Alpbach, in a side valley off the Tyrolean Inn, holds a designation as Austria's most beautiful village that it actually earns. The dark-wood farmhouse architecture is protected and genuinely old, not restored for tourism, which gives the village an authenticity that more famous Tyrolean names often lack. The ski area is modest. What draws visitors is the setting and the unusual combination of mountain quiet with serious intellectual culture: the annual European Forum Alpbach, held since 1945, brings politicians, scientists, and thinkers to this improbable location each summer. Hotels are family-run and traditional. About 40 minutes from Innsbruck by car.