Location: Tirol
Top Things to do in Tirol
Top 10 Castles in Tirol, Austrian Alps
Once known as The Land of the Mountains, the 10,000-square-mile province of Tirol is a wonderland of gushing rivers, lush meadows and rugged peaks. Fantastic hiking trails wind along paths through the Zillertal Alps. Famed resort towns confetti the mountainsides, including Kitzbühel, St. Anton, Ischgl and Seefeld, site of some events in the 1964 and 1976 Winter Games. Compact capital Innsbruck is a medieval gem. The Tirolean identity is strong: Expect to see lederhosen and feathered hats.
Restaurants in Tirol
1. Burg Kronburg
2. Schloss Ambras Innsbruck
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,157 reviews
Due to the current regulation to contain the pandemic, the museums of the KHM Museum Association will remain closed until 23th March 2021! The wonderful world of the Renaissance The provincial sovereign of Tyrol, Archduke Ferdinand II (1529-95), son of Emperor Ferdinand l, ordered that the mediaeval fortress at Ambras be turned into a Renaissance castle for his wife Philippine Welser. He also commissioned the building of a separately designed museum complex to house his world-famous collections. Constructed according to the most advanced ideas of its time, it is an eminent precursor of our modern-day museums and has been preserved at its original site to this day. The armouries comprise rare examples of 15th century jousting armour from the collections of Emperor Maximilian I, suits of armour of famous 16th century commanders, the Archduke’s private armour, the armour of the court of Innsbruck, and weapons from the Thirty Years’ War.
Reviewed By 260flaviob
This castle is one of the most beautiful we have seen on our tour in Austria. From Innsbruck you can get there after about twenty minutes by bus (we took a Hop on / Hop off, very comfortable and included in the Innsbruck Card). The Castle is surrounded by greenery and has a very well kept garden. There are two main buildings to visit, one connected to the entrance (with spectacular weapons and armor) and the actual Castle, to be reached with a short walk. The castle is impressive and was bought by the Archduke Ferdinand II, a true patron of the time. In the current exhibition, the organizers have tried to recreate the different rooms as they had been wanted by the Archduke: the Chamber of Art and Wonders (some even not politically correct by our current standards), the Chamber of Armor and the Antiquarium. In the upper castle there are houses as they were at the time of Ferdinando. The most sumptuous setting in the building is the Sala Spagnola, a 43 meter long banquet hall with frescoed walls and trompe l’oeil. Magnificent. There is also a section dedicated to the Habsburg portraits with over 200 portraits, made by famous artists like Cranach, Tiziano, van Dyck and Diego Velásquez. We went there on a very hot August day and at the end of the tour it was beautiful and very romantic to eat a sandwich sitting on a bench in the shade of the secular trees of the garden.
3. Kufstein Fortress
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 646 reviews
Reviewed By MarcusHurley - Bristol, United Kingdom
Kufstein is a beautiful Austrian Tyrolean town on the river Inn (of Innsbruk fame) that just happens to be dominated by a massive castle. This is built on a sheer rock outcrop and over the years has expanded to cover the entire upper surface of the rock. The castle bounced between the control of Bavaria and the Habsburgs for 500 years with Maximillian I creating the famous round tower that is a symbol of the castle. After its military purpose ended it became a political prison for those deemed too liberal by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Which was just about anyone who lifted their forehead off the ground. It is now a tourist attraction and museum. We parked in the town centre and then promptly lost sight of the aforementioned castle that dominates the town and got lost. I crossed the river to get my bearings, such as they are and then we headed in a vaguely correct direction until we found the castle entrance. We paid our €25 entrance and took the funicular to the upper courtyard and keep complex. The castle is well signposted for each of the museums and they generally have a decent amount of English explanations, although some were lacking. Before the funicular there was a man powered treadmill to get goods from the ground to the upper levels of the castle! This is still in place along with a wooden gallery overlooking the courtyard. The next courtyard has the castle cafe where we paused for a coffee before continuing our tour. The castle includes museums of local history, costumes and culture, arms and armour (including replicas you can try on), a history of Maximillian I and the castle and the political prison. There are also gun batteries, a herb garden, the worlds largest open air organ (that we didn't visit) and a rock cut tunnel that extended for a couple of hundred metres linking two parts of the castle. Although I'm sure you're thinking this was just another castle it was that but also a superb set of museums and a tour through 500 years of Tyrolean history. The views were pretty good too. We left the castle after about three hours and wandered around the town before making our way home.
4. Tratzberg Castle
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 264 reviews
Tratzberg is an authentic castle, originally furnished (gothic and renaissance). You can explore us with audioguided tours. We also offer an immersive virtual reality show and an experience area where you can touch and wear medieval things including swords and armour.
Reviewed By retiredtraveller56 - Bend, United States
It was a rainy day and we decided to check out this castle. It was fabulous! It was not crowded at all, 8 in our tour. Probably took an hour with hand held audio players. We've been to tons of castles around Europe, this is one of my favorites. It was cold and rainy so afterward, we had coffee and cake at the restaurant. Highly recommend. The inside of the restaurant was cool. We took the small train up and back due to the weather. Cost about 6 euros for round trip. It is steep to walk up and takes about 30 minutes, at least.
5. Burgruine Thaur
6. Nauders Fort
7. Schloss Matzen
8. Schloss Bruck - Museum der Stadt Lienz
9. Schloss Landeck
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 69 reviews
