The Tirolean capital, and twice home of the Winter Olympics, is the center of another internationally renowned ski complex comprising six major resorts. An 800-year-old university town, it has numerous fine buildings dating from Austria’s cultural Renaissance in the 16th to 18th centuries, and a 12th-century castle. When Kaiser Maximilian based the imperial court here in the 1490s, the city became a European center of culture and politics. For spectacular views over the town and southern Alps, take the funicular to Hungerburg and then the cable car to Hafelekar at 2334m (5928ft). Do not miss the Goldenes Dachl (Golden Roof), Helbling House, the City Tower, the Hofburg with its Cenotaph of Kaiser Maximilian, and the Court Church, the parish Church of St Jakob, Mount Isel, the important Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum and the Tiroler Volkkunstmuseum, the Landestheater, a conference center and the Seegrube.