The Schloss Ambras ticket, reviewed
4.6 from more than 240 ratings. This is not a tour of Schloss Ambras. It is the castle’s own admission, sold through the platform at the same figure the castle’s own online shop asks, which is two euros under the price at the door, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before and free entry for everybody under nineteen. What the ticket buys, though, depends entirely on the month you use it in, and that is the part the listing does not shout about.
Going out to Amras?The castle's own admission is on the platform at the same figure its own shop asks and two euros under the door, it cancels free up to 24 hours before, and under-19s go in free either way.
Check ticket availabilityWhat the listing itself says
Included, as the listing writes it
- Admission to Schloss Ambras Innsbruck
- Access to the Kunst- und Wunderkammer, the armouries, the Spanish Hall, the Bath of Philippine Welser and the Strasser glass collection
- The Habsburg Portrait Gallery in the Upper Castle, between 1 April and 31 October
Not included, as the listing writes it
- The castle's own audio guide, which is sold on site
- Food and drink
- Parking on Schlossstrasse
Read the third line of the inclusion list twice, because it is the whole story. The Habsburg Portrait Gallery in the Upper Castle, more than two hundred paintings of it, is open between 1 April and 31 October and no longer. The gothic sculpture collection keeps the same season. The Kunst- und Wunderkammer, the three armouries, the Spanish Hall, the Bath of Philippine Welser and the Strasser glass are open whenever the castle is, which is daily from ten until five, except in November when the castle shuts altogether. Same ticket, same counter, smaller castle. The hours, month by month.
What reviewers found
At more than 240 the base is deep enough to read as a pattern rather than a handful of opinions, and the pattern has three strands: the collection, the staff, and the audio guide.
- AP, Germany — calls it a castle worth seeing, with an impressive painting gallery. June
- Christofer, United Kingdom — found the staff friendly, and was told what to look out for on the way in. June
- Katja, Germany — describes it as very beautiful and very spacious, with a lot to see. June
- Nicolas, United Kingdom — came in winter, calls it a very nice castle, and says the audio guide is worth taking. December
- Swen, Germany — found the building well preserved and the park beautiful. October
- Annalisa, Italy — calls it an unexpected discovery. August
- Matthew, Australia — gave it four stars and describes a relaxing Sunday, with a reasonable amount of time spent. August
The seasonal point is written into the dates without anybody meaning it to be. AP, Germany, calls it a castle worth seeing, with an impressive painting gallery — in June, when the Upper Castle was open. Nicolas, United Kingdom, came in winter, calls it a very nice castle, and says the audio guide is worth taking, in December, when it was not, and his note is about the audio guide rather than the paintings. Neither reviewer is wrong. They went to two different castles for the same figure. The chamber of art and wonders is open in both of them, and is the room most people come out talking about.
The rest is steady. Christofer, United Kingdom, found the staff friendly, and was told what to look out for on the way in. Katja, Germany, describes it as very beautiful and very spacious, with a lot to see. Swen, Germany, found the building well preserved and the park beautiful. Matthew, Australia, gave it four stars and describes a relaxing Sunday, with a reasonable amount of time spent, which is a fair description of what two and a half hours in a castle with a park attached feels like.
Take the audio guide. It is sold at the castle rather than included in the ticket, it is the one thing reviewers keep recommending, and the castle’s own public guided tours run in German, so without it an English-speaking visitor is reading labels. Children’s tours run on Saturdays at 14:30, also in German. The whole visit, explained.
Verdict
Buy it if Ambras is the fixed point of your day and you are going to be there on a particular date. You pay the castle’s own online figure rather than the door figure, it cancels free up to 24 hours before, and the date is settled before you leave the hotel. Do the sum first if the castle is one of several things you are doing in Innsbruck, because the city card carries an Ambras admission too and buying both means paying for the castle twice. The card, reviewed, with the arithmetic laid out.
Who it suits
- Anybody with a date already fixed, who would rather pay the online figure
- Families: everybody under nineteen goes in free either way
- Winter visitors who want the Wunderkammer and the armouries, which stay open
- Anybody who wants to be able to cancel without losing the money
Who it does not suit
- Anybody coming in November, when the castle is shut for the month
- Anybody whose reason for coming is the Habsburg portrait gallery, between November and March
- Anybody already holding an Innsbruck Card, which carries one admission
- Anybody hoping for a guided tour in English: the castle’s own run in German
The other listings on this site
The card that also carries this admission, the mountain above the city and the crystal museum out at Wattens are the three things most Ambras visitors put on the rest of the day. Getting out to Amras takes a bus, a tram or a car whichever you pick.
Includes AmbrasAmbras includedInnsbruck: City Card Including Public Transport
2,256 mTop of Innsbruck: Roundtrip Cable Car Ticket
Shuttle includedInnsbruck: Swarovski Crystal Worlds Ticket and Transfer
Frequently asked questions
Is the Schloss Ambras ticket worth buying online?
For two reasons, yes: it is two euros under the price at the door, the same figure the castle’s own online shop asks, and it cancels free up to 24 hours before. It is not about queues — Ambras does not have them. The castle’s published rates, in full.
What is closed in winter at Schloss Ambras?
The Habsburg Portrait Gallery and the gothic sculpture collection are open 1 April to 31 October only, and the castle shuts entirely for the whole of November. The Kunst- und Wunderkammer, the armouries, the Spanish Hall, the bath and the Strasser glass stay open. Hours and the November closure.
Is the audio guide included in the ticket?
No. It is sold at the castle, and the written notes keep recommending it: the castle’s own public guided tours are in German, so the audio guide is how an English-speaking visitor gets more than the labels. What is in the Wunderkammer.
Should I buy this or the Innsbruck Card?
Whichever the rest of your day decides. The card carries one Ambras admission along with the buses, the Sightseer and a great deal else, so on a day with a mountain or a museum excursion in it the card wins, and on a day whose only museum is this one it does not. The card, reviewed.