There's a lot to be said for concentrating on just one or two
regions, rather than trying to cover a bit of everything in one
trip - you could happily spend a week or two in any one of the
Austrian provinces, or Länder . Austria's unique combination
of outdoor attractions and classic urban centres ensures that you
can pack a lot of variety into your stay: take in some fresh air at
a high altitude, linger over one of the country's world- class art
collections, make the most of a musical heritage second to none, or
select any number from the list of recommended highlights
below.
Without a visit to Vienna you'll return home with only
half the picture. Built on a grand scale as seat of the Habsburg
Empire, it's a place that positively drips with imperial nostalgia.
The pickings are rich, with the old palaces of the Hofburg and
Schönbrunn high on the list, as are the cultural offerings from the
gargantuan art collection at the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the
hi-tech applied-arts displays of the MAK. Equally compelling,
nowadays, are the ghosts of Vienna's golden age at the end of the
nineteenth century, when the likes of Freud, Klimt, Schiele and
Schönberg frequented the city's cafés. The city boasts some
wonderful Jugendstil and early modernist buildings and a bevy of
traditional fin-de-siècle cafés patrolled by waiters in tuxedos.
Last, but by no means least, Vienna is by far the best place in the
country for nightlife, and that means everything from top-class
opera to techno.
Salzburg is no less intoxicating. Its Altstadt contains
the country's most concentrated ensemble of Baroque architecture,
and the Hohensalzburg fortress is arguably the country's most
impressive medieval castle. A substantial musical pedigree is
ensured by the city's status as the birthplace of Mozart and venue
of the Salzburg Festival, one of the world's most renowned
celebrations of classical music and theatre. Of Austria's other
regional capitals, Innsbruck combines both a buzzing
nightlife and close proximity to some of the Tyrol's highest peaks
to make it one of Austria's most popular destinations. Its
attractive and largely medieval city centre focuses on the
Hofkirche, site of the memorial to sixteenth-century Habsburg
strongman Emperor Maximilian I. In the Styrian capital, Graz
, main attractions include the town centre, the fine-art
collections of the Landesmuseum Joanneum and the Baroque Eggenberg
Palace. Austria's second largest city is also a good base from
which to venture out into the vineyards and pumpkin fields of the
rural southeast.
Explorations down back streets of Austria's small medieval
towns , many of which are still enclosed by their original
walls, will reward you with hidden arcaded courtyards, tinkling
fountains and overflowing flower boxes: Freistadt in Upper Austria,
Hall in the Tyrol and Friesach in Carinthia present the pick of the
bunch. Lower Austria has the country's highest concentration of
monasteries , ranging from the Baroque excess of Melk,
Altenburg and Zwettl to the likes of Heiligenkreuz, built on the
cusp of the stylistic transition from Romanesque to Gothic. For
unadulterated Romanesque architecture, head for Gurk in Carinthia;
for Rococo floridity, Wilhering in Upper Austria is hard to beat.
Austria also holds a bewildering variety of castles and
chateaux , from fortified seats such as Forchtenstein in
Burgenland to luxury aristocratic piles like Artstetten in Lower
Austria. The two finest imperial palaces are the magnificent
Baroque residence of Schönbrunn, on the outskirts of Vienna, and
Schloss Ambras, the archduke Ferdinand of Tyrol's Renaissance
treasure-trove near Innsbruck.
Musical pilgrimages are possible to the birthplaces or
resting places of such luminaries as Beethoven, Bruckner, Haydn,
Liszt, Mozart, Schönberg and Schubert. The country's top music
festivals , among them the Salzburg Festival, the Haydn
Festival in Eisenstadt and the chamber music festival in
Lockenhaus, draw international performers and audiences alike. At
both the Bregenz Festival and the operetta festival in Mörbisch,
floating stages host top-class performances against a shimmering
backdrop.
Austria's main lakeland area is the Salzkammergut, where
the Wolfgangsee, Mondsee, Traunsee and Hallstättersee offer a
combination of water-based pursuits and stunning scenery. To the
south, the Carinthian lakes of the Wörthersee, Ossiachersee and
Millstättersee boast good bathing, boating and windsurfing
facilities. In the far east of the country, the reed-encircled
Neusiedlersee, Austria's only steppe lake, provides a total
contrast, and an opportunity to marry beach culture with a spot of
bird-watching.
Austria forms one of Europe's most mountainous countries, yet an
excellent network of transport links puts even the dizziest of
heights within reach. Key summer hiking areas are the alpine
regions of western Austria, stretching from northeastern Styria and
eastern Carinthia through the Salzkammergut, Salzburger Land, Tyrol
and Vorarlberg. For snow sports , the Salzburger Land, Tyrol
and Vorarlberg boast the highest concentration and widest range of
modern, fully equipped resorts.
Finally, a great deal of Austria's industrial heritage has been
put to good touristic effect, and many of the show-mines
count among top attractions. If you have time to visit only one of
them, pick from the following: the iron-ore workings at Eisenerz in
Styria, the salt mine at Bad Dürrnberg in the Salzburger land, the
salt mine above Hallstatt in the Salzkammergut, the lead mine at
Bad Bleiberg in Carinthia, and the silver mine at Schwaz in the
Tyrol.