A Day in Innsbruck, the Beautiful Capital of the Alps, Innsbruck, Austria (B)

Our first full day in Austria this summer was a gorgeous one. The sun was shining from a clear blue sky, and we decided to spend the day exploring Innsbruck. The city is known as the capital of the Alps, and it’s the fifth-largest city in the country with a population of over 130,000 people. It’s a colourful and picturesque city nestled beneath the mighty Alps, and it served as a great introduction to the area we’d be spending the next week in.

We arrived in the early afternoon after a much-needed sleep-in following our two-day drive from Denmark. Innsbruck looked wonderfully inviting in the sun with its colourful buildings and mountainous backdrops. We had hardly set foot in the city before I knew I was going to love it.

We walked over the scenic bridge, Innbrücke, across the river Inn which gave the city its name. Strolling along the bridge, we were met with gorgeous views of the pastel terraced houses that dot the banks of the river.

On the other side of the bridge lies Altstadt, the oldest part of the city where some of the buildings are over 500 years old. We found a cozy café to enjoy an ice cream (I had a delicious vegan frozen yoghurt!), and then we took a stroll through the historic streets. I soon spotted Innsbruck’s most famous landmark, the Goldenes Dachl – or ‘the Golden Roof’. On a grey day, it may seem somewhat underwhelming, but on a sunny day like we had been blessed with, its 2,657 fire-gilded copper tiles glimmer beautifully. The roof was completed in 1500 to mark the wedding between Emperor Maximilian I and Bianca Maria Sforza. The Emperor’s legacy is celebrated in Innsbruck even to this day since he managed to bring the city out of economic misery with financial reforms following a war between Bavaria and Tirol in the 15th century. The Golden Roof thus remains a symbol of his wealth and power. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).