City Rating: Innsbruck
Population: 130,000
Date of visit: August 2019
Attractions & sights: 3/5
Nightlife: ?/5
Safety: 5/5
Infrastructure: 5/5
Low budget factor: 2/5
Total: 👍👍👍/5
The city in a nutshell:
Surrounded by dramatic landscapes, Innsbruck is a year-round destination that offers something for every kind of traveler. Although the sights in Innsbruck itself are limited, there are still several places worth seeing around the city. Innsbruck is beautiful, super touristy and more expensive than the European average, but definitely worth a visit.
Where to stay:
Old town. Although the hotel prices are not really cheap. The average for a double room seems to be more than 200€ per night.
However, Innsbruck is so small that you can easily see the city in one day. So if you are traveling by car and want to save some money, you can also spend the night outside Innsbruck and explore the city during the day.
The Good:
Innsbruck’s two greatest strengths are its old town and the mountains that surround the city.
The Old Town is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen in Europe. It is an 800-year-old medieval district with colorful houses and cobblestoned streets. Most of the sights are located in this historical part of the city, for example the Golden Roof, the Imperial Palace or the City Tower.
There is even a Hop-On Hop-Off bus in the city, which is hardly worth it, as the sights are so close together.
The dramatic landscape is the second highlight of Innsbruck. Innsbruck lies directly in front of a mountain chain, which makes the already beautiful cityscape even nicer. With the Nordkettenbahnen, one can ride up and down the mountains in a relatively short time. Attention: the prices (36€ to the top and back down again) are a similar rip-off like the prices of some mountain railways in my home country, Switzerland.
The Nordkettenbahnen consist of three levels. You can buy a ticket for all three individually or all three together. The higher you are, the better the view (no shit). However, you will only get a spectacular 360 degree view when you head to the highest station.
Also foodies and shopping friends will find what they are looking for in Innsbruck. For local cuisine I can recommend Altstadtbeisl and Goldener Adler (the Schnitzel are sensational). Another tip is the 360° Café, which you will find on the top floor of the shopping center next to the Hard Rock Cafe in Maria-Theresien-Strasse.
Nevertheless, the old town and the mountains remain the main reason to visit the city.
The Bad & the Ugly:
Since Innsbruck is a popular holiday destination, this logically also means many tourists. In the little old town it can be a bit crowded therefore. The opposite happens in the evening. The city is relatively sleepy. Without being able to judge the nightlife exactly, the city seemed a bit lame to me in the evening.
Moreover, Innsbruck is not cheap. As already described above, the hotel prices are not bargains and the ride on the Nordkettenbahnen is neither. Even when it comes to food and drinks, Innsbruck is rather expensive by European standards.
In general there is little to complain about Innsbruck. However, the city itself has been seen quickly and it is only worth staying longer if you practice winter sports or use the time to explore the villages and nature outside the city.
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