Below is analysis of 6 mountain regions and their mountain towns: the Alps, Cascade Range, Coast Mountains, Pyrenees, Rockies, and Sierra Nevadas. You can use this for your vacation planning to find the perfect mountain town to go to.
Key components:
- Interactive map of mountain towns and their characteristics
- Population
- Proximity to airports and hospitals
- # of mountain peaks nearby
- And more
- Summaries of top towns and mountain ranges based on different attributes
- Scatter plot charts comparing mountain towns.
Use the filters to adjust parameters such as population size, geographic regions, and other criteria to explore the data.
Key Statistics & Highlights
Overview
- Total cities analyzed: 716
- Mountain regions: Alps, Cascade Range, Coast Mountains, Pyrenees, Rockies, Sierra Nevada
Large Mountain Cities w/ a nearby airport and healthcare and many peaks (pop > 30k, < 45 min airport, < 25 min hospital, > 150 peaks)
16 cities offer an impressive combination of size, accessibility, healthcare access, and mountain grandeur. Interesintgly, they’re all in the Alps.
- Grenoble (France, Alps) — Pop: 158,552 | Airport: 35 min | Hospital: 7 min | Peaks: 160
- Innsbruck (Austria, Alps) — Pop: 132,493 | Airport: 7 min | Hospital: 5 min | Peaks: 607
- Trento (Italy, Alps) — Pop: 120,709 | Airport: 43 min | Hospital: 3 min | Peaks: 351
- Bolzano (Italy, Alps) — Pop: 107,436 | Airport: 10 min | Hospital: 8 min | Peaks: 251
- Lugano (Switzerland, Alps) — Pop: 63,185 | Airport: 15 min | Hospital: 6 min | Peaks: 170
- Villach (Austria, Alps) — Pop: 58,882 | Airport: 39 min | Hospital: 4 min | Peaks: 506
- Dornbirn (Austria, Alps) — Pop: 49,278 | Airport: 22 min | Hospital: 4 min | Peaks: 217
- Thun (Switzerland, Alps) — Pop: 43,723 | Airport: 25 min | Hospital: 4 min | Peaks: 250
- Bellinzona (Switzerland, Alps) — Pop: 43,220 | Airport: 27 min | Hospital: 6 min | Peaks: 424
- Merano (Italy, Alps) — Pop: 41,051 | Airport: 28 min | Hospital: 4 min | Peaks: 457
- Saint‑Martin‑d’Hères (France, Alps) — Pop: 35,528 | Airport: 45 min | Hospital: 4 min | Peaks: 193
- Hötting (Austria, Alps) — Pop: 35,043 | Airport: 6 min | Hospital: 8 min | Peaks: 585
- Merano – Meran (Italy, Alps) — Pop: 33,656 | Airport: 35 min | Hospital: 9 min | Peaks: 449
- Feldkirch (Austria, Alps) — Pop: 33,420 | Airport: 32 min | Hospital: 6 min | Peaks: 350
- Échirolles (France, Alps) — Pop: 33,088 | Airport: 40 min | Hospital: 3 min | Peaks: 165
- Pradl (Austria, Alps) — Pop: 32,588 | Airport: 11 min | Hospital: 4 min | Peaks: 595
Cities with > 100 Peaks by Region
The distribution of peak‑rich cities across regions:
- Alps: 434 cities
- Pyrenees: 16 cities
- Rockies: 3 cities
The Alps dominate with their extensive network of high‑elevation cities surrounded by dramatic peaks.
Top 5 Cities with Most Peaks
These cities are surrounded by the most dramatic mountain landscapes:
- Vielha e Mijaran (Spain, Pyrenees) — 1,043 peaks | Pop: 5,385 | Elevation: 975 m
- Sondrio (Italy, Alps) — 816 peaks | Pop: 19,208 | Elevation: 303 m
- Aosta – Aoste (Italy, Alps) — 768 peaks | Pop: 30,000 | Elevation: 583 m
- Landeck (Austria, Alps) — 768 peaks | Pop: 7,725 | Elevation: 786 m
- Aosta (Italy, Alps) — 764 peaks | Pop: 35,261 | Elevation: 586 m
Accessible Cities with Healthcare (< 45 min airport, < 25 min hospital)
327 cities offer excellent accessibility to both air travel and healthcare facilities.
By region: Alps – 281 cities; Rockies – 24; Coast Mountains – 8; Pyrenees – 10; Cascade Range – 3; Sierra Nevadas – 1.
Other Notable Statistics
- Region with highest median peaks: the Alps lead with a median of 175 peaks per city, showcasing the exceptional density of high summits in this range.
- Fastest airport access among large cities (pop > 50k): Innsbruck, Austria reaches its airport in just 7 minutes, making it one of the most accessible mountain cities for air travellers.
- Highest elevation city: Breckenridge, Colorado (USA, Rockies) sits at an impressive 2,965 m (9,728 ft) above sea level.
Scatter Plot Chart Analysis
Use the interactive filters to drill in to the data. For instance, double click on a region name to see just those dots. You can also hover over a data point for more detail.
Population vs Peak Count
This scatter plot illustrates the relationship between town population and the number of peaks in each area.
Peaks Count vs Airport Time
This scatter plot compares the number of peaks in each city with the travel time to the nearest airport.
Hospital vs Airport Time
This scatter plot compares travel time to the nearest hospital with travel time to the nearest airport, helping you explore access to healthcare versus air transport by city.
Metric Definitions
Understand what each metric means:
- Population: The number of residents, sourced from GeoNames and OpenStreetMap data. Cities are filtered to include only those with populations of at least 5,000.
- Elevation: Height above sea level (meters) with confidence scoring to indicate data quality. Elevations are derived from SRTM data and OpenStreetMap.
- Driving Time to Airport: Estimated driving time in minutes to the nearest airport with scheduled commercial service, calculated via OSRM routing on real road networks.
- Driving Time to Hospital: Estimated driving time in minutes to the nearest hospital facility. Only proper hospitals (not clinics or doctors’ offices) within the OpenStreetMap data are considered.
- Peaks Count: The number of prominent peaks within 30 km of the city that are at least 1,200 m higher than the city’s elevation. Peaks are sourced from OpenStreetMap’s natural=peak tags to ensure they represent significant summits.
Data Sources & Methodology
I vibe coded this primarily through Cursor and used multiple publicly available data sources:
- Population & Location: GeoNames database and OpenStreetMap
- Elevation: SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission) and OpenStreetMap
- Routing & Travel Times: OSRM (Open Source Routing Machine) using real road networks
- Airports: OurAirports database (filtered for scheduled passenger service)
- Hospitals & Peaks: OpenStreetMap tagged features
All driving times and distances are calculated using actual road networks and realistic routing, not straight‑line distances.
Data last updated October 2025.