Lech vs Innsbruck
 

Hi,

My wife and I are travelling on our honeymoon to Austria in December. We are spending some time in Vienna to start with. We then want to move out a little bit to the mountains. We have around 5-6 days and are trying to decide between Zell am see, innsbruck and Lech.

We are not great skiers so we would probably like to stay in one place for 2-3 nights and then move. I have managed to find accommodation at reasonable rates in Zell and Innsbruck - but I am tempted by the pictures of Lech in the winter (all that snow looks gorgeous!). Would you recommend we stay at Lech instead of Innsbruck, or is it possible to drive down from Innsbruck as part of a day trip? We will have a car at our disposal.

Thanks very much for your help.

I'm not in a position to advise you, never having been, but I do know that the Dutch Royal family visit Lech every year for wintersport, so it must have something going for it to attract them back every year.

Innsbruck is a mid-sized city (130 000 inh.) with a lot of history.
Lech is a ski resort and nothing else.

Take your pick.

Innsbruck is just great, romantic, charming and you can take a cable car up a hill right from the city. On a good day the view reaches all the way to Italy.

Zell is also quite lovely, much smaller though. Nice walks along the lake or in its picturesque old town.

Lech is a great skiing resort but as the above poster said: That's it! And by the way, the English Royal Family goes there frequently, too.

Hi,
We just returned form Germany and Austria and spent an afternoon in Zell am See. Absolutely gorgeous setting on the lake with snow capped alps around it. It's much more "picturesque" than Innsbruck, in my opinion. Just to let you know, I'm not a fan of Innsbruck.

You state...We are spending some time in Vienna to start with. We then want to move out a little bit to the mountains.
Though not on your list, have you considered the Berchtesgaden, Germany area? We spent 4 nights last week in Ramsau (by Berchtesgaden). Beautiful Alpine scenery, plus it's just a 30 min. to Salzburg.

If you're interested, I just p[osted our trip report that you may find useful. Here's a link...

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...reen_name=pja1

or just click on my "name" pja1.

Paul

Thanks for your replies everyone - much appreciated.

I'm not a big fan of Innsbruck myself, as I found it less than charming. If you are looking for a larger city, Innsbruck would serve your needs just fine. If you are looking for a small, picturesque town in the mountains then I would look elsewhere.

Have you considered Hall in Tirol. Its a small but very pictureque town only a few miles from Innsbruck. Its a gorgeous place to spend a few days.

I would have to second the Berchtesgaden region, as we spent a week there several years ago and loved it. Another option would be Oberammergau or Mittenwald.

Tracy

Hey King

I agree that if you have been in Vienna and want to "move into the mountains" then I would not go to Innsbruck.
Lech is a ski resort town that is part of a spectacular valley(st.christof, Oberlech, and down to St.Anton. It is a favorite of mine...but I also go there for the skiing.
Lech has a rep for expensive, and it is that.
If you want to try a nice town that is in/near the mountains I would head up to Mittenwald, Garmish and Ommeramergau
John

Thanks again everyone. After reading all the replies here, we decided to try out hand out at some snow sports and moved our stay to Lech.

Thanks a lot once again!