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Innsbruck, the capital of Tirol. It’s population of 110.000 peoples make it the fifth largest city of Austria. Innsbruck hosted twice the Winter Olympics and is considerated the largest land for ski.

The city is well known for its sporting opportunities, especially alpine sports, as it is located in the Alps and surrounded by mountains. Several ski resorts are situated inside the city territory or within short distance.

There are two universities and several colleges in Innsbruck, with over 25,000 students altogether, (including a significant Italian population) making the city’s nightlife very lively.

The Climate

Innsbruck’s fair distance from the coast and altitude lead to a continental climate. Winters are cold and snowy; summers are generally warm, with highly variable weather. Hot and dry days, with temperatures hitting 30°C, are quite common; but can be followed by a cool and rainy spell, with temperatures only around 17°C in the day. Be warned, however, at any time, summer nights are cool and temperature often drop quickly after sunset, sometimes falling below 10°C in early morning.

How can you get in Innsbruck

With the plane: there are  regular scheduled flights available from Amsterdam, Antwerpen, Frankfurt, Gothenburg, Graz, Hannover, London, Rotterdam, Vienna.

The Munich Airport, 2.5 hours away, is another alternative. There are vans that will meet you at the Munich Airport and take you directly to your lodging in or around Innsbruck for the price of a comparable train ticket.

By train

Despite being a smaller city Innsbruck has fantastic train connections to all major cities in its neighborhood. The main station, Innsbruck Hauptbahnhof, is located at Südtiroler Platz (South-tyrolean square) in the east of the city center. In addition there are several stations which serve suburban and regional train connections.

By car

Innsbruck is reachable through both of Tyrol’s motorways: Inntalautobahn (A 12) and Brennerautobahn (A 13).

By Public Transport

Public local traffic (buses, trams) is operated by Innsbrucker Verkehrsbetriebe and a couple of private operators. All public services are organized in Verkehrsverbund Tirol , which means that tickets are valid in every public transport line (including buses, trams and trains). Only recently new tram vehicles have been acquired which go into service in March 2008. A major extension of the tram network is planned and will be carried out in the following years.

Visitors should be aware that there sometimes are bus lines that split up into different destinations (the bus line O, for example), and so it’s important to pay attention to the destination displays (outside and inside) and the spoken announcements. Tickets are 1.70 euro in the city fare zone, which you can pay to the driver. Regardless of the door you enter, go to the driver and pay, exact change not necessary. Daily tickets are 4.00 euro and weekly ticket 12.30. Buy these from the machines at some bus and tram stops (just outside of Hauptbahnhof/main station for instance) or at a tobacco shop. You must validate the ticket when you get on your first bus or tram.

The special bus line “TS” (”The Sightseer” connects the major sights like Schloß Ambras, Bergisel and Alpenzoo to downtown. However special fares apply for this line

Two tram lines also go to villages in the neighborhood of Innsbruck. Tram line 6 connects Innsbruck and the mountain village Igls, which is worth a visit. The line goes through mountains and woods and provides some nice views for travelers. Igls lies within the city fare zone, so no additional ticket is needed. Tram line STB is 18 kilometers long and connects Innsbruck with several villages in the Stubaital valley.

To be noticed

The Innsbruck-Card offers free entrance to all of Innsbruck’s sights, free use of public transportation (including the TS line). It also includes a one-time ascent&descent to Nordkette, Patscherkofel and Axamer Lizum and free entrance to Swarovski Kristallwelten in Wattens. The Innsbruck-Card is valid for 24/48/72 hours and can be purchased at Innsbruck Information (Burggraben 3), the TI in Hauptbahnhof, and several museums and tourist offices. Tip: The Innsbruck card is pretty expensive, 25/30/35 euro for 1/2/3 day cards. And daily or weekly public transport cards are cheap – the “all inclusive” sales pitch is alluring to disoriented travelers, but make sure the discounts are worth the initial price. If you are not seeing these major entrance-fee sites, remember that you may buy more than one daily card at a time, as the 24 hours only starts once validated. Be sure to compare with the price of a weekly ticket too.

The bus line Sightseer (TS) connects the major sights in Innsbruck. However it there is always a cheaper public transport line going to the same destination, though it might take you more time.

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Source: http://wikitravel.org/