Easter with kids in Innsbruck

Easter is a great time for kids in Innsbruck – brightly coloured Easter eggs appear all over town and the parks fill up with families and spring flowers. The city is filled with colour while the peaks above it remain white – a perfect combination. And Easter in Innsbruck is rich in culture too – the Easter market brings lots of fun for adults and children alike and there are some great local traditions for kids to enjoy.

Green Eggs and Ham – a real taste of Dr. Seuss

One tradition that we were not familiar with before moving to Innsbruck is the coloured hard-boiled eggs that start to appear in lots of markets, shops and restaurants in the run up to Easter. My daughter immediately made the connection to the Dr. Seuss book and now delights in spotting green eggs whenever we’re out and about in the city. We even had a go at colouring eggs ourselves. The result: “Green Eggs and Ham” for dinner – delicious. A favourite book brought to life 🙂

Giant Easter eggs

Another favourite game over the past few weeks has been spotting the giant Easter eggs that can be found throughout the city (from Patscherkofel to Seegrube). The eggs are 2.2 metres tall and each one has a different design – making them easy even for a two-year-old to spot.

Traditional Easter treats

There are lots of chocolate Easter treats available for children in Innsbruck. You do see chocolate Easter eggs but chocolate bunnies are actually more prevalent. Another traditional Easter treat here is the Osterlamm – a delicious Easter lamb cake that can be found in most bakeries around Easter. We tried one last year and have added it to our growing list of delicious Austrian, English and American traditions. Definitely worth a try.

Innsbruck’s Easter Market

The Easter market in Innsbruck’s historic old town is a collection of stalls filled with handmade products, colourful Easter eggs and spring decorations. There is live music every day (except on Good Friday and Easter Monday) and a cultural programme that includes traditional dance performances.

© TVB Innsbruck / Daniel Zangerl

My children are too young to browse the stalls but they love music so we often head into town at around 4 pm to dance along as the live bands perform in front of the Golden Roof. My little ones are fascinated by the traditional dances – we’re particularly looking forward to the spring dance in front of the Golden Roof on 17 April at 3 pm.

My young daughter also loves making “masterpieces” (also known as a big mess) at Ernie’s crafts corner in front of the City Tower (every day from 11 am to 7 pm). Older kids can make lovely Easter gifts for family and friends while younger kids will certainly enjoy having a go.

Easter events

UPDATE MARCH 2019: find up to date information about all Easter 2019 events in and around Innsbruck HERE

There are more Easter events and activities that we’re planning on too. We definitely want to check out the Easter egg hunt challenge at Swarovski Crystal Worlds (daily from 8 to 18 April).

We are also going to take part in the Easter crafts session at Der Kinderladen, one of my favourite children’s shops in Innsbruck.

I’m sure we’ll manage to fit in a few visits from the Easter Bunny too – if we’re lucky, maybe even at Ruetz Bakery in the village of Kematen.

But one thing we will certainly not miss is the Easter egg hunt in Innsbruck’s historic old town on Easter Sunday. My daughter is already excited about it and recent developments suggest my son is making it a personal goal to learn to walk by then so that he can join in too.

All photos by © Jenny Bartholomew (unless otherwise stated).