My husband and I visited Innsbruck, Austria after spending several months traveling around Europe on our Year Long Honeymoon. We we both agree that Innsbruck, Austria is one of our favorite cities we’ve visited on our trip! Innsbruck is beautiful with mountains on the north and south side of the city, gorgeous architecture, and a compact, walkable size.
We spent three nights in Innsbruck, and I think that is an ideal time, unless you plan to do more serious hiking. In that case 4 or 5 might be better. This itinerary is based on what we did, so plan on spending three nights so you have two full days to complete this itinerary. You definitely won’t regret any time spent in this beautiful city!
48 Hour Innsbruck City Card
The first thing you need to do when you arrive in Innsbruck is purchase the 48 Innsbruck City Card. I’m not one to normally buy the city cards or passes when I travel but this one is a really good deal and makes everything very convenient. You can buy the pass online which is what we did, or in some hotel lobbies and the train station. (Not a sponsored link, I just really liked the convenience!)
As of 2022 the 24 hour Innsbruck Card costs €53, 48 hour costs €63, and the 72 hour costs €73. If you’re staying more than 2 full days, I would recommend getting the 72 hour card as there really is a lot included in the cards. All the attractions mentioned in this post are free with the Innsbruck City card, including the use of public transportation.
Day 1
Tyrol Panorama Museum
The museum opens at 9:00 am, and for this schedule to work you will need to be there right when it opens. If the early wake up or the museum itself doesn’t interest you, skip it and start your morning at the next stop, the Bergisel Ski Jump. We did not get to go to the Museum because it is closed on Tuesdays, the day we tried to visit.
Bergisel Ski Jump
They jump from 10am to 12pm so plan to arrive right around 10-10:30. Watch the jumps from the bottom for 15-30 minutes, then make your way to the top viewing platform via the enclosed ski lift. There is a cafe in the viewing platform where you can grab a coffee, drink, or snack.
Entrance is free with the City Pass, but you need get a ticket from the ticket window to get inside.
Patscherkofel Cable Car
Patscherkofel is a mountain on the south side of Innsbruck. There is a cable car that runs up and down the mountain to access the hiking trails and ski lodge restaurants. The last car down the mountain is at 5:00pm, so you need to hightail it over to Patscherkofel after viewing the ski jumping if you want to have time to hike.
To get to the Patscherkofel Cable Car you need to take the “J” bus from town, or you can drive if you have a car. Remember, all public transportation is free with the City Card. You don’t need to get a ticket or scan anything, just show your City Card if a ticket inspector asks.
To access the ski lift, you do not need to wait in the ticket line, you can just scan your City Card at the entrance to the ski lift.
Once at the top you can simply admire the view and grab a beer or meal, or pick a hiking trail. There are some longer day hikes, but we chose a 4 mile hike. I forget the exact name of the trail now, but the hike started off going east from the cable car, towards another Alpine restaurant. From the restaurant we hiked up to the summit of Patscherkofel, then continued on the back side and around the mountain, making a big loop. Whatever route you choose, make sure you can complete it before 5pm!
Day 2
Nordkette "Top of Innsbruck"
This is one of, if not the most famous attraction in Innsbruck. Nordkette consists of three sections of cable car that go up to a viewpoint of the north side of town called “Top of Innsbruck.” The first section of cable car has two pick up spots in town, and one at the Alpine Zoo (another option to visit included in the City Card). At the fourth and final stop of Hungerburg you have to get out and transfer to section two of the cable car. Section two goes from Hungerburg up to Seegrube with no additional stops. The final and third section of cable car goes from Seegrube to the Hafelekar station.
From the top station, Hafelekar you can walk up a short trail to the top of the mountain peak. There are also other longer trails around to other mountain peaks, but they seemed like a big full day commitment and we didn’t have the gear or snacks to do them.
As we had had so much fun hiking at Patscherkofel the day before, we wanted to do some kind of hike so we decided to hike down from the top station to the middle station, Seegrube. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS. The path is very steep and is filled with loose gravel so I kept slipping and it was the most scared I’ve ever been on a hike. You also don’t get any better views, because it’s straight down the same mountain you just came up. If you want to do a hike, just find somewhere else to do it unless you’re a mountain goat!
Tips for a better Nordkette Experience
My number one tip for a more enjoyable visit is to go early to avoid crowds. Plan to be on one of the first few cars up when it opens or you’ll be waiting in long lines at Hungerburg and Seegrube to go up. We got there an hour after opening and didn’t have a problem, but as we were coming down we saw very long lines to go up.
I also recommend eating at a restaurant near Hungerburg on the way down if you want to save money. There are restaurants at Seegrube and Halfelekar with great views but they’re really pricey. After eating lunch in Hungerburg you can take the J bus back into town or take the cable car down the final section.
If you have the Innsbruck City Card, you can just scan your bar code at each cable car section entrance instead of waiting in any ticket lines. A ticket for Nordkette costs €42, so it makes up a bulk of the cost of the City Card.
Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour
After hiking around Nordkette, a nice bus ride around town is perfect! We enjoyed listening to the commentary to learn more about Innsbruck’s history. We did not get off anywhere, but you can research the stops before you get on the bus and pick a few that you want to explore. I probably would not have paid to do this on its own, but since it’s included in the City Card, I figured why not? The full circle lasts about an hour if you don’t get off anywhere.
Schloss Ambros
We did not visit Schloss Ambros because we were tired from hiking. We’re also in the middle of a “Year Long Honeymoon” and can’t visit every castle or art museum in Europe or we’d go crazy! I have heard it’s a great place to visit though, and has a great collection of art. The Hop On Hop Off bus goes right to the castle, so it’s a good idea to group the bus tour and the castle together.
Climb the City Tower at Sunset
This is a nice, quick activity that you can fit into your schedule whenever it works, but we enjoyed going just before it closed. There weren’t too many people at the top, and the golden light over the city from the setting sun was amazing. There is a double spiral stair case (on way for up and down) leading to the top. Once at the top you can make a full 360 loop on the small viewing platform.
If you have any questions or comments on this itinerary, please let me know in the comments below. Additionally, if you’ve been to Innsbruck and have anything to add that I must do on my next visit, please let me know below, too! Thank you for reading, and I hope you have an amazing time in Innsbruck!
5 Comments
I recently returned from a trip to Innsbruck and I couldn’t be happier with my experience. The city itself is absolutely stunning, with its picturesque mountains and charming old town. The food was also top-notch, with a wide variety of traditional Austrian dishes and local specialties.
As you know I briefly passed through Innsbruck on my train from Munich to Treviso and even that short little peek into the city and the surrounding mountains was incredibly pretty! I would absolutely go back and stay longer knowing you and Andrew loved it so much. That ski jump looks crazy but I love the view from the observatory there since you can still make out individual buildings in the cityscape below.
Innsbruck looks so beautiful!! I would love to visit. The city pass sounds like a great way to see a lot of different places for cheap. And I would definitely want to do some hiking!
We were very sorry we never made it to Innsbruck when we were in Austria. Good to know that 2-3 days are enough if we don’t want to do serious hiking. We would definitely head high up on the cable car for that amazing view. And will plan to go early to avoid the crowds.
This seems like a beautiful Austria stop. I would take a more leisurely hike, go up the viewing tower and I would want to go into the castle.