Europe - Hotel and things to do in Innsbruck

Can anyone give me some general advice on Innsbruck? Nice hotel/Inn, place to eat, must see places? I have to drive from Munich to Venice and have a few days to kill and I always wanted to go there.... and I will be with a lady... a lady that must be treated well, mind you....

also, any surprises on the road I need to see/look out for?

Please follow the thread as it moves to the Destinations->Europe forum for discussion. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.

Sorry

I am not sure this move worked out well for me...

We'd tell you if we've been there. I'd say eat lots of Austrian food and drink lots of Austrian wine and beer. That's what my wife and I will be doing in October (then again, he is ethnically Austrian but not Tirolean).

Why Innsbruck? I think of this as a place with skiing oriented hotels. Salzberg is wonderful. Or find a castle hotel or two with good restaurants for one-night stays during your drive.

You don't give us a lot to go on. Budget? Age? Interests?

I've only been to Innsbruck once. We stayed at the Hotel Weisses Kreuz, which was perfectly nice place. Think old, quaint charm. Excellent breakfast :).

I can't for the life of me remember what we did to amuse ourselves in Innsbruck itself. It was only two nights, at the beginning and end of a walking trip in the Tirol, so I suspect we wandered around the town until we found a bar.

Thanks for the responses.

Why Innsbruck? No real good reason... I have to drive from Munich to Venice and wanted to see the Alps and break up the trip for a night.


It will be Oct for me as well. Just want to do the dimestore tour of the city and eat a nice meal. No skiing.

Frankly, I noted it was on the road from MUnich to Venice.

While I have you here, how is the road/drive from Munich to Innsbruck to Venice?

Thanks for the responses.

Why Innsbruck? No real good reason... I have to drive from Munich to Venice and wanted to see the Alps and break up the trip for a night.


It will be Oct for me as well. Just want to do the dimestore tour of the city and eat a nice meal. No skiing.

Frankly, I noted it was on the road from MUnich to Venice.

While I have you here, how is the road/drive from Munich to Innsbruck to Venice?

Stopping off in Innsbruck driving from Munich to Venice is quite early in the trip and leaves a fair amount of driving for the second day.

You might consider continuing on through the Brenner Pass into the (Italian) South Tyrol on the first day and stopping off at somewhere like Bolzano, for an interesting mix of Germanic efficiency and Italian panache (more than two-thirds of the population in this part of Italy are of Germanic ethnicity).

If you are driving on the autostrada, the route to Venice (straight on southwards from Innsbruck to Verona, then turn left :p) is picturesque as far south as Trento, then it starts to flatten out. Italian autostrade are generally in good condition, but often very busy and quite expensive.

You could come off the autostrada at Trento and take the back road through Bassano del Grappa - more picturesque and shorter in distance but almost certainly longer timewise.

The autoroute and autostrade are not for faint of heart drivers or underpowered/small cars. By contrast, in Switzerland, drivers are orderly, courteous, and extremely law abiding. German drivers are generally skilled too, but drive very fast and can be very impatient when there's a slower car ahead of them. Think tailgating at 100 mph.

I've only been to Innsbruck once. We stayed at the Hotel Weisses Kreuz, which was perfectly nice place. Think old, quaint charm. Excellent breakfast :).

Same here. I thought that the breakfast was wonderful, and the view from the hotel's windows was jaw-dropping (I had arrived in town late at night, so I had no idea how close the mountains were).

Stopping off in Innsbruck driving from Munich to Venice is quite early in the trip and leaves a fair amount of driving for the second day.

You might consider continuing on through the Brenner Pass into the (Italian) South Tyrol on the first day and stopping off at somewhere like Bolzano, for an interesting mix of Germanic efficiency and Italian panache (more than two-thirds of the population in this part of Italy are of Germanic ethnicity).

If you are driving on the autostrada, the route to Venice (straight on southwards from Innsbruck to Verona, then turn left :p) is picturesque as far south as Trento, then it starts to flatten out. Italian autostrade are generally in good condition, but often very busy and quite expensive.

You could come off the autostrada at Trento and take the back road through Bassano del Grappa - more picturesque and shorter in distance but almost certainly longer timewise.


Thanks... I am not locked into Innsbruck by any means. I figured I could mess around in Munich in the AM and still get there in time to see the mountains in the day light and then have dinner.

On a side note, someone told me I should go and see the Eagles' Nest. Is that worth 1/2 of a day or is it overly touristy?

I really enjoyed the Penz Hotel in downtown Innsbruck. Lots within walking distance.

Think of it as a modern independent hotel, new, lots of glass and wood. Yet warm and comfortable. The breakfast served on the roof (both indoor and outdoor seating) was a wonderful experience each morning and of excellent quality.

Beautiful city and surrounding areas. My only issue was the closure of stores and shops so early and on different days (i'm used to 24/7 USA)

Some photos and details over on Trip Advisor:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g190445-d237821-Reviews-The_Penz_Hotel-Innsbruck_Tirol_Austrian_Alps.html

There is a decent Hilton in Innsbruck, stayed there a few times a few years back.

Bolzano has a very nice Four Points by Sheraton.