Inn Valley
What makes the Tyrolean valley hosting the course of the Inn River interesting are villages and small towns full of atmosphere and curiosities, starting with Landeck, the westernmost, which dominates the valley with its medieval castle. Imst is famous for its Carnival masks, while the nearby Cistercian Abbey of Stams boasts an impressive Baroque church. Just past Innsbruck, Hall appears, a village of character that prospered for centuries thanks to the salt trade and the Mint that coined money for all of Europe.
Nearby, Wattens hosts the dazzling headquarters of Swarovski, and the beautiful houses of Schwarz are witnesses to past wealth due to silver mines. Schloss Tratzberg is the evocative late Gothic castle from which Emperor Maximilian set out for hunting trips, and Kufstein, an ancient stronghold on the border with Germany, boasts a welcoming historic center and a fortress that houses a famous organ with 4,307 pipes.
Stubailtal Valley
Stubailtal is one of the first valleys encountered when entering Austria from the Brenner Pass and is dominated by the spectacular ski area of the Stubai Glacier, the largest glaciated ski area in all of Austria, located about halfway between Brenner and Innsbruck.
Here, white circus enthusiasts can start warming up their muscles as early as autumn: the 24 modern lifts and 110 km of slopes guarantee excitement and fun throughout the year.
Five villages animate the tourist area: Schonberg, Mieders, Telfes, Fulpmes, and Neustift, united in a single consortium serving visitors: Stubai Tirol.
Gasteiner Valley
Gasteiner Valley is the long valley at the foot of the Tauern Mountains, offering majestic mountain panoramas and a well-equipped ski area, Sportgastein. The undisputed jewel is Bad Gastein, a spa town with a long tradition whose waters, known since Roman times, are excellent for treating asthma and rheumatism. The charming early 20th-century hotels tell an important chapter of the local tourism history.
Salzkammergut
Salzkammergut is a picturesque region east of Salzburg, famous above all for the numerous lakes nestled in a pre-Alpine landscape. Among these, one of the best known is the Wolfgangsee, which was the setting of the famous operetta “The White Horse Inn”: the hotel of the same name and the sanctuary are the main attractions. The surroundings of the large Attersee were much loved by Klimt and Mahler, who composed some works here, while the Mondsee (Moon Lake) flaunts its characteristic wedge shape and boasts settlements of very ancient origin. Delightful too are the small Fuschlsee and the Traunsee with the town of Gmunden, famous for its ceramics.
Bad Ischl
Bad Ischl is the spa resort where the young Sissi met her future husband Franz Joseph. An aura of elegance and cosmopolitan charm still surrounds the Kaiservilla, the imperial couple’s refuge, the villas (including that of composer Franz Lehar) and the cafés of this location framed by suggestive wooded peaks. Bad Ischl is also a convenient base for excursions to the lakes of Bad Aussee, like the fairytale Toplitzsee, or the fascinating Abbey of Admont, which boasts a grand Baroque library.
