Austria

At the heart of Europe lies Austria; a country full of natural beauty with a plethora of riches to discover including magical Vienna, the snow-capped mountains of the Alps, beautiful valleys and medieval cities such as Salzburg and Graz.

Austria is perhaps best known for its well equipped ski resorts in the west of the country around Innsbruck and the capital Vienna in the east. As the capital, Vienna is full of impressive sight seeing opportunities including those that date from the Habsburg era such as the Schloss Schönbrunn the former summer residence of the Habsburgs, the Hofburg, St Stephan’s Cathedral and the Ringstrasse which is a magnificent circular boulevard surrounding the city centre. Austria has a strong musical heritage with Vienna being home to many famous musicians, including Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Joseph Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven and Falco

The cities of Austria have plenty to offer the curious traveller. Salzburg, renowned as Mozart’s birthplace and is surrounded by two mountains namely Kapuzinerger and Mönchsberg and the river Salzach, resulting in a chocolate box city that effortlessly blends into its surroundings.

Altstadt (old town) is situated on the south bank of the river and has strong influence from the Baroque era prevalent in its many churches, fountains and courtyards. Alstadt is home to a number of stylish museums and houses. Salzburg’s medieval fortress Festung Hohensalzburg, is a must see attraction as is the Residenz, the place where Salzburg’s prince-archbishops lived and held court.

Austria’s second largest city is Graz and is also the capital of Styria, a country in the southeast of Austria. Predominantly surrounded by mountains Graz is dominated by the Schlossberg, a large hill in the centre of the city. Key sites to visit in Graz include Cathedral of St. Ägydius renowned for its Baroque interior, or take a trip to the Schloss Eggenberg, the Baroque palace houses a collection of 10th century art and local prehistoric coins, antiques and gemstones.

Linz, Austria’s third city is a busy industrial hub but the Old Town is full of historic buildings and monuments including the Town Hall, the Church of St. Ignatius and the hill top castle built for Friedrich V in the 15th century. A wonderful tourist site is the Lentos Kunstmuseum, this modern building houses one of the best collections of contemporary Austrian art from the 19th and 20th century featuring works by Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka and Christian Ludwig Attersee.

Innsbruck with it favourable position in the Alps, has become an international centre for winter sports, is considered the ‘snowboarding capital’ of Europe and has been host to the Olympic Games twice. One of the city’s finest attractions is the Goldenes Dachl. Made of gilded copper tiles the roof was constructed in the 1490’s to cover a balcony used by members of the court to observe events in the square below. Beneath the balcony is the museum Maximilianeum which focuses on the life of the Habsburg emperor.

Skiing in Austria is one of the most popular attractions, the vast number of ski resorts in the Alps offer fantastic accommodation and an array of water sport activities and facilities including high tech lifts and ski tracks and a snowboarding friendly environment. The skiing areas are extremely well organised with fantastic transportation and many of the valleys are interlinked ensuring you can easily go from one valley to another by using the lift systems. Partake in the delights of apres ski activities and experience the nightlife in towns like Kitzbühel.