Experience the best of Wattens

Wattens lies in the Inn valley, east of Innsbruck, between the Karwendel mountains to the north and the Tux Alps to the south. For well over a century the town has been associated with crystal: a glass-cutting firm founded here in 1895 grew into a global brand and still shapes the life of the town.

A crystal-themed museum on the edge of town is entered through the mouth of a grassy giant with water pouring from it, and its underground chambers are lit with sculpture and glass. Hall in Tirol, a medieval town and former mint, and Schwaz, an old silver-mining town, lie along the valley to the west and east, and the old town of Innsbruck, with its Golden Roof, is a short drive away.

Tyrolean cooking fills local inns: Gröstl, fried potato with bacon, onion and egg, Kaspressknödel, fried cheese dumplings, and smoked Speck. Meadows and forests rise above the valley, and snow covers the high slopes in winter while hikers use the same paths in summer.