A small Austrian market town in Tyrol, home to the Swarovski Crystal Worlds museum and factory. The surrounding Inn Valley has hiking trails and Alpine views.
Wattens, a market town in Austria's Tyrol region, lies 13 kilometers east of Innsbruck along the Inn River. At Swarovski Crystal Worlds, you can walk through underground chambers filled with crystal art installations, including a 12-meter tall waterfall made of crystals. The town's archaeological park contains Iron Age house foundations from the 4th century BC, while the local typewriter museum displays machines dating back to 1884. Hiking trails in the Tux Alps lead you to peaks with views across the Inn Valley.
Getting to Wattens
The town lies in the Lower Inn Valley, with buses running from Innsbruck every 30 minutes. The Inn Cycle Path passes through Wattens, connecting cyclists to Innsbruck and Passau. If you're driving, take the A12 motorway and park for free at Crystal Worlds.
Exploring Swarovski Crystal Worlds
Crystal Worlds, designed by André Heller, opens daily from 9:00 to 19:00. Walk through the giant's head entrance to explore 17 underground Chambers of Wonder containing crystal art installations. In the gardens, you'll find the Crystal Cloud - 800,000 hand-mounted crystals floating above a black Mirror Pool. Children can climb through the four-level Play Tower, while the exhibition spaces display works by artists like Brian Eno and Niki de Saint Phalle.
Museums and Historical Sites
The Typewriter Museum houses 450 machines from 1884 to present day, with cutaway models showing their internal mechanics. At Museum Wattens, opened in 2018, you can learn about the town's evolution from Iron Age settlements to its industrial period. The Himmelreich open-air museum preserves excavated remains of a 4th to 1st century BC settlement that burned down.
Mountain Activities and Cycling
Marked trails in the Tux Alps lead to the Wattentaler Lizum peak, with routes ranging from 2-hour walks to full-day hikes. Winter brings sledders to the 3-kilometer Mölstal run and the gentler Vögelsberg slope. The Inn Cycle Path follows the river through town, with a 13-kilometer route to Innsbruck and continuing east to the German border.
Events and Festivals
During the Tyrolean Fairytale Dream Worlds festival in July and August, local performers act out regional legends in the forest near town. Crystal Worlds hosts chamber music concerts in its underground chambers throughout the year, where the crystal installations create distinct acoustic effects.
