One Day in Innsbruck: 8 Amazing Things You Need to Do!

Matt and I went all over Austria and Germany on our honeymoon, and Innsbruck was our favorite place! It’s a gorgeous town, and the backdrop of the Alps is spectacular. We spent one day in Innsbruck, but I wish we could have stayed longer! I will definitely be back again to see more, but if you also only have one day in Innsbruck, these are 8 fantastic things you have to experience while you’re there 🙂

One day in Innsbruck

We actually started off our morning in Innsbruck taking honeymoon photos! Innsbruck was a beautiful place to capture photos of us on our honeymoon, and our photographer, Madeleine, took us around the town and gave us lots of insider tips, which you’ll read further along this post.

Walk around historic Innsbruck

You could spend at least half a day just strolling around the historic buildings in Innsbruck! The architecture is so beautiful, and there are lots of shops and cafes to check out. Many of the streets are walking streets, so it’s an easy area to explore and take your time.

Visit the Hofburg Palace

We didn’t have enough time to check out Hofburg Palace beyond the courtyard, but it would be a great place to take a tour. Hofburg Palace was built by the Hapsburgs in the 1400s, and it continued to be expanded and built up over the centuries.

See the Golden Roof

I honestly didn’t know about the Golden Roof before we visited, but it’s one of the most iconic sights in Innsbruck! The Golden Roof (Goldenes Dachl) is an ornate balcony in the old town. The building it sits on was constructed under Archduke Friedrich IV, and Emperor Maximilian I commissioned the balcony in 1493 from Nikolaus Turing the Elder, who added the 2,657 fire-gilded copper tiles to the Golden Roof. Maximilian I and his wife would sit in the balcony and watch tournaments and events in the square below.

Go shopping and visit the Swarovski store

Like I mentioned before, there are lots of shops on the walking streets in Innsbruck! We got some locally make schnapps and handmade tablecloths, and we also stopped in the Swarovski store for an ornament to commemorate our honeymoon. Swarovski is headquartered in the area (you can visit the Swarovski Crystal Worlds near Innsbruck, but it wasn’t at the top of our list for this visit), so if you’re looking to splurge a little, a souvenir from Swarovski is worth it!

See the colorful houses on the river

The colorful houses along the river was the sight I wanted to see the most in Innsbruck! Colorful houses and buildings are my favorite thing to see when I travel, and I love these pretty houses with the Alps in the background.

Stroll around Hofgarten

Hofgarten wasn’t on my list of places to see in Innsbruck, but our honeymoon photographer took us there for some photos, and I loved it! The garden is right in the middle of Innsbruck, but it’s so quiet and peaceful. We were there on a beautiful day in August, and it surprisingly wasn’t busy at all. If you want a quiet escape in Innsbruck, I highly recommend stopping in!

We loved our honeymoon photos in this spot!

Get pizza at Die Pizzerei

Getting pizza wasn’t at the top of my list of things to do in Innsbruck, but our photographer recommended it and it was fantastic! She told us that most of the culturally Austrian restaurants in Innsbruck cater to tourists and it actually isn’t the most authentic food (we ate lots of amazing authentic Austrian and German food on our honeymoon, so I appreciated her insider info to get the best food).

She told us that Die Pizzerei was one of the best restaurants in Innsbruck, and I would have to agree. Outside of Italy, this was probably the best pizza I’ve had! (Matt is Italian American and he loved it, too). I ate almost my entire pizza, and I wish we could have taken some home with us.

If you’re in Innsbruck on a hot day, you should stop for some gelato!

Take the Innsbruck cable car to the Alps

You can take a cable car from Innsbruck into the Alps for amazing views! I loved exploring the town of Innsbruck, but I may have loved being in the Alps even more. You can get beautiful views of the town and the surrounding mountains, and if you’re more adventurous, you can take the cable car even higher into the mountains and visit the Alpine Zoo.

I recommend spending more than one day in Innsbruck if you can, but if you’re limited on time, you’ll love doing these 8 things! 🙂

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