Ambras Castle

What makes the experience of winter in the skiing region of Innsbruck so enjoyable is the successful harmony of city and mountain. The fun of skiing meets city flair, shredding meets sightseeing, surfing through deep snow meets dancing through the streets. Since the 2019/2020 winter season, the SKI plus CITY Pass has made it possible to combine all these pleasures, and the pass includes 22 lifestyle, cultural and sightseeing offers as well as 3 swimming pools and 2 transport services. The SKI plus CITY Pass, which can be used and combined with great freedom, enables you to plan your stay in the Innsbruck region with complete flexibility. In the morning you can be skiing over perfectly groomed slopes, in the afternoon it’s après-ski with art, culture or shopping, and in the evening you can take a dip in a swimming pool to chill out and soothe those aching muscle. Or perhaps you’d prefer to start the day with a shopping trip and tackle the slopes in the afternoon? No problem! How and when you make use of the offers depends entirely on your own mood and preferences. And, best of all, thanks to the free ski bus system, it’s easy to get about from A to Z, from Altstadt to Zoo, and the Hop-on Hop-off Sightseer bus, also included in the pass, takes you from sight to sight. So what are you waiting for? Let's explore #myinnsbruck!

At Hungerburg you can board the Nordkettenbahn cable car to continue up to Seegrube (1,905m) and Hafelekar (2,330m), Innsbruck’s popular recreational Nordkette area. Plenty of sunshine and heaps of snow in the winter make it a tempting paradise for skiers, hikers, mountain bikers, hang gliders and paragliders.

Innsbruck’s gothic city tower was built in 1442-1450 as part of the former town hall, it rises 51 metres above the old town. Formerly used by watchmen on the lookout for enemies or fires, it now offers fabulous views of the entire historical city centre and beyond.

It was above all Archduke Ferdinand II (1529–1595) who proved to be a significant patron of the arts by converting Ambras Castle into a splendid Renaissance residence for his wife Philippine Welser. Located on a hill to the south of Innsbruck, Schloss Ambras is still home to extensive collections of art and curiosities which rank until today among Europe’s most beautiful ‘curiosity chambers’.

The old city is enclosed by Marktgraben, Burggraben and Rennweg, marking the boundary along which the city wall once ran. The somewhat younger baroque and classical part of Innsbruck is located outside its perimeter. Here you find Maria-Theresien-Strasse with the Annasäule column at its centre, a statue that was erected as a token of gratitude for the victory of the Tyrolean people’s contingent over the Bavarian troupes in 1703.

The old city is enclosed by Marktgraben, Burggraben and Rennweg, marking the boundary along which the city wall once ran. The somewhat younger baroque and classical part of Innsbruck is located outside its perimeter. Here you find Triumphpforte – a triumphal arch built for the marriage of Archduke Leopold (son of Empress Maria Theresia) to Maria Ludovica of Spain in 1765.

Adjacent to the court church you will find the Tyrolean Folk Art Museum which since 1929 has accumulated a fascinating collection of every day objects of rural, urban and aristocratic life in former days, when the Trentino area and the Ladin valleys of the Dolomites were still part of the Tyrol. Following extensive refurbishments in 2009, the collections – which range among the most beautiful and impressive in the Alpine region – can be viewed in new splendour.

With its extensive permanent exhibition including paintings, townscapes, photographs and documents, the Stadtarchiv/Stadtmuseum, located at Badgasse, provides an insight into Innsbruck’s historical past. This museum is also venue for numerous events such as special exhibitions, literary readings and lectures.