With gourmet dining, premium hotels, exclusive shopping streets, world famous museums, UNESCO World Heritage sites, green parks and much more, Austrian cities have something for everyone. Whether travellers visit for a short weekend or weeks, there is plenty to do, eat, and see there.
Visitors can experience the world’s most liveable city; Vienna, explore the city of music; Salzburg, indulge in some traditional Austrian dishes in Graz, enjoy mountain adventures in the Capital of the Alps; Innsbruck, and walk through cities that showcase a history spanning the ancient Romans to the royal Habsburgs. The Austrian cities are dotted with castles and palaces filled with old-world charm, lively music, and paintings by some of the best artists in world history.
With Austria fully open to everyone without any complicated rules or restrictions and having direct flight connections between most of the GCC counties and Vienna and Salzburg, guests from the gulf region can travel easily to enjoy the beautiful European country.
Here are four must visit Austrian cities for everyone looking to have a holiday to remember:
SALZBURG: MOZART’S BIRTH TOWN CELEBRATES ITS 25TH UNESCO ANNIVERSARY
Salzburg celebrates its 25-year-anniversary as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2022, making it a must-visit this year. Austria’s fourth largest town owes its elegance to the prince-archbishops: Their architectural, artistic, and social heritage is omnipresent to date. Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich zu Raitenau (1559-1617) dreamt of transforming Salzburg into a magnificent “Rome of the North”, creating landmarks such as Mirabell which helped the city earn its UNESCO title.
To mark the anniversary, see for yourself why Mozart’s birth town is a World Heritage Site: Visit Mirabell Palace and explore its stunning imperial rooms, its parks, fountains and hidden faces, then head to the 1,300 year-old DomQuartier. The Museums at Hohensalzburg Fortress, the Hellbrunn Palace, Cathedral Museum and Museum at St. Peter’s Abbey all have special exhibitions this year. And of course, no visit to Salzburg is complete without seeing Mozart’s birthplace in the famous Getreidegasse.
Need a rest in style? Pop into Café Tomasselli, a family-run institution that has been around for over 150 years, visit Salzburg’s oldest bakery Stiftsbäckerei St. Peter dating back to the 12th century or watch puppet versions of “The Magic Flute”, “The Sound of Music” or “The Little Prince” at the Marionette Theatre.
GRAZ: A HIP MEDITERRANEAN TOWN AND AUSTRIA’S FOODIE HOTSPOT
Graz is like an invitation to all senses: the Mediterranean lifestyle, the stunning viewpoints, architectural gems, numerous sights, museums and art spaces, trendy festivals and other events, hip design shops, bars and restaurants for culinary pit stops – there is no way you would ever get bored in this city.
In Austria’s second largest city, the past merges into the future, especially visible in architecture. Elegant courtyards, yaw-dropping houses, porticos, cupolas, cobble-stone alleys and unique, red roof-tops, all protected by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage site: the charismatic historic old town and Schlossberg hill blend perfectly into the city’s contemporary architecture of international fame. Right in the city center, you will find the Island in the Mur, a futuristic viewing point, bar and meeting space, showing off bright colours at night.
Thanks to its numerous farmers‘ markets, small bars, street cafés, excellent restaurants, outdoor bars and deli shops, Graz is also known as Austria’s Capital of Culinary Delights, where you can enjoy excellent Austrian and international dishes made of only the highest quality ingredients on every corner. Events like the Graz Food Festival, the Long Table of Graz, various foodie tours and the Truffel Festival are an integral part of the city.
INNSBRUCK: IMPERIAL SIGHTSEEING AND MOUNTAIN GETAWAY BOTH IN ONE
Tirol’s capital Innsbruck is the perfect place for anyone wanting to combine a sightseeing-packed city break with some outdoor sports activities. Stroll through the streets full of imperial elegance and beautiful Baroque and Gothic architecture in the Old Town, then get whisked up the Nordkette and be at 2,000 m in just 20 minutes.
Innsbruck is compact enough to be experienced on foot or a bike. Check out its sights including the Golden Roof, the Helbing House, the Imperial Palace and the city’s most famous street Maria-Theresien-Strasse. Curious about the traditional Tirolean cuisine? Join a Food Tour and spend four hours with a local guide, sampling all the local delicacies while learning more about their history and ingredients. Tirol’s oldest café Konditorei Munding dates back to 1803.
Thanks to its location in the heart of the Austrian Alps, Innsbruck at the River Inn doubles as an outdoor hub. Hiking, biking, climbing, you name it, the region has it all. Take one of the cable cars from the city centre and enjoy outdoor sports, magnificent views over the cities and a drink in style. Looking for an adrenaline kick? Check out the world-famous Bergisel Ski Jump including a café and viewing platform.
VIENNA: AUSTRIA’S CAPITAL ENCHANTS AS THE CENTRE OF CULTURE AND THE ARTS
Austria’s capital city Vienna stuns with a mix of Imperial tradition and vibrant metropolitan flair, top-notch art, as well as its equally classical music scene and famous coffee houses. World history has been written in the city for half a millennium – and yet Vienna’s more modern sides are just as fascinating.
St. Stephen’s Cathedral, the Vienna State Opera, the Museum of Art History and its counterpart, the Museum of Natural History, Schönbrunn Palace (including the oldest zoo in the world!), Belvedere and Hofburg Palace are must-visits for first-timers to Vienna. However, there’s much more to explore in the city: For art fans, the ALBERTINA museum and ALBERTINA modern, currently dedicating their main shows to Gustav Klimt, Edvard Munch and Ai Weiwei, are must-visits, as are the recently reopened Lower Belvedere, the Heidi Horten Collection, one of Europe’s leading private collections, as well as the futuristic Living Home museum and the new House of Strauss.
Before or after your sightseeing tour, go for a swim at a city beach or a boat, book a yoga session in a museum, and end your day in style in one of Vienna’s top restaurants and trendy rooftop bars and clubs.
