The call of the mild

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This was published 12 years ago

The call of the mild

Warm reception ... Innsbruck.

Warm reception ... Innsbruck.Credit: Getty Images

Come summer, Innsbruck emerges as a city-size health resort of sorts. Julietta Jameson tests the alpine air.

If there is one place intrinsically linked to skiing, it is Innsbruck. A Winter Olympics venue not once but twice, the host city of two Winter Paralympics and the inaugural host city of the Winter Youth Olympics to be held next year, it exercises its right to use the coloured rings at every opportunity and lists its Bergisel ski jump as a central landmark, almost like Keystone does Mount Rushmore.

The city itself is 560 metres above sea level; the mountains surrounding it rise to more than 2200 metres, upon which there are 285 kilometres of pistes.

S'Culinarium's Herby Signor.

S'Culinarium's Herby Signor.Credit: Julietta Jameson

But in summer, of course, the snow is gone. And as many a clever European knows, Innsbruck is something else when that happens.

The capital of the Austrian alps turns itself over to being a sort of health resort - a place where those from hotter or more urban places come for rejuvenation and refreshment. (Milan is less than 300 kilometres away.)

The combination of crystal-clear mountain air, heavenly scenery, quaint villages and an invigorating array of opportunities for taking it all in attracts summer visitors.

And if that's not enough, these assets are attached to a lovely imperial-era city laced with a hefty dose of luxury.

It's this Innsbruck we've come to experience in the midsummer month of June.

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We have flown to Munich in neighbouring Germany, the most convenient international airport near Innsbruck and an hour's autobahn drive away. We arrive late evening at the village of Igls, home to our accommodation, the Schlosshotel. We are five kilometres from the centre of Innsbruck.

Once in my room, I throw open my french doors, step onto the balcony and see the sleepy hamlet of Igls glowing charmingly below.

I retire to bed with the doors open; though it is June, the mountain air is cold and restorative and I sleep soundly until the early morning church bells sound.

I step onto the balcony and there they are, the alps, or Nordketten as these particular ones are called. I didn't see them in the dark but Igls nestles on a plateau and the alps surround the village until they break for the drop to Innsbruck.

Mostly gloriously green, their stony crowns drizzled with streams of persistent ice, they write the book on what it means to be majestic.

The international marketing manager for the Tyrol region, Silvana Giuliani, beautifully sums up the Innsbrucker connection to the Nordketten: "In February, when there's blue sky and the snow is glittering, the mountain is saying, 'Come, Silvana, come.' In summer, when the breeze whispers through the trees so green, I hear, 'Come, Silvana, come."'

The next day, when we head into the alps with her, it's clear she answers that call a fair bit - she hikes like a mountain goat.

For the less hardy or experienced, getting into the dizzying heights of Austria's peaks is easy. The extraordinary thing about Innsbruck's position in relation to the mountains is the thinness of the divide between city and wild terrain.

The new Nordkettenbahns is an architecturally stunning gondola designed by Zaha Hadid. It takes passengers up to 2256 metres above sea level with a minimum of fuss. (And allows Giuliani to ski in her lunch break during winter.)

But it's at 1350 metres, an area called the Seegrube, where most enjoy the Nordketten in summer. There's a free guided hiking program, through which virtually anyone able-footed can take to the trails with an expert. You can hire boots, rucksacks and wet-weather gear, too.

Along the way are rustic huts at which to eat schnitzel and drink beer or in which to stay the night in small joined cots, seven dwarf style.

Back at the Nordkettenbahns stop, the Seegrubenbahn, there is the Alpenlounge Seegrube, a less bucolic, more Sunday brunch or date-night kind of restaurant open day and night, accompanied by an incredible view of the entire city.

Innsbruck's alps offer plenty for sporty types: downhill mountain-bike challenges, a flying fox and even the Olympic bobsled run.

For the seriously fit and adventurous, there is some of the world's most exciting rock climbing and abseiling.

Back down in Innsbruck's less-vertiginous regions, visitors take their pick from horse riding, golf, cross-country bicycle riding, swimming and fishing.

A range of traditional spa activities is on offer, as well as other pursuits of the social and sociological kind. There are jazz and dance festivals, concerts and cinema events to keep summer visitors amused.

And Innsbruck's hospitality side is as immersive as its rugged one.

The Schlosshotel, our digs for the duration of our stay, has a storybook-eccentric aesthetic, with a white turreted exterior and neat though not overly manicured garden leading to a big verandah and arched entry way, through which is an interior of well-worn opulence.

It gives the impression of visiting a dotty rich uncle's alpine-themed manor rather than a five-star hotel.

But a five-star hotel it is and on the night we arrive, over a late supper in a basement dining room, we are told that the very important, very famous and very rich choose the Schlosshotel for its seclusion and discretion, former French prime minister Jacques Chirac among them.

That makes sense to me. Chirac hails from the sort of time to which I feel the Schlosshotel belongs: the era of glam European power, when the names Onassis, Rainier and Rothschild filled the pages of Vanity Fair.

In fact, overall, Innsbruck retains a unique retro charm. "The people of Innsbruck maintain a local feel," Giuliani says - something that I find palpable.

Alpine history and traditions are important to Austrians and here, at the crossroads of nations and cultures with Germany and Italy so close, there is a robust sense of adherence.

On our first morning in the area, after a delightful breakfast on the Schlosshotel terrace, we head out on a walk through the traditionally alpine postcard perfection of cute Igls to find the day is a religious feast and there are townsfolk in national costume parading through the charming streets.

From Igls, a ride in a bright-red train through forest reveals Ambras Castle, the palace of Duke Ferdinand II and a testament to Renaissance life in the alps. It was meticulously restored just after World War II but despite being dilapidated for some years, its chambers of arts and curiosities remain the most complete in Europe, a demonstration of Ferdinand's taste for the beautiful, bizarre and just plain weird.

Lunch in downtown Innsbruck at the sophisticated bar and restaurant 360° Grad, which takes its name from the uninterrupted circle of mountains around it, reveals even at the chic end of things that tradition is evident. We are served a champagne cocktail freshened for summer with mint, a slice of lime and the traditional flavour of elderflower syrup.

It's also clear from 360° just how traditional the city is. You can see the plethora of steeples from the 37 Catholic churches dotted about the small urban expanse - 37, incidentally, being the exact same number of times a Bollywood film has been shot in Innsbruck.

Downtown, in a cobbled street near the entrance to the magnificent Innsbrucker Dom (cathedral) with its forest of larger-than-life statues depicting regents through the ages, we pull up a table and some stools outside S'Culinarium and drink Austrian wine accompanied by cheese and pickles. We then browse the Aladdin's cave-like interiors shop, with its riches of schnapps and other local liquors.

Shopping in downtown Innsbruck reflects the five-star life as much as the standard European-city shopping, with shops such as H&M and Zara lined up next to quaint little souvenir shops under the gaze of evocative shuttered windows, shingle-clad roofs and, uniquely, the regal Golden Roof - an ornate balcony once graced by Emperor Maximilian at the head of the town square.

Many of Innsbruck's attractions are rather expensive and exclusive but the fresh air, amazing mountains, charming traditions and immense sense of well-being you can glean from a visit to this part of the Tyrol are free. And they are all there for anyone who cares to come when the snow is gone and the northern summer comes around.

The writer was a guest of the Austrian Tourist Office and Emirates.

Trip notes

Getting There

Emirates flies daily to Munich, priced from $2116. 1300 303 777, emirates.com.

Staying There

The Sporthotel Igls has warm, traditional charm and alpine views. Rooms from €75. 17 Hilberstrasse Igls, +43 (0) 512 377241, sporthoteligls.com.

Schlosshotel is available for whole-of-castle stays.

+43 512 377 217, www.schlosshotel-igls.com.

Eating There

360° Grad: Cafe Weinbar Lounge, Maria-Thersienstrasse 18, +43 840 657 050, 360-grad.at.

Hotel & Restaurant Wilder Mann, Romerstrasse 12, Lans; +43 512 377 387.

S'Culinarium, Pfarrgasse 1, Innsbruck, +43 512 574 903.

See + do

The Innsbruck Card includes entry to selected attractions, public transport and a return trip on cable cars, funiculars and lifts, from €29 ($39 ) for 24 hours. innsbruck.info.

More information

austria.info, Innsbruck.info.

Two highlights out of town

1 The Swarovski Crystal headquarters, Swarovski Kristallwelten (Crystal World), is home to a retail outlet and a spectacular gallery-cum-hall of illusions; a changing series of art installations created by famous names using Swarovski's sparkly finest. Kristallweltenstrasse 1, Wattens, +43 522 451 080, swarovski.com /kristallwelten.

2 Tiroler Schnapsbrennerei Rochelt is a family-owned and run distillery, whose schnapps comes in elegant green crystal bottles with silver stoppers. Arnold Schwarzenegger gets his schnapps from here, where the best Austrian plums, citrus fruits, apricots, pears, cherries and berries are used. Innstrasse 2, Fritzens, +43 522 452 462, rochelt.com.

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