in Habsburg family portraits. Recently-introduced display panels humanise the long list of intermarrying royals and make stories of the labyrinthine battles fought in the name of petty regional rivalry.
15:30: To see sheer self-aggrandising chutzpah, however, you need to venture into the neighbouring Hofkirche (Court Church) and take a look at Maximilian’s ludicrously huge cenotaph. He commissioned the pompous scene-stealer while alive but it was only completed 80 years after his death. It’s flanked by 28 giant – and superbly detailed – bronze statues. Most depict family members, although Maximilian also decided that fictional King Arthur would be an appropriate member of the cortege.
The adjacent Museum of Tyrolean Folk Art is worth a look, too – local arts and crafts are on show but more importantly, the stüben – traditional wood-panelled parlours – have been brought in from all over the region, and they’re just beautiful.
19.30: The stüben haven’t died out just yet –in fact, some of the finest food in Innsbruck can be enjoyed in one of them. Europastüberl in the Grand Hotel Europa is as popular for its superb seasonal meals as it is for its décor – the eatery is made almost entirely out of hand-carved wood. A big meal and cosy surrounds should induce slumber, but if you still have some energy, head to the rowdy beer halls of the Stiftskeller in the Old Town.
Day Two
09.00: Despite the allure of the Old Town, Innsbruck’s real drawcard is its mountains. The city lies in a valley, and the Alps flank it in a tight squeeze. Tram number 6 will take you the couple of kilometres up to Igls, which is arguably the most famous of Innsbruck’s surrounding “holiday villages.” The tourist office there opens at 8.30 a.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. on Saturdays in peak periods – although frustratingly, it’s closed on Sundays – and it has some rather special bikes for hire. Each of these “e-bikes” has a motor attached that, should you choose to use it, is activated when you pedal. They cost just 12 euros (AU$16) each for four hours and the tourist office can also provide you with a map of the numerous cycling trails that can be tackled. Some are considerably more brutal than others.
09.30: The bikes are a godsend for extracting the sting from the worst part of mountain biking: the mountains. They’re not like motorbikes – you still have to work rather than coasting along – but it’s like having a “turbo boost” button when you’re attacking a steep hill. Each push on the pedals seems mildly superhuman. Cycling around the outskirts of villages, past an Olympic bobsleigh run and slalom course, you’ll probably swallow a lungful of crisp, life-affirming mountain air. Freewheeling through fields full of clanging cowbells and houses featuring exterior frescos that are in keeping with centuries-old tradition, a well-signposted route takes you to the hamlet of Judenstein and its perkily painted church. Heading back, you should have enough time for a hearty lunch at the Ägidihof restaurant in Igls before the four hours’ hire time is up.
13.00: From Igls, bus J will take you through the city and up to the Hungerburg plateau to the north. Here, a frequent cable car zips over the often snow-covered pine trees and above the ski runs. The first stop is Seegrube at 1,905 metres. On a clear day – fairly common in Innsbruck – the views over the city are tremendous. Numerous walking trails branch off from here; a couple will take you back down to Hungerburg in somewhere between three and seven hours. If that sounds like too much effort, catch the cable car up to the highest station, Hafelekar. Once there, spend an hour or so walking to Hafelekarspitze, looming some 2,334 metres over the city.
17:00: The last cable car begins its descent at 5 p.m. Once you reach Hungerburg, you can catch the funicular back down into the city. It’s no ordinary funicular, though. Each of the stations has a glacier-like wave as a roof, and the curving bridge over the River Inn is a model of architectural elegance. It comes as no surprise to learn that, yet again, Zaha Hadid was behind it.
18:00: Make your way to S’Culinarium in the Old Town to toast all that exercise with a well-deserved beverage. The bar specialises in hard-to-source bottles from small Austrian wineries and makes a whole host of special liqueurs, including a rather moreish cranberry drop. The owner is always happy to conduct tastings and his alleged closing time of 6 p.m. is rather fanciful. It’s inevitably open until much later...
20:00: Innsbruck’s town hall has undergone a tremendous revamp in recent years and is now partly a shopping centre, too. On the top floor, you’ll find a bar and restaurant that ditch the Alpine kitsch and aim for class. Weinbar 360° is a buzzy but surprisingly unpretentious wine bar that, as the name suggests, has full-circle views of the city. Lichtblick lies opposite and offers regularly changing menus in slick surroundings. Dishes such as wild salmon with wasabi caviar can be expected, meats are cooked beautifully, and presentation is unfailingly impressive. •
Photography by David Whitley and courtesy of Innsbruck Tourism.
getting there
Emirates flies to Munich from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth via Dubai. From Munich, Innsbruck is around two hours’ journey by fast train. 1300-303-777; emirates.com
Getting Around
The Innsbruck Card includes entry to attractions in town, plus free travel on the network of buses, trams, funiculars and cable cars that link the main hotspots. The Sightseer bus is very useful, too, connecting major highlights. ivb.at and sightseer.at
Explore Austria by car with DriveAway Holidays.
1300-723-972; driveaway.com.au
When To Go
Visit Innsbruck from December to March for winter sports and June to September for sun and outdoor adventures (without the white stuff).
Where To Stay
The Grand Hotel Europa is the top dog in town and manages to get the balance between classic and contemporary just right. 43-512/5931; grandhoteleuropa.at
For location, Hotel Weisses Kreuz in the Old Town is hard to beat. There’s plenty of character and warmth, while rates are very affordable. 43-512/594-790; weisseskreuz.at
Where To Eat & Drink
• Weinbar 360°. Maria-Theresienstrasse 18/7;
restaurant-lichtblick.at
• Ägidihof. Bilgeristrasse 1, Igls; 43-512/377-108; aegidihof.at
• Café Central. Gilmstrasse 5; 43-512/5920; central.co.at
• Café Katzung. Herzog-Friedrich-Strasse 16; 43-512/586-183; cafe-katzung.at
• S’Culinarium – Vinotech. Pfargasse 1; 43-512/574-903.
• Lichtblick. Maria-Theresienstrasse 18/7; 43-512/566-550; restaurant-lichtblick.at
• Stiftskeller. Burggraben 31; 43-512/583-490; stiftskeller.eu
What to Do
• Bergisel. Bergiselweg 3; 43-512/589-259; bergisel.info
• Hofburg. 43-512/587-186; hofburg-innsbruck.at
• Hofkirche. Universitätsstrasse 2; 43-512/59-489-111; hofkirche.at
• Innsbrucker Nordkettenbahnen. Höhenstrasse 145; 43-512/293-344; nordkette.com
• Museum of Tyrolean Folk Art. Universitätsstrasse 2; 43-512/59-489; tiroler-landesmuseum.at
Further Information
Innsbruck Tourism can help planning your trip to Austria. 43-512/59-850; innsbruck.info
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