Modernity, tradition and a plunge into history: Innsbruck's New Year's Eve among the lights

The train journey from Verona to the centre of the capital of the Tyrol is in itself a great way to immerse yourself in the end-of-year festivities, thanks to the snow-covered panorama that flows through the windows once you have left Brixen behind and crossed the Brenner Pass. Innsbruck is a modern city that nevertheless retains the charm of a great past. Always a crossroads between East and West (between Austria, Germany, Hungary and Italy), today it welcomes tourists and visitors from all over the world (mainly from Europe and the United States) against a backdrop that the peaks of the Alps make picture-postcard. Innsbruck is a perfect starting point for various resorts and ski resorts in the Tyrol (including the Stubai and Schlik 2000 ski areas, which can also be reached from the city by public transport), but it is also appreciated for more: the elegant livery of its palaces, its monuments and its many churches (no fewer than 35), its order and its services (from the wide pavements on which there is even a 'track' for the blind to the parking areas for electric bikes and scooters) and nonetheless for its famous shopping streets, such as the charming and luminous Maria-Theresien-Straße, and its famous shopping centres, such as the Rathausgalerien with its architecture by Dominique Perrault. Finally, there is one last 'hidden' virtue that makes Innsbruck a destination to be experienced and discovered: of the approximately 130,000 inhabitants, about 25,000 are students, making the city centre lively by day and by night, with a far greater presence of clubs than in any other Austrian city.

Upon arriving at the hotel (the Hotel Innsbruck, right in the city centre, is definitely recommended for its location and quality of services offered, restaurant and wellness centre in the lead), the first thing to look out for is the Innsbruck card. Valid for 24, 48 or 72 hours and free of charge for those staying more than two nights in affiliated establishments, it includes admission to 22 museums and places of interest, round-trip travel on selected ski lifts and travel on all public transport to move freely between the city, its surroundings and the nearby mountains. The futuristic Nordkette funicular railway designed by Iranian archistar Zaha Hadid, for example, is an experience worth considering: from the valley station near the old town, it takes eight minutes to reach Hungerburg, one of Innsbruck's most popular vantage points. Here you can experience the Advent atmosphere at the Christmas market until 6 January, and from here you can climb further (with a double cable car ride) to the approximately 2,000-metre Seegrube (every first Friday of the month the service runs until 11.30 p.m.) and reach the Hafelekar peak at 2,300 metres, from where you can enjoy a 360-degree view of the entire valley and the Alpine chain. Another experience just outside the city to put on the agenda, using the J line of city buses, is Patscherkofel, the peak at over 2,200 metres on which the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympic Games were held. It is regarded as the 'home mountain' for the people of Innsbruck and in addition to the ski resort, it is also home to Austria's highest botanical garden with over 400 plants.

The tour to visit the old town starts by taking (on one of the two sides is the same) Herzog Friedrich Strasse with a stop at the Goldenes Dachl, the Golden Roof, one of the emblems of Innsbruck, built between 1497 and 1500 by Emperor Maximilian I of Habsburg with 2,657 gold-plated copper tiles and rich relief decorations. In addition to being a major tourist attraction, it is also one of the places where tourists and locals alike gather in conviviality at Christmas time, eating local specialities (such as the classic kiachl) and warming themselves with a cup of gluwhein (mulled wine) or punch. Amidst the stalls of the Christmas markets (most of them, including the one on Markplatz with its 17-metre high Swarovski crystal tree, closes its doors on 23 December), the decorations (in the Kiebachgasse alley, characters from the most famous fairy tales are hung on façades, balconies and spires) and the illuminations that fill all the streets of the historic centre, creating an enveloping festive atmosphere, there is no lack of opportunities to discover the other monuments that have made the city's history.

Just a few metres from the Golden Roof, the beautiful rococo Helbling Haus stands out among the medieval buildings and the unmistakable onion-roofed silhouette of the Civic Tower from 1450, on which you can climb 133 steps up to a viewing platform 31 metres above the ground and from where you can enjoy a unique view of the old town and the peaks of the Bergisel, Patscherkofel and Nordkette. Also worth a visit are St. Jakob's Cathedral with its famous depiction of the Virgin Mary by Lukas Cranach the Elder, the Hofkirche (Court Church) with the Cenotaph of Emperor Maximilian I and its gigantic bronze statues and, above all, the Hofburg, the Imperial Palace, now a museum where you can immerse yourself in the splendour of its marvellous frescoed rooms in Baroque and late Renaissance style. To ideally complete the tour of the old town, one cannot overlook the Hofgarten gardens, just a few hundred metres from the Hofburg. What is a favourite hangout for students in the summer, from mid-November to the beginning of February is transformed into Lumagica, a guided tour of about one kilometre (admission is included in the Innsbruck Card) through the park among hundreds of light installations, providing excitement at every step.

If you are staying in Innsbruck even for just a few days, a stop at Ambras Castle, about 10 minutes by bus from the city centre, is more than worthwhile (the castle is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.). Its origins date back to the 10th century, in 1363 it became the property of the Habsburgs and was used as a hunting lodge by Kaiser Maximilian I. Its new life began in 1564, when Archduke Ferdinand II transformed it into a luxurious Renaissance palace as a gift for his wife Philippine Welser. There is only one word to describe this imposing building that was chosen as the world's first museum and is now one of the most important historical sites in Austria: magnificence. A magnificence that envelops the visitor as he passes through its ornate rooms (the Spanish Hall, built around 1570, is one of the most sumptuous halls of the Renaissance), its inner courtyards (the Upper Castle courtyard with its grisaille paintings and scenes from Roman history and ancient mythology is one of the largest and best-preserved examples of 16th-century frescoes) and its gardens. No less interesting is the museum space, which reopened in 1948 after several closures: here are valuable collections of wood, gold and bronze sculptures and Strasser glass, coral and rare natural objects, as well as period exhibits of various kinds including armour, paintings, scientific and musical instruments, mechanical toys and exotic treasures. A journey 450 years back in time can be the perfect prelude to New Year's Eve. www.schlossambras-innsbruck.at