Innsbruck At Xmas?

JasonPC

JasonPC

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Hi all.

Looking at booking our Xmas holiday and Innsbruck is near the top of the list.

Anyone been, especially around Xmas time?

My wife enjoys the Xmas markets and I like mountains, snow and things to take photos of. (Neither of us are into skiing.)

It'd probably be a five day break. Too long? Too short? How's the weather there around Xmas? (I know, possibly a daft question :) ) Any other places/things worth seeing nearby?

Thanks in advance for any info.
 
I can't speak for the village or town itself but Innsbruck airport has a fantastic viewing balcony accessable to the public on which you can stand and shoot the planes. Even if you have no interest in planes (like me) it is still brilliant to get so close and get some shots in a beautifully surrounded airport (something you struggle with in the UK)
 
Been to Innsbruck and surrounding areas many times,twice at xmas and its great, usually stay in Igls which is a twenty minute tram ride up the mountain from the centre of Innsbruck

Andy is right the bob experience is something else, tried that myself and worth paying out for

The alpine zoo in Innsbruck is interesting too and a trip up the Bergisel Ski Jump is another good experience (Eddie the Eagle was no coward)

No guarantee of snow at lower levels for xmas (or any other time really) been once in blizzard conditions, other time was green, but you can find snow at the upper stations, cable car rides are great and there is a glacier nearby at Stubai

Goulash soup and Groestl are two local dishes to enjoy and the beer, cakes are rather good too

One word of warning, if you fly into Innsbruck and the weather is bad you will be diverted, the airport was closed for a number of years due its precarious position in the mountains and there were a few crashes

I have also been by train, took about 17 hours from Calais, but the journey through Switzerland was very scenic and with Eurostar probably a lot quicker these days

Christmas morning was very different listening to the oompah band at the cable car station, they celebrate xmas eve at midnight so goodly amount of places open on the day itself

Enjoy and might even go again myself now you have reminded me what a good idea it is
 
A visit to Kristalwelten (Swarovski Crystal World) is a must visit in Innsbruck too.
 
Check out the Bergisel ski jump on the edge of the city. If the 4 Hills tournament is on when you are there then that really would be worth a visit for the party atmosphere :D and the ski jumping of course. Ski jumping is BIG in Austria and it attracts huge crowds.

Also the town of Seefeld is only 30 minutes or so by train and here you'll find beautiful mountain scenery etc. You can also get a bus ticket for 10 Euros which gives you unlimited travel in the region. You can do a circular bus journey from Seefeld through the Leutasch valley to Mittenwald (Germany) nad then back via Scharnitz. It isn't Inssbruck but it is right on the doorstep.
 
Brilliant stuff guys, thanks so much for taking the time to reply.

I did wonder if there would be enough to do for a week but it seems I'm worrying unduly. :)

Rich: I've had a look at the airport on Youtube and see what you mean about it's location. Looks like it could be quite hair-raising in bad weather. :suspect: Interesting point about going by train though, I'll investigate a bit more.

Looks like it's a straight fight between Innsbruck and Budapest now... :)
 
The flight into Innsbruck is one of the highlights :D It's quite impressive when the pilots turn the aircraft around within the confines of the valley before landing. As you look out of your window all you see is the ground! I have been delayed there once due to bad weather and I think they divert to Munich if there are problems. It's definitely a flight I look forward to though.
 
We landed at Innsbruck in a blizzard, took three attempts and the plane had to climb like a fighter to get out of the valley on the aborted landings
At one time they insisted on planes going there having at least three engines because if one failed on a twin engined one it could be disastrous, we were on a BAE146 on that occasion

The next flight was diverted to Munich and although it was due in an hour after us, the people turned up about 12 hours late at the hotel
Was very bad weather that year and we all had to sit at the rear of the bus on our way up to Igls to give it more traction

Brilliant snow though and was probably the best winter holiday I have ever had, even the outdoor ice rinks were frozen solid which was great for December

Slightly worrying though was when we asked why the helicopters were buzzing all around on one day, seems there had been a light plane crash and they were looking for survivors
 
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