I got married in Austria in June of this year, and whilst there we visited Innsbruck. What a wonderful city (and country)! The streets are clean, no graffitti to be seen, no kids hanging round on the streets. Everyone was friendly (unlike our own cities here!), and very helpful. I went to the information office first (I love those places!!), got a map of the city and was amazed at how much there is to see and do! Unfortunately, we only had one day, so we made the most of it.
First stop was St Jacobs's cathedral, a beautiful building, built around 1720. On the way there we passed St Anna's Column, a monument set in the middle of the huge main street, erected in 1706 in thanks to support during the War of the Spanish Succession.
There is also a Triumphal Arch, erected in memory of the death of Emporor Franz I, and the marriage of his son.
On the other side of town, you can take the monorail up to the cable car station, where you can take the cable car to two levels, the first is a viewpoint where you can see the whole city lying in the valley (I wish you could see the photos!!), the second cable car station takes you to the Alpenzoo, home to 2000 animals of 150 species.
There are also museums, palaces and churches. You can take horse and carriage through the city, although it is expensive (£60 an hour). Not so bad if there are 6 of you!
It isn't really a tourist orientated place, so this is a good place to see Austrians as they are.
The thing that strikes you is when you cross the road, and glance up the side street to see a huge snow-covered mountain - it takes your breath away. When you come out of the train station, look up to your right - you'll be amazed at the view!
There are loads of small narrow cobbled streets with little souvenir shops and hand made craft shops. Although a few people have told me Innsbruck is expensive I think it is no more expensive than a trip to London. There are a lot of flash cars around, men in suits and expensive boutiques though. (The estimated budget below is if you want to see everything there is to see and do in the city, so don't be alarmed!)
It really is a beautiful place to visit, and I would seriously urge anyone to go.
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