Innsbruck

Innsbruck is unique on this list: a genuine, handsome Tyrolean city — capital of the Austrian Alps, with a medieval old town, university buzz and full-city amenities — that happens to have a cable car running from the centre straight up to 2,000m of mountain terrain. Twice a Winter Olympics host, it sits in the Inn valley hemmed in by the Nordkette range on one side and the Tux and Stubai Alps on the other, so the mountains are quite literally at the end of the street.

That combination is its magic. You can browse a proper old town in the morning, ride the Nordkettenbahn from the city and be walking a high ridge or skiing by lunch, and be back for a café and a concert in the evening. Several ski areas — the Nordkette, Stubai glacier, Axamer Lizum and more — are within easy reach, and summer opens vast networks of alpine hiking and via ferrata across the surrounding ranges.

For anyone who wants mountains without giving up the conveniences, transport links and value of a city, Innsbruck is hard to beat. It is more affordable and better connected than the marquee resort towns, with its own international airport a few minutes from the centre.

Winter (December to April) for skiing across the surrounding areas and the glacier. Summer (June to September) for city-plus-mountain hiking, via ferrata and biking. Spring and autumn are pleasant and quieter in the city, with high trails opening or closing around the edges. The Nordkette above the city is accessible almost year-round via the cable car.

Innsbruck has its own international airport minutes from the centre, sits on major European rail lines (direct trains from Munich, Vienna, Zurich and beyond), and is about two hours by road from Munich airport. Within the city, trams and the Nordkette funicular mean you can reach the mountains without a car.