Innsbruck’s Old Town

Innsbruck is too cute for words. It’s one of those towns that I just want to hug. Next to Prague, Innsbruck was the place I was most looking forward to seeing, mostly to see the Altstadt (Old Town).

Although Innsbruck is the fifth-largest city in Austria, it’s still pretty tiny by city standards–only 120,000 people live there (for reference, that’s about half the size of Orlando, Florida, or a third of the size of Florence, Italy). I only spent time in Old Town because that was the area of the town that most appealed to me. It’s a very walkable area and, if you’re driving in, parking is easy to find and not terribly expensive.

Although Innsbruck is the largest ski resort in the Alps (and you certainly see a lot of people walking through the town with snowboards and various snow-sport-related paraphernalia), it has a lot to offer outside of the popular winter sport. There are plenty of museums, churches, and other historical sites to feast your eyes on, but for me, my favorite part of visiting a place is just walking around and taking it all in. It’s easy to wander down little side streets and peek in windows of cute shops and watch people enjoying each others’ company inside of cozy cafes and restaurants.

I found that the city was most beautiful just before sunset–I loved the perfect hue of blue and the views of the snow-capped mountains behind the main square. I also thought the narrow cobblestone streets lined on both sides with beautiful buildings, some of which date back to the Middle Ages, were so typically Austrian. It’s no wonder Innsbruck became the capital of Tyrol in 1429, and is still so popular with locals and tourists alike.