Living in Innsbruck / Tyrol

INTEGRATION

MEDICAL CARE

LIBRARIES 

LEISURE - Art & Culture

LEISURE - Sports

MOBILITY - Public Transport

MOBILITY - Driving, Driving License and Parking

EMERGENCY NUMBERS

OPENING HOURS

OTHER USEFUL INFORMATION

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INTEGRATION

Welcome Service Tirol

An important task of the Welcome Service Tirol is the private networking of highly qualified professionals, scientists and their family members who have moved here. A wide variety of events are organized at regular intervals throughout the year. These range from joint visits to the Alpine zoo or the ski jump to welcome get-togethers and mostly English-language lectures and workshops on specialist topics such as taxes or the Austrian education system.

Girl Gone International

Have you ever packed a bag and headed out into the world to see what would happen next? You are a Girl* Gone International. We create safe, free communities around the world for women and non-binary people of all ages so you can make new friends and feel at home wherever you are and wherever you want to go. You can find the local community in Innsbruck on Facebook.

Volunteering

Doing something meaningful, getting involved and making friends at the same time? Volunteering can be very unifying. In Innsbruck and Tyrol there are many opportunities to do so. The Tirol Volunteer Center (Freiwilligenzentrum Tirol), for example, offers a very good overview of the possibilities and advice as well as further training.

MEDICAL CARE 

Taking out public health insurance is mandatory in Austria. You will be registered with an insurance carrier directly by your employer. Close relatives can usually also be insured. Examples of social insurance organisations are the bvaeb (formerly BVA  for university employees), the OEGK (e.g. for workers and employees in Tyrol) or the SVS (e.g. for the self-employed). This health insurance covers most of the costs of medical treatment, therapy, medication and hospitalisation.

In order to identify yourself to doctors and hospitals, you will receive an e-card, which has to be presented at the surgery or respective offices. The e-card (including the EKVK European Health Insurance Card/Europäische Krankenversicherungskarte on the back) must have a photo on it and is non-transferable. The photo must be handed in personally at an official registration centre. Further information can be found here.

TIP: If you have your driving licence transferred to an Austrian driving licence, you will have an official Austrian identity document. You will then also have a photo of yourself in the official register and you will not have to register another photo with the authorities, e.g. for the e-card (health insurance card).

 

If you habe symptoms or health problems, first consult a general practitioner. They can refer you to the appropriate specialist. However, if you have special symptoms you can also go directly to a specialist at a hospital. Find out about the opening hours of the doctor's office or hospital department and ask if there are general consultation hours or if you need to make an appointment.

In Austria there is the principle of free choice of doctors or therapists. Inquire, however, whether the selected physician has a contract with your health insurance, because if they do not, their services may not be covered. When consulting a doctor, you first have to pay the bill yourself and will later be reimbursed by your health insurance carrier for part of the costs. If you often consult with doctors or therapists of your choice who do not have a contract with your insurance carrier or if you have special treatment needs, it is often worth taking out a private health insurance policy.

Important information about the benefits offerd by the bvaeb (former BVA) health insurance carrier can be found here


Doctors

Information about doctors, surgeries, their offices and on-call hours in Tyrol can be found on the website of the Tyrol Medical Association. Here you will also find multilingual doctors under the headings of „Arztsuche - erweiterte Suche - Fremdsprachen“ / „doctor search“, „advanced search“ and „foreign languages“.


Hospitals

The Landeskrankenhaus Innsbruck is the university hospital in the Tyrolean capital, Innsbruck, and is managed by the Tirol Kliniken GmbH company. With approx.1,600 beds, it is one of the largest hospitals in Austria. Related information can be found here.

Further information, also on private hospitals, is provided by the government of the State of Tyrol.

For information on Covid 19 / Coronavirus see WELCOME TO AUSTRIA


Useful information

Further information on social security, health and medical care can be found in the following links:

LIBRARIES

Tyrol University and State Library

The Tyrol University and Provincial Library (ULB) is the largest academic library in Western Austria and is open to all members of the university (teachers, researchers and students) as well as all citizens.


Innsbruck Public Library and „Innsbook“

In addition to the Innsbruck Public Library - Stadtbibliothek, Innsbruck has many small public libraries, which have joined forces to form the Innsbook library association. Here, you can borrow a variety of media (including e-media) at a low annual fee. The local communities around Innsbruck usually have their own public libraries.

Library of the AK (Chamber of Labour)

What can also be recommended is the Library of the Chamber of Labour (AK) in Innsbruck. All members of the AK (i.e., all workers and employees) can choose from a wide range of media for free.

LEISURE 

For active families, individuals and students with their main residence in Tyrol, the „Freizeitticket“ (leisure ticket) is a great way to use mountain ropeways, swimming pools and other leisure facilities at a fair price all year round. The „Familienpass" (family pass) by the State of Tyrol often offers family benefits.

Numerous leisure tips for families can be found on the website mamilade .

 

LEISURE - Art & Culture  

Events in Innsbruck and Tyrol can be found at http://events.tt.com/ .

Friends of early, classical, and new music will get their money's worth of concerts (opera / ballet) at the Landestheater (State Theatre), at the Haus der Musik, at the Congress centre, the Landeskonservatorium (State Academy of Music), the Vierundeinzig cultural centre, in many churches and many other venues outside of Innsbruck. Often, in addition to single tickets, season tickets are available.

We have put together a selection of concert promoters and venues:


In addition to the major events at the Congress centre or the Olympiahalle, the Rock / Pop / Jazz venues include the Treibhaus, the Bäckerei, the Hafen, the pmk and many other smaller clubs. The Theaterverband Tirol (Tyrol Theatres Association) has compiled an overview of all theatres of Tyrol and their programmes. Four cinemas in Innsbruck (Leokino, Cinematograph, Metropol and Cineplexx) offer a diverse programme.

 

Important places for concerts, comedy, and cultural events of all kinds in Innsbruck are the following:

  • Treibhaus - „cultural programme for city users“
  • Die Bäckerei - „culture bakery“
  • Vierundeinzig - cultural centre on Hallerstr. 41
  • p.m.k. – „Plattform mobile Kulturinitiativen” („mobile cultural initiatives platform“)

 

A lot of further information can be found on the common website of Tyrol’s cultural initiatives. Practical and theoretical music lessons, especially for children and adolescents, are offered by the Music School of the City of Innsbruck.

The Tiroler Landesmuseen (State Museums of Tyrol) with the Ferdinandeum, Volkskunstmuseum (Folk Art), Hofkirche (Imperial Court Church), Zeughaus (Museum at the Old Armoury), and Tirol Panorama with the Kaiserjäger Museum showcase, in addition to their permanent exhibitions, changing exhibitions and many other events throughout the year. Numerous galleries are waiting to be explored. Information about other sights and destinations in Innsbruck and Tyrol is provided by the tourist information office of Innsbruck or the „Tirol erleben“ („Experiencing Tyrol“) web portal.

 

LEISURE - Sports 

Of course, Innsbruck is the ideal place to practice any kind of alpine sport, whether in summer or winter. There is hardly any other place in the world that has such diversity in the immediate vicinity of the city. In addition to tourist information from the Innsbruck Tourist Information or the „Tirol erleben“ („Experiencing Tyrol“) web portal, hikers, mountaineers, climbers, tobogganers, skiers (alpine and nordic) or ski mountaineers can find useful information on the relevant webpages by the Austrian Alpine Club. The easily accessible ski and hiking areas of Innsbruck include: Nordkette, Mutterer Alm, Patscherkofel, Axamer Lizum, Rangger Köpfl, Kühtai, Serlesbahnen, Berger Alm, Schlick or the Stubai Glacier. Well-known cross-country skiing areas are Seefeld and Leutasch. Information for cyclists, including mountain or downhill bikers, is compiled on this page.

A wealth of other sports facilities is offered by the University Sports Centre USI. The offer of about 1,000 sports courses per academic year is available to students, graduates and staff of universities and colleges in Tyrol. But the courses can be booked, subject to free capacities, by all other sports enthusiasts, too. Registration for the courses (during and between academic terms) is done online.

An overview of Innsbruck's public swimming pools can be found on the website of the Innsbrucker Kommunalbetriebe IKB (Innsbruck Public Utilities Company). Lakes that are easily accessible form Innsbruck are the Baggersee in the Rossau area, the Lanser See, the Natterer See, the Wildsee in Seefeld, the Möserer See and, about 30 minutes' drive away, the Achensee.

Via the Vereinsportal - Club Portal you will find the right sports club near you.

MOBILITY - Public Transport

IVB - Innsbruck Public Transport Company

The IVB (Innsbrucker Verkehrsbetriebe) offers an extensive bus and tram network in Innsbruck. Overviews, route plans and departure times can be found on the IVB website along with a mobile app. Individual tickets can not be purchased directly from the driver. It pays to buy an eight-trip ticket  (available online, from machines at the stops, as well as some parking ticket vending machines, or at a Trafik), or a season ticket such as the KlimaTicket for Innsbruck, Tyrol or Austria.

The University of Innsbruck offers its employees an additional payment for the annual ticket (= Jobticket or KlimaTicket). In addition to U26-Klimatickets, students can also purchase discounted semester tickets.

Tip: some tram lines are particularly suitable for very scenic excursions, such as the Stubaitalbahn STB or Line 6 to Igls.

 


„Stadtrad“ (City Bike)

There are many stations in the city where you can rent bikes easily and affordably. For all the related information, see the Stadtrad Nextbike Innsbruck website. You can find more bike and e-bike rentals as well as information on bicycle repair here. Information on cycling tours, long-distance cycle paths, mountain and downhill biking or road cycling is compiled on this page.


VVT (Tyrol Public Transport Association)

In order to reach the regions around Innsbruck, the bus network of the Verkehrsverbund Tirol (VVT – Tyrol Public Transport Association) can be used. The VVT website provides information on routes, timetables, and ticket prices. Single or day tickets can not be purchased directly from the bus driver. The fare depends on the passed-through zones. Time tickets / KlimaTickets (week, month, year) are available online or at the VVT points of sale. For 519,60 € (2024) an annual ticket - KlimaTicket - for the whole of Tyrol is available. This is also available as a job ticket and is subsidised by the University.


ÖBB - Austrian Federal Railways

Regional, interregional, national and international train tickets are available from the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB). Particularly favourable deals are available through the „Sparschiene“ („economy rail“) limited quota offer. For frequent travellers, the purchase of the „VorteilsCard“ („advantage card“) or the KlimaTicket Austria is worthwhile. In some cases, it may make sense to plan and book a (supra-regional or international) train journey via the Deutsche Bahn or Trenitalia portals.


Bus travel

Attractive deals (e.g. airport transfer to Munich) are also offered by various bus companies, such as Flixbus, among others.


Airport

Innsbruck's airport is very close to the city and easy to reach by public transport (bus line F). A flight network with several important cities and numerous holiday charter flights make this airport very attractive for both Innsbruckers and tourists. Nevertheless, a price comparison with flights from / to Munich (transfer about 2.5 hours), Zurich (transfer about 4.5 hours) or Vienna (transfer about 4.5 hours) may also be worthwhile.

MOBILITY - driving, driving license and parking

Driving

When bringing your own vehicle to Austria, some regulations regarding tax and customs must be observed. A vehicle with a foreign registration number (also from another EU country) may be used by a person with main residence in Austria for a maximum of one month after the transfer to Austria. After that, the vehicle would have to be re-registered or re-exported. Current information, as well as tips on buying a car, the obligatory annual inspection (the so-called „Pickerl“) as well as the toll for the close-by Brenner mountain pass to Italy and the motorway vignette are available from the ÖAMTC (Austria motor club) and the Electronic Administrative Assistant by the Federal Government.


Driving license

EU driving licenses are recognised in Austria, i.e. they do not have to, but can be converted on a voluntary basis. Non-EU driving licenses, on the other hand, are allowed for six months until they have to be converted. For all other questions regarding (foreign) driving licenses, the related webpages by the Federal Government provide the latest information.


Parking in Innsbruck

Parking in Innsbruck is subject to a charge to both visitors and residents in most parts of town. The latest information on short-term parking zones or resident parking tickets can be found on the website of the City of Innsbruck .

 

EMERGENCY NUMBERS IN AUSTRIA

122   Feuerwehr / Fire brigade

133   Polizei / Police

144   Rettung / Ambulance

112   europaweiter Notruf / Europe-wide emergency number

1450 Gesundheitshotline / Health hotline

0800-808030 (hotline of the province of Tyrol for general questions about the coronavirus)


 

OPENING HOURS

Opening hours in Austria and thus also in Tyrol and Innsbruck are regulated by law and subject to the Opening Hours Act, the Sunday and Holiday Operating Hours Act and the Rest Periods Act.

Unlike some other European countries, retailers are almost uniformly closed on Sundays and weekday evenings. Also, grocery stores are mostly open only on weekdays (Monday to Saturday). However, on some days of the week some shops are open until 8 p.m. Usual shop opening hours are Mon - Fri from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sat from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. The practice of closing for a lunch break is common only with smaller retailers and/or in rural areas.

As an exception, some bakeries, some grocery stores in Innsbruck and some traders in tourism towns may also be open on Sundays.

Restaurants, museums (usually closed on Mondays) or individual companies in the services industry are often subject to different closing days. To be on the safe side, please inform yourself about opening hours before a visit.

OTHER USEFUL INFORMATION

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