Inn Valley
What makes the Tyrolean valley home to the course of the Inn river interesting are villages and towns full of atmosphere and curiosities, starting with Landeck, the westernmost one, 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 after Innsbruck, Hall appears, a characterful town that prospered for centuries thanks to the salt trade and the Mint which coined money for all of Europe.
The nearby Wattens is home to the dazzling headquarters of Swarovski and the beautiful houses of Schwarzso 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.
Stubaital Valley
Stubaital is one of the first valleys you encounter when entering Austria from the Brenner Pass and is dominated by the spectacular skiing area of the Stubai Glacier, the largest glacier ski area in all of Austria, located about halfway between Brenner and Innsbruck.
Here, fans of the white circus can start warming up their muscles as early as autumn: the 24 modern lifts and 110 km of slopes guarantee excitement and fun all year round.
Five towns animate the tourist area: Schonberg, Mieders, Telfes, Fulpmes, and Neustift, united in a single consortium serving visitors: the Stubai Tirol.
Gastein Valley
Gastein Valley is the long valley at the foot of the Tauern Mountains, which offers majestic mountain views and a well-equipped ski area, that of Sportgastein. The undisputed gem is Bad Gastein, a spa town with a long tradition, whose waters, known since Roman times, are excellent for the treatment of asthma and rheumatism. Fascinating are the early 20th-century hotels, which tell an important chapter of the area’s tourism history.
Salzkammergut
Salzkammergut is a picturesque region east of Salzburg, famous above all for the numerous lakes set in a pre-Alpine landscape. Among these, one of the best-known is the Wolfgangsee, which served as the setting for 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 (the moon lake) boasts a characteristic crescent shape and has very ancient settlements. Also delightful are the small Fuschlsee and the Traunsee with the town of Gmunden, famous for its ceramics.
Bad Ischl
Bad Ischl is the spa town where the young Sissi met her future husband Franz Joseph. An aura of elegance and sophistication still surrounds the Kaiservilla, the imperial couple’s retreat, the villas (including that of the composer Franz Lehár), and the cafes of this location framed by enchanting wooded peaks. Bad Ischl is also a convenient base for excursions to the lakes of Bad Aussee, such as the fairy-tale Toplitzsee, or the fascinating Admont Abbey, which boasts a magnificent baroque library.
