Surroundings, Innsbruck

The capital Innsbruck, together with its surrounding area, is the most popular tourist region in Tirol. The town itself attracts visitors and tempts them to stay, with its backdrop of mountains, its charming old streets and the treasures of art and architecture to be found in its churches, museums and palaces. In addition there are many excursions to be made.

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The rail trip from Mittenwald in Germany via Seefeld (one of the most important tourist attractions in Tirol) to Innsbruck opens up magnificent prospects of mountain scenery. In the Wipptal - busier than the other side valleys of the Inn with the heavy traffic to the Brenner and Italy - there are such popular summer resorts as Matrei, Steinach, St Jodok and Gries. Proximity to Innsbruck and good walking country are advantages offered by many resorts on the upland terraces - the popular health and winter sports resort of Igls taking pride of place, together with Natters, Mutters and Schönberg and, at the mouth of the Sellraintal, Axams, Grinzens and Oberperfuss.

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Innsbruck-Igls - Skiing

This is the place to visit if you want to combine a European holiday with a ski vacation. This is not your typical ski town with nothing but bars, restaurants, discos and expensive shops. The capital of Tirol, Innsbruck is a former Imperial city of the Habsburgs and boasts an 800-year history. The only slight drawback is that you are a bus ride from the slopes but the good news is the wide choice of skiing. Six different areas are linked by a free shuttle service and one ski pass covers 500 km of trails and 200 lifts. The nearby ski village of Igls has spectacular views over Innsbruck and here you can ski the men's downhill course where Franz Klammer won his Olympic gold medal in 1976. Innsbruck is one of the few cities to host the Winter Olympics on two occasions.

Expert skiers will want to head for the Hungerburg-Seegrube which is the gateway to the expert runs of the Hafelkar. The Axamer-Lizum, the slopes of the village of Axams, 10 km outside Innsbruck, also hosted Olympic events and the Tulfes and Mutters areas offer good intermediate terrain. And if it's a winter with lousy snow, you can head for the Stubai glacier, which features skiing year-round, with the same ski pass.

Zirl and Zirler Berg

West of Innsbruck, on the northern bank of the Inn, lies Zirl (622m/2041ft), from which a road branches north by way of the Zirler Berg to Seefeld and Mittenwald. The road, now with some of the sharpest bends removed, rises some 400m/1,300ft in 3km/2mi and affords beautiful views of the Inn valley to the rear.

Seefeld in Tirol

Highlights:	Surrounding Countryside	Leutaschtal, Austria

Igls, Austria

South of Innsbruck will be found the health and winter sports resort of Igls (870-900m/2,850-2,950ft). From here a cableway ascends the Patscherkofel (2,247m/7,372ft). From the upper station (1,951m/6,400ft) the summit can be reached in an hour's climb or by chairlift. There are splendid panoramic views of Innsbruck and the surrounding mountains. This is a good skiing area, with long downhill runs.

Axams - Axamer Lizum

Above the village of Axams (878m/2881ft) lies the winter sports area of the Axamer Lizum (Lizum Alp; 1,633m/5,458ft) with its Olympic runs. Cableways and ski lifts go up to this area, including a funicular and a chair-lift up the Hoadl (2,340m/7,680ft) and a chairlift to the Birgitzköpfl (upper station 2,044m/6,708ft).

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Gotzens

The little town of Götzens (868m/2,850ft), situated just to the east of Axams, is well known for its Parish Church of the Apostles Peter and Paul. Built by Franz Singer in the 18th C., it is one of the most beautiful Roccoco religious buildings to be found anywhere in the German-speaking countries. The interior has magnificent altars, stucco work and ceiling frescos by Matthäus Günther depicting scenes from the lives of St Peter and St Paul. The high altar-piece is by Franz Anton Maulpertsch.