Following our relaxing stay at the Aqua Dome Thermal Spa in Längenfeld and feeling reenergized and ready to see more of wintry Austria, we traveled to Innsbruck for a one-night stay in the city on the River Inn. World-renowned for winter sports, Innsbruck has hosted the Winter Olympics twice and continues to be a very popular skiing destination. While we are not skiers and certainly were not up for learning on some of the world’s premier slopes, we did breathe some alpine air and enjoyed the view from the mountains above Innsbruck. I fell in love with Innsbruck as we wandered through the fairy tale streets of the “Bridge over the Inn” and relished its quaint but vibrant Christmas markets. Here’s all about our time in lovely, historic Innsbruck!
Altstadthotel Weisses Kreuz
With only one night in Innsbruck, we knew location was everything when it came to choosing our hotel stay. Every minute we spent walking or riding from place to place was less time we had to explore the city. So, we chose to stay right in the heart of Old Town at Altstadthotel Weisses Kreuz. Housed in a building that has been welcoming travelers since 1465, Weisses Kreuz has been redesigned and reopened in 2021with a design style that claims to blend baroque and the future. And they have completely nailed it! With the bar and hotel lobby on the top floor of the building and the floors below housing guests, the hotel feels unique from the time you check in. We booked a double room with balcony that offered a nice view over the rooftops of Innsbruck’s Old Town. The entire hotel has a moody yet classy vibe with its dark, luxurious fabrics and brass fixtures. Welcome drinks are provided at the hotel bar, a very nice touch. But easily the best thing about this hotel was the location. Just steps away from the famed Golden Roof and located on Innsbruck’s popular Herzog-Friedrich-Straße, it doesn’t get any better than Alstadthotel Weisses Kreuz.
Nordkette Cable Car to the Alps
Our train to Innsbruck arrived shortly after noon, so after quickly dropping our luggage off at the hotel for storage until our room was ready, we set out to make the most of our day in the city. It was a chilly but clear December day, which made it perfect weather for our first activity, ascending the Jewel of the Alps via the Nordkette Cable Car. The cable car system that includes a funicular and two cable car rides takes passengers 2,300 meters up the Nordkette, a range of mountains that is part of the Alps and also belongs to Austria’s largest nature park. From the top cable car station, visitors can walk another 15 minutes to Hafelekar Peak for 360-degree views of the city of Innsbruck and the conservation area. A round trip ticket that includes the Hungerburgbahn, Seegrubenbahn, and Hafelekarbahn costs €44 and takes around 30 minutes in total. The first leg, the funicular Hungerburgbahn, leaves from the Congress station just outside the Old Town in Innsbruck. From there, the cable car signs point the way for each leg of the journey.
As we ascended the mountain, the scenery grew more and more impressive. We looked below to see snowshoers climbing up the mountain as we rode higher and higher. Both cable car rides were smooth and fun, easily conquered by Emily, who doesn’t love cable cars like I do. Then we reached the Hafelekar station where the view of Innsbruck from the Alps was one of the most spectacular I’ve witnessed, particularly on this bright, clear winter day. We could see for miles out and across Innsbruck to the South all the way to the mountains beyond the Wipp Valley. From above, Innsbruck looked so perfectly placed along the Inn River, the edges of town quickly becoming a blanket of snow and mountainous terrain. We were unable to walk up to the peak due to the amount of ice on the trail and our lack of appropriate boots, but even the view from just outside the cable car station was worth the steep price of the ticket. As we took in the views, we were entertained by several alpine crows that seemed to be dancing for attention. I quickly realized that the views from the Nordkette and the crisp alpine air had me hooked on Innsbruck from the beginning. The Nordkette Cable Car was the perfect way to start our day in Innsbruck.
Exploring Innsbruck
With our feet back on the ground in Innsbruck, we took some time to wander the city before losing the sun. Innsbruck feels just like a fairy tale city, with its colorful buildings, baroque details, and meandering city streets. And about the time we realized this we found ourselves, quite literally, in the middle of a storybook (or several)! Every year, as part of the Christmas celebrations in Innsbruck, several streets of the Old Town are transformed into Märchengasse and Riesengasse, or Fairy Tale Alley and Giant Alley. Enthralling figures from folk stories and legends are displayed around the Old Town, enchanting people as they walk through the Christkindlmarkt. Some of them stand in the street while others sit atop archways or at a building’s corner. They all have story-like explanations (in German) to accompany them. There is even a fairy tale stage where stories are told to children each day during the Holiday season.
We walked by the Hofburg Imperial Palace of Innsbruck, the former palace of the Habsburg dynasty in Western Austria. With such little time to spend in Innsbruck, we elected not to tour the palace, as we’d already toured the Hofburg and Schönbrunn in Vienna. We continued on to see Innsbruck’s Cathedral, Dom zu St. Jakob. One of the most prized Baroque structures in this part of Austria, this grand cathedral stands in front of a large square near the river. Once inside, Emily lit a candle for my Grandmother who always loved to hear about the spectacular churches we’d visit during our travels. She does this without hesitation every chance she gets in beautiful churches throughout the world, spreading my Grandmother’s memory near and far.
Innsbruck’s Altstadt, or Old Town, is so special and felt so unique compared to others. With the blue skies and mountain peaks rising above, the city feel like it was dropped into the tiniest space between mountain ranges. Everywhere you look, you can see the mountains rising above colorful buildings with fancy baroque details. One such detail is the city’s most famous structure, the Golden roof. This over-the-top balcony was once used by the emperor to watch events taking place in the square below.
Finally we walked to see the Inn River that runs by the city. The Inn is a tributary of the Danube and runs through Austria, Switzerland, and Germany. On the day of our visit, the water was calm but a magnificent shade of blue-green that surprised us with its beauty. Contrasted by the row of colorful houses located on Mariahilfstraße, the Inn River was simply a delightful and refreshing sight.
With the sun getting ready to set on our only day in Innsbruck, we returned to our hotel to refresh and recharge for a little while. After doing so, we took the advice of a very friendly hotel employee and went to 360º, a cocktail bar with panoramic views of Innsbruck. The bar is basically located on top of a shopping mall just outside of the Old Town. We downed some espresso martinis so quickly that a second round was necessary! The view was nice and we enjoyed our drinks, but I wouldn’t consider this a “must-go” place.
Christkindlmarkt Maria-Theresien-Straße
A few espresso martinis were the perfect liquid blanket and energy boost that we needed for a fun night of exploring Innsbruck’s Christmas markets. We started with the Christmas Market in Maria-Theresien-Straße. This market is set up on Innsbruck’s main shopping street, Maria-Theresien-Straße. There are large lights displays and plenty of stalls selling gifts, food, and, of course, Glühwein. Innsbruck’s markets were nice because all three of the city’s main markets use the same mug, meaning fewer souvenirs but less hassle. At this Christmas market, I bought my second German Christian Ulbright nutcracker from a packed, ultra Christmas-y shop with many to choose from.
Christkindlmarkt Altstadt
The Old Town Christmas Market is the most picturesque of Innsbruck’s markets and is located in the heart of Old Town. Here you will find a focus on folk art and hand-made goods that cannot be found elsewhere. There are also food and drink stalls and an elevated platform that looks out over the market in front of the Golden Roof. As the Christmas market is nestled right in the main square, a visit here is the perfect opportunity to climb the 130 or so steps of the Stradtturm, or City Tower, for an aerial view of the market and Innsbruck. When I did so at night, I had the entire circular viewing deck to myself, and the views were magnificent. Instead of joining me, Emily chose to shop the market, where she found a new tote bag made completely out of paper that is eco-friendly and locally-made! We also ate some raclette topped with bacon pieces before heading to Innsbruck’s third market.
Christkindlmarkt Marktplatz
The Christmas Market at Marktplatz was only a short walk away from the Old Town. All three markets of Innsbruck are very close to one another, making this one night stop plenty of time to visit each one. Marktplatz was the largest of the markets and had the greatest number of vendors, a carousel, and its centerpiece, a gigantic, modern Christmas Tree made of more than 170,000 Swarovski crystals! We wandered the market and ate some delicious Mac ‘N Cheese before heading back to the Old Town.
Innsbruck is a very beautiful city by both day and night. Walking through the quiet streets is like a journey back in time, making Innsbruck one of my favorite cities to have visited. After a little more food, a bratwurst with sauerkraut and apple strudel, we retired for a night and concluded on quick visit to Innsbruck. The next morning would take us to Salzburg, our final stop in our winter tour of Austria.
