Innsbruck Old Town and the Nordkette

The Capital Of Tyrol, A City Of 130,000 Ringed By 2,500 M Peaks, Host Of Two Winter Olympics (1964, 1976). The Old Town Has The Golden Roof (Goldenes Dachl, 1500), The Hofburg And The Hofkirche With Maximilian'S Tomb, And The Nordkette Cable Car Reaches The 2,256 M Hafelekar From The City Centre In About 20 Minutes. · Innsbruck, Tyrol

Innsbruck is the capital of Tyrol, a small city of roughly 130,000 people set in a valley with limestone peaks standing right over the rooftops. The old town is a few arcaded streets around Herzog-Friedrich-Strasse, with the Golden Roof (Goldenes Dachl), 2,657 gilded copper tiles added around 1500 for Emperor Maximilian I, as its centre. Nearby are the Hofburg, the Hofkirche with Maximilian's tomb and the Stadtturm tower. Within about 30 minutes a funicular and two cable cars lift you from the old town to Hafelekar at 2,256 m, which is the real reason to come, with views over the whole valley. The city hosted the Winter Olympics in 1964 and 1976 and the Youth Olympics in 2012. The honest picture is a pleasant, compact city with dramatic mountains rather than a rich museum city; the old town takes half a day. It is about 2 hours by train from Munich, 4 hours from Salzburg, 5 hours from Vienna and 2 hours from Zurich. Winter is the high season for skiers, and rain, fog or the warm Fohn wind can hide the peaks.

Alpine capital of Tyrol in the Inn valley beneath the Nordkette range, with the Golden Roof in the old town and the Hungerburg funicular and Nordkette cable car rising from the centre, Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria

The old town streets are open all day and FREE to walk. Museums and the Hofburg are usually open most days with a weekly CLOSED day in the quiet months. The Nordkette lifts run daily with shorter hours in winter and a yearly maintenance closure; check the last descent and the wind.

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