Reutte lies in a broad basin where the Lech valley opens and the mountains step back, a town of under seven thousand in the Außerfern, the part of Tyrol that is cut off from the rest of the province by the Alps and is connected more easily with Bavaria than with Innsbruck. For centuries the town was a stop on the trade route between Italy and southern Germany, and it grew rich on the carriage trade and on the road that crossed the Fern Pass. Its long main street, Untermarkt, still has old merchants' houses with painted facades and ornate oriel windows, and the market feel remains.
Above the town, on the ridge, stand the ruins of Ehrenberg, a castle that once guarded the road to the pass, built in the Middle Ages and extended over centuries. Its crumbling walls are linked by a modern footbridge, the Highline179, a suspension bridge about four hundred metres long, which hangs high over the valley between the ruins and a neighbouring fortress, and is among the longest of its type in the world. You can walk across it, with a view of the valley far below, and the wire mesh underfoot lets you see through.
For riders, Reutte is a crossroads with excellent roads in every direction. North, the border with Germany is a few minutes away, with Füssen and the fairy-tale castle of Neuschwanstein about twenty kilometres off, though the route is often crowded with tourists. East, the Fern Pass road climbs to a small, green lake and over the divide toward Imst, with long bends and fine views. West, the road follows the Lech into the Lechtal, and south-west, the Tannheimer Tal is a flat, wide glacial valley ringed with peaks, one of the prettiest in the Alps. Surfaces are generally excellent, and traffic is moderate except on summer weekends.
Fuel is easy in Reutte, which has several stations and supermarkets, so it is the place to fill up before the mountain roads. The Plansee, a clear, green lake a few kilometres west, is good for a rest and a swim in warm weather. Spring and autumn are quieter and lovely, while winter brings snow and the need for caution.