Facts checked October 2026 against operator sources. Prices and times change, the booking page wins.
What to do in Innsbruck depends on the weather and the altitude: the old town with its museums and guided walks below, the Nordkette above, and the zoo, ski jump and castle in between. This list sorts the bookable activities by situation and links straight to the booking page, where prices and availability show for your date.
Mountain and views
Nordkette to Hafelekar
From the Congress station to 2,300 m, with the Path of Perspectives from Seegrube. Book ahead so the funicular queue on a weekend is not yours.
Book the NordketteNature and adventure
Guided hikes, via ferrata with a mountain guide, rafting and paragliding around Innsbruck, filtered by date.
See outdoor activitiesPatscherkofel and the Zirbenweg
The home mountain with the easiest high-altitude walk in Tyrol. Details and lift prices on the hiking page.
Hikes from InnsbruckOld town and history
Old town guided walks
From the Golden Roof to the Imperial Palace with a guide, in English or German, one to two hours.
Old town walksPhoto spots with a local
Two hours to the viewpoints that are missing from the postcards, with someone who lives here.
Book the photo tourAudio tour for your phone
Starts at the Triumphal Arch, works offline, pause whenever you like. The cheapest guide in town.
Get the audio tourWelcome Tour by Innsbruck Tourismus
The official city walk for €17, in English on summer Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, included in the Innsbruck Card.
Welcome Tour and licensed guides
Tickets without the queue
Swarovski Crystal Worlds
€25 online instead of €27 at the door, €38 with the shuttle from the main station. The most visited day out from Innsbruck.
Swarovski ticketsAll Innsbruck tickets
Imperial Palace, Ambras Castle, Bergisel and combination tickets in one list, by date.
Innsbruck tickets: TiqetsWith children
Family activities
Alpine Zoo, the Swarovski play tower, Bergisel with its lift and child-friendly tours, filtered for families.
Family activitiesAll 2026 child prices
What children pay at the zoo, the lifts, the museums and Swarovski, plus a two-day plan.
Innsbruck with childrenBy time available
Three hours between trains. From the main station along Maria-Theresien-Strasse to the Golden Roof, up the City Tower, into the cathedral, back via Marktplatz; the audio tour guides it, and the tower is the only ticket. For height instead: the funicular to Seegrube and back takes two hours with the view.
One day. Old town with the Imperial Palace or Court Church in the morning, lunch at Marktplatz, the Nordkette to Hafelekar in the afternoon, Bergisel or the Hofgarten in the evening. The 24-hour card at €69 covers every ticket and both lifts.
Two days. Day one as above; day two the shuttle to Swarovski Crystal Worlds in the morning and Ambras Castle in the afternoon, or a train day to Hall and Schwaz instead. The 48-hour card at €79 covers both, shuttle included.
Three days and more. Add the Patscherkofel with the Zirbenweg, the Alpine Zoo with children, Kufstein or Seefeld by train. From here the 72-hour card at €89 pays, and a hotel within walking distance of the old town beats one on the edge of town.
By season
| Season | Up the mountain | In town | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | skiing on the Nordkette, Patscherkofel, Axamer Lizum, Kühtai; Stubai Glacier from October | Christmas markets 13 Nov to 6 Jan, museums, Audioversum | Bergisel closed Tuesdays, Ambras closed in November, Four Hills Tournament in early January |
| Spring | Nordkette from 25 April, Patscherkofel from 14 May, Path of Perspectives | old town, Imperial Palace, Hofgarten | Nordkette maintenance 20-24 April |
| Summer | Zirbenweg, Goetheweg, via ferrata, lifts until 18:00 | City Tower until 20:00, Welcome Tour daily, English Mon/Wed/Sat | Ambras timed entry from 1 June, palace closure days in August |
| Autumn | Nordkette to 1 November, larches on the Patscherkofel | Audioversum, Grassmayr, Ambras to end October | last lift day 1 November |
By budget
- Free: St James's Cathedral, the Golden Roof from outside, Maria-Theresien-Strasse, the old town, the Hofgarten, the riverside, the view from the Hungerburg if you walk up.
- Under €20: City Tower €4.50, Golden Roof museum €5.80, Court Church €9, Bergisel €12, Audioversum €14, funicular €14, Imperial Palace €16, Alpine Zoo €16, Ambras Castle €16, Welcome Tour €17, audio tour about €10.
- Over €20: Swarovski €25 plus shuttle, Nordkette to Hafelekar €56, Zirbenweg ticket €39.50, Patscherkofel €33, guided tours from about €20 per person.
- All in: Innsbruck Card €69 / €79 / €89.
Prices at a glance
| Activity | Adults 2026 | Children | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nordkette to Hafelekar, return | €56 | €33.60 | valley station or ahead |
| Hungerburg funicular alone | €14 | €8.40 | valley station |
| Patscherkofel, return | €33 | €18 | Igls valley station |
| Zirbenweg circular ticket | €39.50 (€43 with bus J) | €22.50 | Patscherkofel lift |
| Swarovski Crystal Worlds | €25 online, €27 at the door; €38 with shuttle | €9; €16 with shuttle | online, Tiqets |
| Ambras Castle | €16 online, €18 at the door | under 19 free | online, timed entry from 1 June 2026 |
| Imperial Palace | €16 | under 19 free | at the door |
| Court Church + Folk Art Museum | €9 single, €14 combined | €7 / €11 | at the door |
| Bergisel | €12; €16 with Tirol Panorama | €6.50 | at the door or online |
| Alpine Zoo | €16; €23 with funicular | €9 / €14 | zoo or Rennweg valley station |
| Audioversum | €14 | €9, under 6 free | at the door |
| City Tower | €4.50 | €2 | at the door |
| Welcome Tour | €17 | €10 | innsbruck.info |
| Old town audio tour | about €10 | app |
The bookable tours in detail
Nordkette ticket. The combined ticket for all three sections from Congress to Hafelekar, valid for one return on the chosen day; buying ahead saves the queue at the desk, not the price. Old town walks. One to two hours from the Golden Roof or the Innsbruck Information office, themes from Maximilian to the history of the inns; groups mostly under twenty, in English and German, less often in low season. Photo spots with a local. Two hours on foot to the viewpoints over the Nordkette, the Inn and the old town, with advice on light and time of day, for phones as much as cameras. Audio tour. The app leads from the Triumphal Arch through the old town in about two hours, offline, with a map; no booking slot. Swarovski with shuttle. Entry plus the bus from the main station, five departures a day, return at any time within opening hours. Nature and adventure. Guided hikes on the Nordkette and Patscherkofel, via ferrata with a mountain guide and equipment, rafting in the Ötztal and paragliding over the Stubai valley, most with pick-up in Innsbruck. Family activities. The same operators filtered for tours with no minimum age or a child price.
A sample active day, costed
| Programme | Separately | With the 24-hour card |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome Tour at 11:00 | €17 | €0 |
| Imperial Palace | €16 | €0 |
| Nordkette to Hafelekar | €56 | €0 |
| Bergisel with Tirol Panorama | €16 | €0 |
| IVB day ticket | €7.30 | €0 |
| Total | €112.30 | €69 |
Add Swarovski with the shuttle (€38) on the same day and the gap widens further; with no lift and one museum the card does not pay. Platform tours are never in the card; the Welcome Tour is.
Common mistakes
- The Nordkette on a Saturday morning without a ticket: an hour at the funicular. Buy online or be there at 8:00.
- Planning Ambras Castle in November: closed.
- Taking the Swarovski shuttle without checking the last return, which leaves before Crystal Worlds closes; times are posted at the station stop.
- Audioversum on a Monday: closed, holidays included.
- Too much in one day: Nordkette plus Swarovski plus Ambras works on paper with the card, not with children.
Getting between activities
The old town, the funicular and the station form a triangle of fifteen-minute walks. Tram 1 links the centre to Bergisel in twelve minutes, tram 6 to Igls and the Patscherkofel lift in thirty, bus 540 and tram 6 to Ambras in twenty. The Swarovski shuttle leaves from the main station; the train to Fritzens-Wattens is the alternative. A single IVB ticket is €3.30, the 24-hour ticket €7.30, and the Sightseer hop-on bus counts as an IVB ticket in the core zone. Taxis are rarely needed; the one case is the late return from the Nordkette when the funicular has stopped, which it does not before 19:15.
The Innsbruck Card and activities
Of the offers on this page the card covers the Nordkette, the Patscherkofel, Swarovski with the shuttle, the zoo, Bergisel, the palace, the Court Church, Audioversum and the Welcome Tour, but not platform tours, audio tours, via ferrata with a guide or the Zirbenweg circular ticket, because the Glungezer lift is outside it. A mountain day plus a museum day is almost always cheaper on the 48-hour card at €79 than on single tickets; a trip built around guided tours does not need it.
What we would skip
With a single day: Ambras Castle, because the journey and the time slot tie up the afternoon; Crystal Worlds, because the half day in Wattens costs you the Nordkette; the Sightseer bus, because the old town is faster on foot. In rain: the City Tower, whose platform is open to the sky, and the Alpine Zoo on its slope. With small children: Hafelekar and the Goetheweg. In November: Ambras Castle, closed, and the Nordkette after 1 November, when only the funicular to the Hungerburg runs.
Book ahead or pay at the door
Book ahead where there is a time slot or an online discount: Ambras Castle (compulsory from 1 June 2026, two euros cheaper), Swarovski (two euros cheaper, shuttle seat secured), guided tours and the photo tour (limited dates). The door is fine for the City Tower, the Imperial Palace, the Court Church, the zoo and Bergisel, which rarely sell out. The Nordkette is the exception at weekends and in school holidays: book online or go early, or queue at the funicular. With the Innsbruck Card none of this applies; it is shown at the desks and covers one ride per lift.
In the rain
Audioversum, the Imperial Palace, the Court Church and Crystal Worlds are indoors; the Hungerburg funicular runs in any weather and Seegrube is often above the cloud. The rainy-day order is on the children's page and works without children too.
What is there to do in Innsbruck?
Ride the Nordkette to 2,300 m, walk the old town with the Golden Roof, Imperial Palace and Court Church, visit Bergisel, the Alpine Zoo and Ambras Castle, and give a day to Swarovski Crystal Worlds.
How much is a guided tour in Innsbruck?
The Welcome Tour is €17 per person; private and themed tours through booking platforms start around €20 per person, audio tours from €10.
What to do in Innsbruck when it rains?
Audioversum, the Imperial Palace, the Court Church, the Folk Art Museum and Swarovski Crystal Worlds; the funicular runs in any weather.
What can I do in Innsbruck in one day?
Old town with the Imperial Palace or Court Church in the morning, the Nordkette to Hafelekar in the afternoon, Bergisel in the evening; the €69 24-hour card covers all of it.
Which activities in Innsbruck are free?
The cathedral, the old town, Maria-Theresien-Strasse, the Hofgarten, the riverside and the view from the Hungerburg if you walk up.
Do I need to book the Nordkette in advance?
At weekends and in school holidays yes, or arrive before 8:30; on weekdays the desk at Congress is fine.
For groups and occasions
From ten people a licensed guide at €140 an hour is cheaper per head than any platform tour and can be shaped to the group's interest; booking runs through austriaguides.tirol. The Nordkette lifts and Swarovski have group rates from fifteen people, the Innsbruck Card does not. For companies and school groups, Audioversum and Bergisel are the straightforward venues with time slots. For a birthday or anniversary, an evening on Seegrube on a summer Friday, when the lifts run late, is Innsbruck's version of the special dinner.