Austria
Innsbruck is the rare European city where the mountains are part of the townscape.
The Nordkette range rises straight out of the northern suburbs, and a funicular and two cable cars carry you from the old town to a ridge at well over 2,000 metres in about half an hour. Down in the valley the capital of Tyrol keeps the treasures of its Habsburg heyday: the Golden Roof with its gilded copper shingles, the Imperial Palace remodelled under Maria Theresa, and the Court Church where 28 larger-than-life bronze figures guard Emperor Maximilian I’s empty tomb. Zaha Hadid left her mark twice, on the Bergisel ski jump that has hosted two Winter Olympics and on the swooping funicular stations, and a short ride east lie the Swarovski Crystal Worlds in Wattens and the medieval mint town of Hall. This guide books the cable cars, crystal halls and folk evenings worth booking, flags the November maintenance closures that catch visitors out, and matches you to the right hotel, from a design tower with a rooftop spa by the station to a 600-year-old inn on the old town’s main street.
Swarovski Crystal Worlds (Wattens)
The crystal wonderland in Wattens, guarded by a grass-covered Giant with sparkling eyes, where artists have filled the Chambers of Wonder below ground and a garden with the Crystal Cloud, a play tower and a labyrinth. Closed 9 and 10 November 2026.
Hofburg Innsbruck (Imperial Palace)
The Habsburgs’ Imperial Palace at the edge of the old town, with Baroque state rooms, the Imperial Apartments, the Maximilian1 exhibition and, until 10 January 2027, a special show on Empress Sisi on film and stage.
Bergisel Ski Jump
Zaha Hadid’s sculptural ski jump on the hill south of the city, an Olympic venue in 1964 and 1976, with a lift to a tower-top panorama terrace and restaurant looking down the in-run to the city and the Nordkette.
Alpenzoo Innsbruck
Europe’s highest zoo, on the sunny slope below the Hungerburg, devoted entirely to Alpine wildlife, from ibex and chamois to bears, wolves, lynx, bearded vultures and the fish of mountain lakes. Open every day of the year.
The funicular and cable cars that lift you from the old town to the Seegrube and Hafelekar on the Nordkette ridge, with views over the Inn Valley to the Stubai glaciers and north into the Karwendel. Closed for maintenance 2 to 19 November 2026.
The crystal wonderland in Wattens, guarded by a grass-covered Giant with sparkling eyes, where artists have filled the Chambers of Wonder below ground and a garden with the Crystal Cloud, a play tower and a labyrinth. Closed 9 and 10 November 2026.
Innsbruck’s emblem, a late-Gothic balcony crowned with fire-gilded copper shingles, built for Emperor Maximilian I and now home to a small museum, at the heart of an old town of arcaded lanes and pastel facades.
The Habsburgs’ Imperial Palace at the edge of the old town, with Baroque state rooms, the Imperial Apartments, the Maximilian1 exhibition and, until 10 January 2027, a special show on Empress Sisi on film and stage.
The Habsburg church that holds Emperor Maximilian I’s grand cenotaph, guarded by 28 larger-than-life bronze figures known as the Black Men, plus the Silver Chapel and a Renaissance organ.
Zaha Hadid’s sculptural ski jump on the hill south of the city, an Olympic venue in 1964 and 1976, with a lift to a tower-top panorama terrace and restaurant looking down the in-run to the city and the Nordkette.
Europe’s highest zoo, on the sunny slope below the Hungerburg, devoted entirely to Alpine wildlife, from ibex and chamois to bears, wolves, lynx, bearded vultures and the fish of mountain lakes. Open every day of the year.
A lively evening of Tyrolean folk music, yodelling, dancing and thigh-slapping Schuhplattler, staged by the Gundolf family since 1967 in the Alpensaal near the old town, with an optional three-course Tyrolean dinner.
A beautifully preserved medieval salt and mint town ten minutes east of Innsbruck, with one of the largest old towns in western Austria, a guided walk through its squares and churches, and Hasegg Castle, the birthplace of the thaler and the dollar.
An hour-long immersive show in five rooms on Maria-Theresien-Straße, using virtual reality and 360-degree projection to take you to Tyrol’s highest peaks, onto the Bergisel jump, into Maximilian’s Innsbruck and across the Ahornboden.
Hotels we would book ourselves, from splurges to good-value bases.
$$$$Main Station (Hauptbahnhof)
A design hotel in a tower beside Innsbruck main station, with panoramic rooms, a 12th-floor restaurant and rooftop bar, an 11th-floor spa and some of the best mountain views of any hotel in the city.
Rates on Expedia →
$$$City Centre (Adolf-Pichler-Platz)
A glass-fronted design hotel on Adolf-Pichler-Platz in the heart of the city, a few minutes from the old town and the market hall, best known for its 5th Floor rooftop bar with views of the Nordkette.
Rates on Expedia →
$$$Old Town (Altstadt)
A family-run historic inn on the old town’s main street, a few steps from the Golden Roof, with masonry dating back to around 1390, 43 renovated rooms that tell the stories of famous guests and a traditional Tyrolean restaurant.
Rates on Expedia →
$$$Old Town (Inn bridge)
A four-star hotel on the Inn bridge at the edge of the old town, built on the foundations of the old city wall, with a 24-hour pool, a sauna and a sixth-floor panorama spa looking straight at the Nordkette.
Rates on Expedia →
$$Main Station (Hauptbahnhof)
A stylish budget hotel a three-minute walk from Innsbruck main station, with an urban Alpine chalet look, a rooftop terrace and lounge facing the Nordkette, and compact, well-designed rooms.
Rates on Expedia →The practical primer for a first visit to Innsbruck: what to book ahead, the November maintenance closures to plan around, getting around on foot and by tram, and where the Nordkette, the Golden Roof and Swarovski fit into two or three days.
How to choose your base in Innsbruck, from a 600-year-old inn by the Golden Roof to a pool hotel on the Inn bridge, a central design hotel with a rooftop bar, a panoramic tower by the station and a stylish budget pick.
