Innsbruck, Austria and Nearby Villages
 

We are trying to decide whether to stay in Innsbruck or in one of the nearby villages for 4 or 5 nights next September. Would like to hear opinions and suggestions about the villages and accommodations. Are there any opinions about these two hotels in Innsbruck: Goldener Adler or Stage 12 or other Innsbruck hotels?

If I wanted to use the time mostly for hiking and the occasional trip to Innsbruck or had a rental car, I'd be leaning towards staying in a village or town in the adjacent valleys.
If I wanted to explore the region and had to rely on public transport and was less interested in hiking, I'd probably stay in Innsbruck as Innsbruck is the transport hub of the region. Otherwise, you might always have to trek from the village you're staying in to Innsbruck to go somewhere else.

Back in August 2013 we stayed for three nights near Mutters about 5 miles outside Innsbruck. We were travelling by car but found it very convenient to use the local train to go into Innsbruck and to travel down the valley. It is quite frequent and was a reasonable price; at least it was then. Our accommodation was Ferienhaus Panorama http://www.ferienhaus-panorama.where we had an excellent apartment. It was clean and functional rather than luxurious but has lovely views across the valley. Mutters had a couple of reasonable places to eat but we might have got bored with them if we had stayed longer.
As Cowboys says it really depends on what you intend to do there. We loved the area and when we go back we will probably stay in another village outside Innsbruck so that we can take some different walks and just pop into Innsbruck when we fancy.

Good points about knowing a little more about your interests.

That said, we have stayed in Seefeld in Tirol in both winter and summer, for tobogganing and hiking/wandering. From Seefeld one can reach Innsbruck by train in little under an hour, and Garmisch in a little less time. In Seefeld we stayed at Bergresort Seefeld (highly recommendable) and have rented a holiday house. We have also spent a long weekend in Innsbruck, staying in Mutters (Hotel Seppl, also highly recommendable); like the above poster we, too had our private vehicle with us, but the local train to Innsbruck was conveniently located near the hotel should we have wanted to use it.

I hope this is helpful.

Thank you all for your ideas and input. We would like to take some walks, enjoy the beautiful scenery and explore Innsbruck. If we stay in a village, we'd like to be in one that has some shops and restaurants and train service to other villages, as well as to Innsbruck. We plan to have a car. A number of years ago, we stayed in Grindelwald, Switzerland, and enjoyed the town, scenery, and train rides to Wengen, Lauterbrunnen, the Jungfrau, and Interlaken. That is the type of experience we'd like to repeat, if possible. Another thought was to stay in Innsbruck a few days and then find the village experience somewhere between Innsbruck and Salzburg. More thoughts???

The closest glaciers around Innsbruck are in Stubaiital (Fulpmes, Neustift)

Zell-am-See is a neat town on a neat lake between Innsbruck and Salzburg - can easily walk around the lake or take boats. Krimml Bahn train leaves from there if you want a respite from driving.

I appreciate these good suggestions, which I'll research.
I apologize for not answering sooner. I had problems trying to sign on for a couple of days.

You won't find anything comparable to the Jungfrau Region of Switzerland here (or IMO anywhere else).

Someone here has mentioned Hall in Tirol; I haven't got there, myself, but hopefully someday I will.

https://www.google.com/search?tbm=is....0.EqCiUuXYR54

Thank you for your thoughts.
PalenQ, I agree that the Jungfrau area experience will probably be impossible to repeat.

I've been to Neustift in the Stubaital several times and it seems to fit your bill: plenty of walks of all degrees of strenuousness, and a good bus service up and down the valley and to the various cable cars. Only about 30 minutes by bus from Innsbruck if you want to see sights there, or go further afield.
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...stria-1109352/
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...in-air-944091/

Patrick, Thank you for your answer, suggestions, links, and beautiful pictures. Would you please tell me where the waterfalls are located.

The Grawa Fall is up the Stubaital, past the villages and on the last stretch of the bus route up to the bottom station for the cable car up to the glacier (Mutterbergalm). Buses run up the valley from Innsbruck Hauptbahnhof, a journey of about an hour, so from a base in Innsbruck you could get up to the Falls, have a not too strenuous walk along the river valley (the "Wilde Wasserweg"), and return to the main road, where there are a couple of places to eat (Tschangelairalm, or the Falbesoner at Ranalt) close to bus stops for the journey back. From a base in the Stubaital itself it would of course be even quicker.

https://www.stubai.at/en/activities/...erweg/stage-1/

Thank you for the suggestions and link. That sounds like a great place for a beautiful walk along the river and on to see the falls.
Could we drive our car to an accessible parking area close to the start of the hiking trail?
Would the first week of Sept. be a good time to see the falls?
We would also like to ask for recommendations for really good maps and where they could be acquired.

Do you have any recommendations for accommodations in Neustift?

Yes, there's a car parking area not far from the falls. Here's the Google Streetview of the area.

I think for timings you'd best consult the local tourist office through the website above (I've only been there at the start of the summer season in late June). They'd be the best source of information on maps - they're very helpful.

I've only stayed at the Fernau, and can recommend it, but there are plenty of other options.

I stayed 3 or 4 days in Innsbruck last August. I got an Innsbruck card that let you go up several cable cars in the region. A lot of people would take them up and either walk or bike down, though some of the paths down are for serious motocross type of biking it appeared.

Without venturing too far from Innsbruck, all you saw then were just views of the valleys and very little snow.

One day trip that I didn't get to do was go out to Achensee, which is northeast of Innsbruck. I understand there are good hikes along that lake, as well as a couple of cable cars where you can do some serious hikes at altitude, with the view of the lake below.

Thank you!
I have emailed the tourist office.
We'll look into the Innsbruck card and the Achensee area.