The Alps might be for skiing, but the self-styled “capital” of the Austrian Alps, Innsbruck, lives for just about everything après — eating, drinking, shopping and partying. Despite its founding as the capital of the Tyrol in the Middle Ages, the city on the Inn River maintains a consistently youthful attitude, thanks in part to 30,000 university students in a population of just 120,000 residents, while a new interest in world-class modern architecture by the likes of David Chipperfield, Dominique Perrault and Zaha Hadid is starting to compete for attention with the Renaissance-era buildings and labyrinthine lanes of Old Town. By all means, enjoy the nearby slopes, like those at the Stubai Glacier. But don’t be surprised if the lifts you enjoy most are the ones that take you to the city’s many rooftop bars, upscale restaurants and dance clubs that go all night.

FRIDAY

4 p.m.

1. Kaffeeklatsch Contest

Locals love to argue over which is Innsbruck’s best konditorei, or pastry cafe, with many picking the more-modern Valier (Maximilianstrasse 27; www.konditorei-innsbruck.at), just south of the city center, while hard-liners swear by the storied Munding (Kiebachgasse 16, at Mundingplatz; munding.at) in Old Town, which claims to have served its pie-like apple strudels and sugary stollen since 1803. Pick either one, grab a table and enjoy the afternoon kaffeeklatsch hour like a regular. Then move on to the other and order a second round of cake and coffee, just to make sure.

5 p.m.

2. Local Brews

With its crisp grüner veltliners, fruity gelber muskatellers and steely rieslings, Austria’s enviable wine culture steals much of the attention that might otherwise go to the country’s growing — but largely overlooked — craft beer scene. In Innsbruck, the top-rated bar in Conrad Seidl’s 2012 Austrian beer guidebook is Cafe Sowieso (Kapuzinergasse 8; 43-650 553-0506), a gritty, romper-room-like student pub with four to six unusual brews on draft and about 40 bottles, including rarities like Gerhard Forstner’s excellent Styrian Ale, a hoppy amber brew from Austria’s Steiermark region (4.60 euros, or about $6 at $1.29 to the euro). No, your beer-loving friends back home have never heard of it.