Salzburg to Innsbruck by Train
The Classic Journey Across the Austrian Alps

The journey begins at Salzburg Hauptbahnhof, the handsomely rebuilt main station a short walk or trolleybus ride north of the baroque old town. It is a comfortable, fully equipped station and a hub for trains across Austria and into Germany, so the first thing to settle is which journey you are taking. The fast Railjet and WESTbahn trains turn west here toward the German border; the scenic Giselabahn heads south, up the Salzach valley into the mountains. This guide follows the scenic route, but both start from the same platforms, so check your train.

Boarding is relaxed - there is no airport-style check-in, so arrive 15 to 20 minutes ahead, watch the boards for your platform and find your coach. Taking the scenic line, the train pulls out south and almost at once the country begins to close in: the flat basin of Salzburg gives way to wooded hills, the green Salzach river appears alongside, and the Alps rise ahead. Within half an hour you are in a different world.

The first stage follows the Salzach south, and it is lovely from the start. The line runs with the river through Hallein - the old salt town that gave Salzburg its name and its wealth - and into the narrowing valley beyond, where the Salzach cuts through a gorge and the walls of rock close in on both sides. This is the edge of the Tennengebirge and the Berchtesgaden Alps, limestone country of steep forests and bare summits, and the train threads it on ledges and through short tunnels beside the rushing green water.

Bischofshofen, in a broad basin where several valleys meet, is the junction where the scenic route turns decisively west toward Tyrol. It is a name ski-jumping fans know from the Four Hills Tournament, ringed by mountains, and the point where the journey commits to crossing the Alps rather than continuing south over the Tauern. From here the line climbs gently away from the Salzach and heads for the lake country around Zell am See.

The Salzach has carried salt and travellers out of these mountains for a thousand years; the railway simply follows the river into the heart of the Alps.

The scenic heart of the journey is the stretch through Zell am See. The town sits on the shore of its own lake, the Zeller See, a sheet of clear water ringed by mountains with the glaciers of the Kitzsteinhorn and the Hohe Tauern rising behind - and the railway runs right along the waterside, giving one of the finest views of the whole trip. In summer the lake is deep blue and busy with boats; in winter it freezes at the edges and the peaks are white to the shoreline. It is a place many travellers break the journey for a day.

West of the lake the line climbs into the Kitzbühel Alps and runs on through Kitzbühel itself, the storied ski resort, its medieval old town set among some of the most famous pistes in the world. This is high, open Alpine country - meadows and larch forest in summer, deep snow and skiers in winter - with the mountains close on every side. Then the line begins its long descent toward the Inn valley and Wörgl.

At Wörgl the scenic line comes down out of the Kitzbühel Alps and joins the main Inn valley railway - the busy corridor that carries the fast trains between Munich, Kufstein and Innsbruck. It is a workaday junction town, but it marks a change in the journey: from here the two routes run together, west up the broad, flat-bottomed valley of the River Inn with steep mountains rising on both sides, the classic Tyrolean landscape of green valley floor and rock walls above.

The Inn valley run into Innsbruck is fast and handsome - villages, churches with onion domes, castles on the heights, and the peaks of the Karwendel to the north growing ever closer. The mountains draw in as the valley narrows toward the city, and then the Nordkette rears up directly ahead, a near-vertical wall of grey rock above the rooftops, and the train slows into Innsbruck.

Innsbruck Hauptbahnhof is a modern, fully rebuilt station - bright, step-free and well equipped - and the moment you step out the setting announces itself: the Nordkette rises almost sheer above the city to the north, and the Bergisel ski jump stands on its hill to the south. It is one of the great alpine rail hubs, with hundreds of trains a day passing through toward Germany, Italy and Switzerland, yet the city itself is compact and the centre is close.

The Old Town (Altstadt) and its famous Golden Roof (Goldenes Dachl) are about a 10 to 15 minute walk from the station, straight along Salurner Strasse and the grand shopping street of Maria-Theresien-Strasse. Trams and buses run from outside the station if you would rather ride, and the River Inn - which gives the city its name - runs just beyond the Old Town. For the mountains, the Hungerburgbahn funicular climbs from near the centre to the Nordkette cable cars, carrying you from the city up toward 2,000 m in well under an hour. Innsbruck airport is a short bus ride west of the centre.

The core decision on this journey is not really which operator but which route. The fast way is the Deutsches Eck: ÖBB Railjet and WESTbahn run west from Salzburg, dip briefly through German territory via Rosenheim and Kufstein, and come up the Inn valley to Innsbruck in around two hours, direct and roughly hourly. Both are comfortable modern trains - Railjet with Economy, First and Business classes and a dining car, WESTbahn with its double-deck carriages and cafes - and reservations on both are optional. This is the choice if you simply want to get to Innsbruck quickly and directly.

The scenic way is the all-Austrian Giselabahn, via Bischofshofen, Zell am See and Kitzbühel. It is slower - closer to three hours - and mostly regional, so it often means a change (commonly at Wörgl or Zell am See) and a little more planning. In return you get the classic crossing of the Austrian Alps: the Salzach gorge, the lake at Zell am See, the Kitzbühel Alps and the Inn valley, all in Austria and all worth the extra time. Neither route is better in the abstract - the fast one wins on speed and simplicity, the scenic one on beauty. For a rail pass holder with time, the Giselabahn is a highlight in its own right.

On the scenic route the landscape is the whole point, and it changes constantly. Out of Salzburg the line follows the green Salzach through the gorge below Hallein, steep forest rising on either side. It opens into the broad basin at Bischofshofen, then climbs into lake and mountain country: the great set-piece is Zell am See, where the train runs along the shore of the lake with the glaciers of the Hohe Tauern behind. Beyond it the Kitzbühel Alps bring high meadows, larch woods and the famous ski slopes, before the long descent to the Inn valley and the run in beneath the Nordkette.

The seasons transform it. In summer the valleys are green and the lakes deep blue, with wildflowers on the high meadows; in autumn the larch turns gold; and in winter this is deep snow country, the peaks white to the valley floor and the ski resorts - Zell am See, Kitzbühel, and St Anton further west - in full swing. It is genuinely beautiful rather than merely pleasant, but it is honest to say the views come and go with the valleys and tunnels, and swap from side to side, so the reward goes to those who travel by daylight and keep looking. There is no single "best side" that holds the scenery throughout.

Innsbruck is one of the major alpine railway hubs of Europe - the crossroads where the Inn valley line from Germany meets the Brenner line to Italy and the Arlberg line to Switzerland, with hundreds of trains a day passing through. Arriving here puts a great deal within easy reach: north to Bavaria, west to the Arlberg and Switzerland, and south over the Brenner Pass into Italy. Some connections are fast and frequent; others, especially the international ones, are worth checking for reservations. The table below is a practical starting point.

From Innsbruck the Alps open in every direction: Munich to the north, Zurich to the west, and Italy over the Brenner to the south.

Reservations are relaxed on this route. On ÖBB Railjet and WESTbahn a seat reservation is optional - worth adding on busy summer weekends, holidays and through the ski season, but never required to travel. The regional trains on the scenic Giselabahn do not take reservations at all. For pass holders it is straightforward: Interrail and Eurail are accepted on both the fast and the scenic services, with no compulsory reservation on the regular trains, which makes the Giselabahn an easy and rewarding pass journey. For the wider picture, see the rail passes and seat reservations guides linked below.

Luggage is easy: there is no strict weight limit on either the long-distance or the regional trains - you carry your bags aboard and use the overhead shelves and the racks near the doors - so board a few minutes early on busy departures, especially in ski season. Bikes are well catered for and the scenic route is popular with cyclists: a bike needs a bike ticket and, on ÖBB long-distance trains, a bike reservation, while the regional trains carry bikes in limited first-come spaces; a folded or bagged bike travels as luggage. Spaces fill in summer, so book ahead where you can.

On accessibility, both Salzburg Hauptbahnhof and Innsbruck Hauptbahnhof are modern, step-free stations with lifts to the platforms, and the fast Railjet and WESTbahn trains have accessible spaces and toilets. The smaller stations on the scenic route vary, and regional trains differ, so do not assume every stop and platform is equally straightforward. For guaranteed boarding help, ÖBB's mobility service should be booked in advance; accessibility depends on the specific train, platform and station, so arranging assistance ahead is the reliable approach.