Wattens offers several clearly distinct ways to explore: large-scale installations, museums devoted to local and technological history, archaeological traces, and routes for hiking or cycling. When planning your trip, you can first decide which focus you want to shape your stay. This also lets you tailor your search for a hotel in Wattens to the visits you have planned.
Art at Swarovski Crystal Worlds
At Swarovski Crystal Worlds, the Chambers of Wonder serve as a stage and playground for large-scale installations by international artists and designers. Crystal Worlds is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.; last admission is at 6:00 p.m. Plan around the admission time, not just the closing time, and check the hours again before you travel.
Getting there by E-shuttle bus
The Swarovski Crystal Worlds E-shuttle bus connects Innsbruck Central Station with Wattens five times a day. As schedules may change, it is a good idea to check the connection again before you travel.
Museums devoted to local and technological history
The Museum Wattens focuses on how Wattens changed from a typical Tyrolean farming village into an internationally connected industrial town. The museum is accessible: the main entrance is at ground level, and the permanent exhibition and laboratory can be reached by lift. The Wattens Typewriter Museum traces the development of the typewriter, writing culture, script and text design. Its collection includes more than 500 machines. Admission to the Typewriter Museum is free; it is wheelchair accessible. Check these details again before your visit.
Himmelreich: an open-air settlement
The Rhaetian settlement of Himmelreich lies on a hilltop between Wattens and Volders and is designed as an open-air museum. The foundations of eight buildings can be viewed across the settlement area, which is enclosed by a still-visible rampart. The terraced settlement was inhabited from the 2nd century BC to the 4th century AD. The visible foundations provide a tangible archaeological point of reference for a visit, while the long period of habitation places the site in its historical context.
The three ways of exploring history are clearly distinct: the Typewriter Museum focuses on a technological and cultural theme, the Museum Wattens on the town’s transformation, and Himmelreich on an archaeological settlement. By planning their stay around their interests, visitors can choose between technological history, local development and an open-air visit.
Hiking trail and Inn Cycle Path
The Historic Circular Hiking Trail starts at the car park by Karlskirche, at the Volderer Inn Bridge, and passes the Himmelreich Open-Air Museum. It is about 9.5 kilometres long, relatively easy and also suitable for families with children. The combination of the trail and the open-air museum makes Himmelreich a specific destination along the route. As trail conditions may change, check them before setting out. For cyclists, the well-known Inn Cycle Path is another point of reference: it runs from Innsbruck to Passau and passes directly through Wattens.
Discover more destinations: Birgitz, Unterweg, Zirl, Gemeinde in Tirol, Unterperfuss, Sistrans, Sellrain, Wildermieming.
Back to the main travel overview: Innsbruck-Land.
