Austria is a country that attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the world each year, because it is just such a great place to be in! Of course, the grand majority of tourists are people who are passionate about skiing, snowboarding or other winter sports. Indeed, Austria is heaven for skiers, thanks to the numerous resorts located in the great Austrian Alps. Tens of thousands of kilometers of ski tracks await their users. But, since this country has an interesting history and gave birth to such a great variety of internationally recognized artists, visiting Austria is also an opportunity to see stuff like Mozart’s birthplace, The great Opera House in Vienna and other famous cultural attractions.

However, not too many tourists know about other, more discrete locations that are quite interesting to visit, like the old Ambras Castle in Innsbruck and the eerie Werfen Ice Caves, very close to the same city. And it’s a bit of a shame too, because there are other attractions that only locals seem to know of, like the Golden Roof or the Hellbrunn Castle.

The Ambras Castle stands guard over the city of Innsbruck, high up on a hill nearby. It was raised by Archduke Ferdinand II, and it was this guy’s residence for almost thirty years, from 1563 to 1595. Due to this fact, the name of Ferdinand II is always present any conversation about the Ambras Castle. There are several important halls in the castle that are worth seeing, and the most interesting is the great Chamber of Arts and Curiosities, a large hall full of medieval contraptions, statues, paintings, furniture and other objects. The coral crucifix, rock crystals, bronze animals and the painting of Dracula are just some of the things that will capture your imagination when seeing them first hand. Then, the Spanish Hall is really ling and tall, being the perfect setting for contemporary classical music concerts that are often held in Innbruck throughout the year. The Armories and the Upper Castle section are also interesting to see.

The second attraction I wanted to talk about is the largest cave complex on Earth, the Werfen Ice Caves! More than 40 kilometers of caves are interconnected under the mountains near Innsbruck, transforming simple caves into a gigantic labyrinth that was a Mecca for geologists for more than a hundred years. The section open for public touring is only one kilometer long though, but who would like to go 40 kilometers on foot anyway, right? Caves are full of fantastic looking ice formations. It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen in your life, believe me.

Like I said, there are many other cool things to see in Austria besides the Ambras Castle and the Werfen ice caves, you just need to look around. Here’s a tip: when you go to Austria, don’t put all your trust into your tourist flyer. Instead, try to ask some locals where to go and what to see. You will be pleasantly surprised to find some great attractions in almost every city you visit.