Originally constructed as a medieval castle before being transformed into an opulent Rococo imperial residence by Empress Maria Theresa, the Hofburg Innsbruck is celebrated for its lavish Giants' Hall and grand historical state apartments.

Built in the 16th century, Innsbruck's Gothic Court Church (Hofkirche) houses Emperor Maximilian I's elaborate cenotaph, famously guarded by 28 life-sized bronze statues.

The Dom zu St. Jakob is a magnificent 18th-century Baroque cathedral in Innsbruck, famous for its lavish interior frescoes and the iconic "Maria Hilf" masterpiece by Lucas Cranach the Elder.

The Triumphal Arch is a grand marble landmark in Innsbruck, built in 1765 to simultaneously commemorate the wedding of Archduke Leopold and the passing of Emperor Francis I.

Completed in 1500 for Emperor Maximilian I, Innsbruck's iconic Golden Roof (Goldenes Dachl) is an ornate late-Gothic oriel balcony adorned with 2,657 fire-gilded copper tiles, intricate reliefs, and painted frescoes overlooking the Old Town square.

Innsbruck Scavenger Hunt and Self-Guided Tour

Name: Innsbruck Scavenger Hunt & Self-Guided Tour
Brand: World City Trail
SKU: 209
Availability: InStock

Explore the city at your own pace with a self-guided experience.
Buy your ticket, download the app, and start instantly.

5 € - 11 €

1 ticket = 1 person

Make a day of itInteractive guides by World City Trail, delivered with your tickets.

What is a city guide?

Your own guide to Innsbruck on your phone: hand-picked places, each with why to go, what to order and a practical tip.

See the guides, a short video and all the details →

No guide, thanksAdd the Innsbruck food guide~~4.99 €~~3.99 €Add all 6 Innsbruck guidesfood, things to do, family, nightlife, day trips, budget~~19.99 €~~14.99 €

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No time limit – use your ticket whenever you want
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Included: your personal Trail Map with every city you finish, the kilometres you walk and your flag collection. See an example →

Everything you need for a flexible self-guided city experience

Explore the city at your own pace

✔ Discover hidden gems & highlights
✔ Enjoy a flexible self-guided experience
✔ Explore freely with no schedule
✔ Perfect for couples, students, companies, friends & families

How your city experience works

✔ Instant ticket purchase
✔ Easy access via the World City Trail app
✔ Quick setup with your booking details
✔ Start anytime and explore freely
✔ Pause and resume anytime

Why travelers choose this tour

✔ Instant access after purchase
✔ Optional AI voice narration — listen instead of read
✔ Discover top attractions & food spots
✔ Customize your route anytime

Ten Habsburg riddles between the arch and the cathedral

The Innsbruck scavenger hunt is a self-guided city game you play on your phone: you follow a route through the old town, solve a riddle at each landmark and then unlock its stories, local legends and fun facts. Between the Triumphal Arch and the cathedral the walking adds up to just 24 minutes or so across 1.8 km, while the full game, riddles and stories included, runs to around 2 hours from whatever time you set off.

Highlights include the Golden Roof, the Hofburg, the Court Church with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, the City Tower and the Tyrolean State Museum Ferdinandeum. Innsbruck lies in the Inn valley with the Alps close by, and the stops sit close enough together that the route is easy to follow on foot.

Durationabout 2 hours
Walkingabout 24 min · 1.8 km
Stops10
LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch

Habsburg puzzles from Maria-Theresien-Straße to the Inn

Golden shingles, a court jester, a marble column

Every riddle is built on what stands in front of you: the gilded copper tiles of the Golden Roof and its carved jester, the red marble of the Annasäule, the mounted archduke on the Leopold Fountain. You solve them by noticing details and thinking them through, and no history degree is required.

Weddings, wars and an empty tomb

Behind each answer waits a story: the arch raised in 1765 for a wedding that turned into mourning, the column giving thanks for the Bavarians' retreat, and the vast tomb Maximilian I planned in the Court Church but was never buried in. Prefer your stories spoken? Switch on the audio and keep your eyes on the gables of the Old Town.

1.8 km beneath the Nordkette

There are only about 24 minutes of actual walking, up Maria-Theresien-Straße with the peaks of the Nordkette ahead, into the narrow lanes of the Old Town and round past the Hofburg to the cathedral. Google Maps shows each leg, and most of them take no more than a couple of minutes.

Cake break in the Altstadt lanes

No timer runs, so sit down for coffee and cake under the arcades of the Old Town or rest by the fountain on Rennweg, then take the game up again later or on another day. Coming in by train? The Triumphal Arch is a short walk from Innsbruck's main station.

See the route and attractions →

How it works

Book online Choose the number of players. Your booking reference arrives by email straight away.
Get the app Download the World City Trail app from the App Store or Google Play and enter your booking reference.
Play when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.

Alpine holidaymakers, families and teams in Innsbruck

A rest day between mountain days

If the weather keeps you off the slopes or the trails, about 2 hours in the centre shows you the Golden Roof, the Hofburg and the cathedral without any planning. It also slots neatly into a stopover on a rail journey across the Alps.

Children counting golden tiles

Kids learn that 2,657 gilded shingles cover the Golden Roof, hunt for the jester among its reliefs and watch the skateboarders on Eduard-Wallnöfer-Platz. An adult is part of every team, and with 1.8 km in total the hops between stops stay short for young walkers.

Company teams between meetings and dinner

Below the Triumphal Arch the group splits into teams of no more than 5, every player with a phone, who head off one after another towards the Annasäule. The cathedral square at the finish is an easy place to regroup, and nothing has to be booked apart from one ticket each.

Good to know

Bring a charged smartphone with mobile data; a power bank helps.
No entry tickets needed: everything happens outside the buildings. Going inside is optional and paid separately.
Family friendly; children must be accompanied by an adult.
Not suitable for wheelchair users and difficult with strollers.
Teams of up to 5 work best; bigger groups split into several teams, one ticket per player.
Every purchase helps support stray cats and dogs in Greece.

The route: from the Triumphal Arch along Maria-Theresien-Straße to St James's Cathedral

10 stops · about 24 min walking · start: Triumphal Arch (Triumphpforte) · finish: Cathedral of Saint James (Dom St. Jakob)

The route starts at the Triumphal Arch at the southern end of Maria-Theresien-Straße, then passes Eduard-Wallnöfer-Platz, the Annasäule and the Ferdinandeum before the City Tower and the Golden Roof. It continues past the Hofburg, the Court Church and the Leopold Fountain, and finishes at the cathedral. Each riddle reads the outside of a building, a column or a fountain, so there is no admission to pay along the way, and should you arrive from the Old Town side, the app will happily open with the Golden Roof and reshuffle the remaining stops to suit.

Open the route map ↗

1Triumphal Arch (Triumphpforte)Start
The Triumphpforte closes the southern end of Maria-Theresien-Straße and was built in 1765 for the wedding of Archduke Leopold. Modelled on the Arch of Constantine in Rome, its north side commemorates the death of Emperor Francis Stephen that same year.
Read the full story →
2Eduard-Wallnöfer-Platz
This square, home to the Tyrolean state government buildings, was built in the late 1930s and is named after former governor Eduard Wallnöfer. Its many ramps and obstacles have made it a favourite with skateboarders and BMX riders.
3Annasäule (Saint Anne's Column)
The Annasäule was erected after the last Bavarian troops were expelled from Tyrol during the War of the Spanish Succession, and it was consecrated in 1706. Cristoforo Benedetti of Trento designed it in red Kramsach marble, and a statue of the Virgin stands on top about 13 metres above the street.
4Tyrolean State Museum Ferdinandeum
The Ferdinandeum was founded in 1823 by a Tyrolean museum society and is named after Archduke Ferdinand. Its collections range from prehistoric and Roman finds to Gothic and modern art, including works by Michael Pacher and a music room with instruments by Jakob Stainer.
5City Tower (Stadtturm)
The Stadtturm was built between 1442 and 1450 in the late Gothic style as part of Innsbruck's old town hall. At 51 metres it still dominates the skyline, and its viewing platform at 31 metres is reached by 133 steps, with no lift.
Read the full story →
6Golden Roof (Goldenes Dachl)
The Golden Roof is an oriel, or bay window, added between 1497 and 1500 to a residence built in 1420, for Maximilian I. Its roof is covered with 2,657 fire-gilded copper shingles, and its reliefs show Maximilian with his two consorts, a chancellor and a court jester.
Read the full story →
7Hofburg
Work on the Hofburg began in 1446 under Archduke Sigismund, and the palace was rebuilt in the Baroque style for Empress Maria Theresa between 1754 and 1776. Its main façade on Rennweg was designed by Nikolaus Pacassi, and Franz Anton Maulbertsch painted the ceiling fresco of the Giants' Hall in 1775 and 1776.
8Court Church (Hofkirche)
Work on the Court Church began in 1502 on a tomb planned by Maximilian I for himself. Its cenotaph shows him kneeling life-size on the lid, surrounded by 24 reliefs from his life and by bronze figures of his ancestors, known as the Black Men, of which 28 of the planned 40 were completed.
9Leopold Fountain (Leopoldsbrunnen)
The Leopold Fountain on Rennweg was built between 1622 and 1630 for Archduke Leopold V, whose equestrian statue was meant as a symbol of his claim to power. The fountain took its present appearance only in 1893, and it is named after the archduke who commissioned it.
10Cathedral of Saint James (Dom St. Jakob)Finish
The cathedral of Saint James took its present Baroque form between 1717 and 1724, to a design by Johann Jakob Herkomer, who died in 1717 and was succeeded by Johann Georg Fischer. Cosmas Damian Asam painted its frescoes, and the church became a cathedral only in 1964.
Read the full story →

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Frequently asked questions

Is the Innsbruck hunt a morning's outing or a whole day?

A morning or an afternoon is plenty, since the game lasts about 2 hours. Only some 24 minutes of that is walking, across 1.8 km and 10 stops from the Triumphal Arch to the cathedral, and the rest goes on reading façades, solving riddles and hearing the stories. You can also stop halfway and continue the next day.

Where on Maria-Theresien-Straße do we start, and where do we finish?

You start at the Triumphal Arch at the southern end of Maria-Theresien-Straße, built for an archduke's wedding in 1765, and finish in front of St James's Cathedral, a few minutes' walk from the Golden Roof. Is your hotel in the middle of the Old Town? Then pick the Golden Roof or the cathedral as your opening stop in the app.

Is there a tour time to keep, or a guide to follow, in Innsbruck?

There is no tour time and no guide in Innsbruck. Every player books a ticket online, the booking reference arrives by email, and the game opens in the World City Trail app at whatever hour suits you, on each phone in the team.

Do we pay to go into the Court Church, the Hofburg or the City Tower?

Not to play, because the game only uses their outside walls. Seeing Maximilian's tomb inside the Court Church, touring the state rooms of the Hofburg or climbing to the City Tower's viewing platform costs admission, so treat those as optional extras before or after the hunt.

What keeps children interested between the arch and the cathedral?

With an adult in each team, quite a lot: counting the gilded shingles of the Golden Roof, finding the court jester in its reliefs, the bronze rider on the Leopold Fountain and the skaters on Eduard-Wallnöfer-Platz. The route is unsuitable for wheelchairs and tricky in places with a pushchair, though at 1.8 km it never gets long.

Can Italian and Dutch friends play the Innsbruck game in their own languages?

Yes, Innsbruck offers six languages, namely Italian, Dutch, English, German, French and Spanish, and every player picks one in the World City Trail app before the first riddle at the Triumphal Arch. That way a mixed group from both sides of the Brenner can play side by side.

Can a company or a school class play together in Innsbruck?

Yes. Buy one ticket per participant, make teams of up to five with an adult in each school team, stagger their departures from the Triumphal Arch and gather on the cathedral square at the end. The game runs entirely through public streets and squares, so there is no venue or room to book.

Does Innsbruck's mountain weather change what we should bring?

A little. Besides a charged phone with mobile data for each team, ideally with a power bank, pack a warm layer, as the air in the Inn valley can turn cool quickly, and in winter wear shoes with a good grip for icy pavements.

Begin beneath the Triumphal Arch

Everybody in your party needs a ticket, booked right here, and the booking reference follows straight to your inbox. On the day you choose, walk to the southern end of Maria-Theresien-Straße, stand under the Triumphal Arch and open the first riddle in the World City Trail app.

Book your tickets →