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| Innsbruck – An Olympic Town, and More |
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It was Gugliotta who coordinated our trip here to Innsbruck Unlike some tour operators, Gugliotta explained, Ski Europe does not include lift tickets in the overall price. That's because the average American taking a seven-day ski vacation actually skis only three or four days. So it’s nearly impossible, Gugliotta says, to know beforehand which days, and which ski areas, are the ones to choose. And there's always the chance of what the optimist might call "liquid
sunshine," and the pessimist, "rain." Besides, a week in Europe is a chance to soak up the culture, the combination of architecture, food, language, museums and more. As the Innsbruck Cultural Heritage Guide puts it, "Culture is more than art; it is the art of life." Innsbruck is an international city of 130,000 people which played host to the Winter Olympic Games twice -- in 1964 and 1976, on short notice when Denver dropped out. This year the University Winter Games, second in size only to the Olympics, were staged here in Innsbruck. Innsbruck is the administrative, commercial and cultural center of Tyrol. According to Constanze Anton of Innsbruck Tourism, Americans constitute the fifth largest contingent of tourists, after Germans, Austrians and Italians.
Your hotel front desk or tour operator can tell you how to take advantage of excursions to Salzburg; Venice; northern Italy; German castles; St. Moritz; or Munich, Kitzbuhel, St. Anton/Arlberg. Remember -- Germans, Italians and Austrians use the Euro common currency; the Swiss do not. Ski Europe, the tour operator, has a resident representative in Innsbruck. She is Angelika Mair, who was born and raised here in the city. Mair can advise Ski Europe guests on how to take advantage of local skiing and other attractions.
At the tourism office you can make hotel reservations, exchange money, buy public transit cards and the Innsbruck Card; pay for Tyrolean nights, city and special guided tours; and, of course, obtain information. There are two kinds of cards the visitor to Innsbruck will come across -- Club Innsbruck and the Innsbruck Card. Club Innsbruck is free at the hotel front desk. It offers free guided hiking tours, lantern walks, free use of the shuttle bus to alpine and cross-country ski areas, and a welcome drink at the Innsbruck Casino. There are also discounts on ski passes, mountain railways and more. The Innsbruck Card, on the other hand, this season is priced at 21 euros for one day, 26 for two days and 31 for three. This entitles you to free admission to more museums than you'll be able to handle; free access to the public transit system; and use of the Sightseer, a hop-on, hop-off, sightseeing bus with two different routes. Otherwise, one way on the street car costs 1.6 euros; the Sightseer costs 2.40 euros one way; 4 euros round-trip; or 8 euros all day. See if you can obtain a copy of the brochure "Innsbruck Card: all inclusive" before you leave home. (There's a major Austrian Tourist office in New York City.) Innsbruck has more museums than any other Austrian city but Vienna, and the brochure will help you plan your attack. The short descriptions are printed in German, English, Italian and French, with easy to use information on which street car or bus to take and the e-mail address, as well as days and times open. Whether you buy the Innsbruck Card or not, the information is invaluable and will point you to such attractions as the Golden Roof/ Museum Maxmilianeum; the City Tower with its splendid views of the city and mountains; City Archive/ City Museum; the Imperial Palace; the Museum of Tyrolean Folk Art; the Court Church; the Tyrolean State Museum Ferdindeum; and the Arsenal Museum, devoted to Tyrol's cultural history. Also, the Giant Panoramic Painting; the Alpine Zoo, with 2,000 animals of 150 species; the Alpine Club Museum with two centuries of Alpine art and more; the Museum of Classical Archaeology; the Anatomical Museum; the Bell Museum; the Wilten Abbey Museum with tapestries, paintings, furnishings, pewter, silver and gold; the Railway Museum; a military museum about World War I; the Ski Jump and panorama terrace; Ambras Castle; Swarovski Crystal Works; and cable car rides to walking and hiking paths; two museums of contemporary art; and the Museum of Coins and Mining. Had enough indoors and want some outdoor fun? If you enjoy cross-country skiing, Innsbruck boasts 117 kilometers
of groomed trails, including night skiing; ice skating; curling;
snowshoe hiking, and even periodic snowshoe or cross-country ski
"biathlon" for which you fire laser rifles at targets;
paragliding; hot-air balloons; moonlight Anton said there's a free hiking program, which provides a guide, hiking shoes and rucksack. These leave every day from the Congress House. Indoors, but active, you can find swimming pools, tennis, squash,
bowling, In the evening, everyone's thoughts turn to food, and you have a wide choice: Tyrolean nights with beer, singing and dancing; or an international variety including Italian, Irish, Japanese, pizza, Persian, Thai, Korean, Indian, Philippine, Turkish and brew pubs. There's even a 500-year-old Tyrolean restaurant. Or take the cable car at Seegrube to 2,000 meters for dinner overlooking Innsbruck. There's a good restaurant with views above the ski jump hill at Bergisel. And don't neglect shopping. Out of town but accessible by public transit is the Swarovski Crystal
Works with a fascinating art exhibit of crystals and a shop which
will blow your mind. (There's a branch in the Old Town as well.)
Anton recommended looking for wool sweaters and hats, schnapps,
edelweiss as Also look for table linens. Innsbruck Tourism can be reached through office@innsbruck.info.
Information Austrian Tourist Office in New York City- telephone (212) 944-6880;
fax,
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Invaluable
to any traveler, though, is the local tourist information office,
right on the edge of the Old Town, almost in line with Maria-Theresien
Strasse and the Famous Goldenes Dachl, with its distinctive golden
roof. 
