[Updated August 2022]
The Innsbruck old town is full of historic and architectural gems within easy walking distance of each other. Here are my top 10 things to see and do in and around the historic old town of Innsbruck.
This post covers the historic old town of Innsbruck. You’ll find details on more things to do in and around the city, such as the Nordkette cable car and Swarovski Crystal Worlds, in this Innsbruck travel guide.
Innsbruck Old Town Top 10
1. Golden Roof (Goldenes Dachl)
A little balcony with a roof adorned with 2,657 fire-gilded copper tiles is the biggest attraction in the Innsbruck old town (known locally as the Altstadt). The Golden Roof in the heart of the historic centre was built around 1500 by Emperor Maximilian 1. Since then, it has become the symbol of Innsbruck.
Sightseeing in the Innsbruck old town is incomplete without a photo stop in front of the Golden Roof. For a picture that really captures the capital of the Alps, step back to include the Nordkette mountains in the background. If you have time, why not visit the Golden Roof Museum?
Note the Baroque Helblinghaus with its stucco façade with cherubs and other decorative ornamentation on the opposite corner of the Golden Roof.
2. Innsbruck City Tower (Stadtturm)
The Innsbruck city tower is a stone’s throw from the Golden Roof. First mentioned in 1450, the tower was manned by watchmen for many centuries. Their tasks included announcing the time every hour and warning the townsfolk about encroaching danger. In the middle ages, there was also a prison cell at the bottom of the Innsbruck city tower.
Why don’t you get some exercise and climb the 148 stairs to the viewing platform? From here you have a 360-degree view over Innsbruck and surroundings. The Nordkette mountains, Patscherkofel and the Bergisel ski jump are just some of the things you will see.
Insider Tip
Climb the city tower when the Innsbruck Christmas market is on from mid-November to the end of December. You will be rewarded with views of the giant Christmas tree and Christmas market stalls from the top.
3. Imperial Palace (Hofburg)
The Imperial Palace is only a 3-minute walk from the Golden Roof. As the former residence of the Habsburg Dynasty, the interior of the Innsbruck Imperial Palace impresses with beautifully painted ceilings and portraits of illustrious imperial personalities, such as Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Maximilian I.
The palace was originally built by Archduke Sigmund the Rich in the mid-1400s. Highlights are the Giant’s Hall, the Guard Room, and the Hofburg Chapel.
The Golden Roof, the Innsbruck City Tower, the Imperial Palace, and the Court Church are all included in the Innsbruck Card.
4. Court Church (Hofkirche)
Diagonally opposite the Imperial Palace is a Gothic church that was built by Emperor Ferdinand I in memory of his grandfather, Maximilian I.
Consecrated in 1553, the church is home to the famous Schwarze Mander (Black Men). They are 28 impressive statues of Habsburg relatives and heroes (also including some women despite the name). The statues stand around a black marble cenotaph for Maximilian I.
The Court Church, which is on the edge of the historic old town of Innsbruck, also holds the tomb of Andreas Hofer, Tyrol’s national hero.
Tip: The Innsbruck Court Church and the Museum of Tyrolean Folk Art share the same entrance. If you have time, it’s well worth taking a tour of the museum. Don’t let the Krampus near the entrance frighten you away!
5. Maria Theresa Street
A walk down Maria Theresa Street from the Triumphal Arch to the Golden Roof is compulsory to experience the essence of Innsbruck. Lined with well-preserved 17th- and 18th-century houses, it will only take you 10 minutes without stopping. But there is so much to see and do in between that you can easily allow half an hour for this.
Keep an eye out for St. Anne’s Column where the pedestrian zone starts and the main shopping begins. This momument from 1706 was erected to commemorate the withdrawal of Bavarian troops on St. Anne’s Day in 1703.
Two shopping centres, the Rathaus Gallerien and the Kaufhaus Tyrol are on either side of Maria Theresa Street.
6. Triumphal Arch (Triumphpforte)
Innsbruck’s Triumphal Arch spans the southern end of Maria-Theresa Street and tells the story of a wedding and a funeral.
The Triumphal Arch was originally commissioned in 1765 by Empress Maria Theresa to commemorate the marriage of their son, the Duke of Tuscany (later to become Emperor Leopold II) to Spanish Princess Maria Ludovica.
Sadly, Maria Theresa’s husband Emperor Franz I died during the festivities. Thus the Triumphal Arch ended up depicting the wedding on its southern facade and the mourning of the Emperor on its northern facade. It remains a prominent landmark on the border of the old town of Innsbruck.
7. Colourful Houses Along the Inn River
End your tour through the old town of Innsbruck with the perfect picture to remember the city by.
One of my favourite things to see in Innsbruck is the row of colourful houses against a mountain backdrop along the Inn River on Mariahilstraße. They are best photographed from the Innbrücke (Inn Bridge) or the Marktplatz (Market Square). The Marktplatz is also a good place to sit down to quench your thirst after your walking tour.
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8. Horse-Drawn Carriage Ride
Not everyone likes to indulge in things like carriage rides when travelling, but if you do the Fiaker carriage tours through the Innsbruck old town are very relaxed and informative.
The guides relate many interesting facts that you won’t find in a guidebook. If it wasn’t for our Fiaker carriage tour, we would never have known that Dr Chris Barnard, the South African who did the world’s first heart transplant in Cape Town, spent some time working and teaching in the Innsbruck Hospital.
The horses and carriages are parked in front of the Hofgarten opposite the Congress station of the Nordkettenbahnen (just passed the Imperial Palace).
9. Cathedral of St. James
The Cathedral of St. James got its name because it was once on the Way of St. James, an important medieval Christian pilgrimage route. The original cathedral, dating from the 1100s, was badly damaged by earthquakes before it was rebuilt in the early 1700s.
Look out for the famous Maria Hilf painting by Lukas Cranach the Elder, a highlight of the interior. You will find the cathedral down Pfargasse behind the Golden Roof.
10. Audioversum
Something for a rainy day or when you’re visiting Innsbruck with kids. Audioversum is an interactive science centre or museum with the main focus on hearing. Kids love it because they are allowed to touch everything and play fun games without noticing the educational value.
Apart from the permanent exhibitions and experiments, special exhibitions with a different theme change regularly.
Audioversum is opposite the Landhausplatz near the Triumphal Arch.
Innsbruck Old Town Map
Innsbruck Old Town Hotels
There is no shortage of hotels in the Innsbruck old town to suit every taste and budget.
A hotel with a colourful history not even a minute from the Golden Roof is the Hotel Goldener Adler. If you stay here, you’ll be in the same company as famous historical figures such as Mozart, Goethe, and various royalty.
The Penz Hotel is a modern, up-market design hotel attached to the Rathaus Galerien shopping centre.
In the shadow of the Triumphal Arch, the Hotel Goldene Krone is ideally situated at one end of Maria Theresia Street.
*Disclosure*
Having fun in Austria, and then writing about it is hard work 😆 . That’s why some links in this article are affiliate links. I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you, if you use any of them to make a purchase. It’s totally cool if you don’t. I love to help anyway. If you do, it will help us discover another part of Austria to write about.
I love all these historic attractions of Innsbruck, I really to revisit this again and see these magnificent places, thanks for sharing this. So many beautiful buildings in the city to enjoy and photograph