Austrian Tyrol Rail Adventure

Meet your HF Holidays Tour Manager and fellow travellers at London St Pancras International railway station. After check-in, baggage checks, and passport control, we’ll wait in the departure lounge for our train to Brussels.

Once we’re there, we’ll disembark the Eurostar and change to the high-speed service to the cathedral city of Cologne. We’ll walk to our hotel, after which we’ll enjoy dinner at a local restaurant.

After breakfast we’ll make our way back to Cologne train station where we’ll join the high-speed service to Munich. In Munich, we’ll change trains and travel across the border into the Austrian Tyrol to Innsbruck. Once there, we’ll transfer by coach to Hotel Kristall.

Today we’ll explore the natural beauty of the Seefeld Plateau with a walk around the Wildsee and a visit to the Mosern Peace Bell, which is swung daily at 5pm. From here, there are fantastic views down to the Inn Valley over Telfs.

This morning sees us take a train to the city of Innsbruck. Here, we’ll visit the charming Old Town with its sophisticated mixture of Gothic and Baroque architecture. We’ll stop at the famous Golden Roof – or Goldenes Dachl – and will have plenty of time to stroll through the city’s many interesting alleyways as well as Hofgarten Park.

Each week there is a free day when no guided walks are offered. This is an ideal opportunity to relax around the hotel, walk independently, or visit local places of interest.

Options include:

Wellness Centre: Take full advantage of the hotel’s wellness centre relaxing in the sauna, Jacuzzi, tepidarium and steam bath and swimming in its two pools. You could also book yourself a massage or beauty treatment.

Seefeld: Take time to wander the many restaurants, bars and shops; it’s an ideal place to buy souvenirs and gifts. You can take the funicular ride up the mountain to Rosshutte or a horse drawn carriage ride to local attractions.

Leisure facilities: If you are feeling energetic, in Seefeld there is the large indoor and open-air (heated) pool and leisure complex, tennis courts and the Wildmoos Plateau golf course. In Weidach the Alpenbad is a short walk away with its modern leisure pool facilities. You could also go for a bike ride using the hotel’s complimentary mountain bikes.

Mittenwald: Known for house paintings and its violin museum, this is an excellent place to visit, with shops, cafés and a cable car/chair lift to the mountain top. You can get a direct bus from Weidach at an additional cost.

Innsbruck: This is an attractive, compact city with its famous Golden Roof and beautiful, historic buildings and museums. It offers excellent shopping and a wide selection of restaurants. It is possible to have a two-hour guided tour of the city, visit the Swarovski displays or travel on the funicular/cable car up the mountain. Travel to the city requires a 35-minute railway journey from Seefeld; the scenery alone makes the journey well worthwhile.

Today’s unforgettable itinerary begins with a ride on the steam-powered rack and pinion railway to Achensee. The 128-year-old railway is the oldest of its kind in Europe, still carrying passengers to this day. Once we’ve disembarked from the train, it’ll be on to the boat for a relaxing lake cruise.

A gentle walk through the Leutasch Valley awaits today as we follow the course of the river to view the impressive Leutasch Gorge . We’ll also stop at the beautiful Bavarian town of Mittenwald, known for colourful houses and its violin-making museum. We will also take a ride up the Karwendelbahn Cable car and explore the beautiful panoramic views of the foothills of the Alps and the Zugspitze and Wetterstein Peaks.

We’ll get the train to Innsbruck where we’ll board the Stubaitalbahn tram for an hour-long journey of steep climbs and curves into scenic Stubai valley. At Fulpmes you’ll have time to explore before ascending Kreuzjoch mountain (2,136m) by cable car. At the top, you have panoramic hiking trails and restaurants to enjoy. Return to Innsbruck by tram to catch our train connection to Seefeld.

After breakfast we’ll transfer by coach to Innsbruck to begin our journey home by rail. We’ll make our way to Munich to join the high-speed train to Cologne. We walk to our hotel (about 800 metres) before dinner at a local restaurant.    

There’s time in the morning for a short stroll before we walk back to Cologne railway station for our late morning train to Brussels. Here we change trains and check in for our Eurostar service to London.