The mist lifts off the Hallstatter See at dawn, revealing a village that has been called the most beautiful in Europe so often that the phrase has lost its meaning. But standing on the shore, watching the first light hit the alpine peaks reflected in the still water, you understand why people keep saying it. Austria is famous for Vienna, Salzburg, and the Alps. These eight places are the Austria that exists between the postcards, the lakes, the wine regions, the medieval villages that the tour buses miss.
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Hallstatt: The Postcard Village
Hallstatt is absurdly picturesque. The village clusters on a narrow strip of land between the lake and the mountains. The houses are painted in pastel colours, each one seemingly designed to be photographed. The ossuary in the chapel contains over one thousand two hundred painted skulls, a macabre but fascinating reminder of the village’s long history. The salt mine above the town has been operating since five thousand BCE, making it one of the oldest in the world. The crowds in summer are significant. Visit in November when the mist sits on the lake and the village feels like it belongs to you alone.
The Wachau Valley: Wine and Abbeys
The Danube Valley between Melk and Krems is one of the most beautiful river landscapes in Europe. The vineyards terrace the hillsides, producing the Grüner Veltliner and Riesling that define Austrian white wine. The Benedictine Abbey at Melk is a baroque masterpiece, its golden interior almost too ornate to absorb in a single visit. The forty kilometre cycle path from Melk to Krems follows the river through apricot orchards, vineyard villages, and past medieval castles. It is a perfect day trip from Vienna, easily reached by train.
Zell am See: Lake and Mountain
A lake and a mountain, that is Zell am See in its essence. The lake, the Zeller See, is clean enough to drink from and warm enough for comfortable swimming in summer. The mountain, the Schmittenhöhe, offers views across the lake to the Kitzsteinhorn glacier. In summer, you can hike, swim, and sail. In winter, you can ski on the glacier or on the slopes above the town. The view from the top of the Schmittenhöhe, with the lake spread out below and the peaks of the Alps behind it, is the panorama that defines Austrian tourism photography.
Graz: Austria’s Second City
Graz is a UNESCO World heritage site that manages to feel both historic and modern. The Schlossberg, a hill in the centre of the city, is topped by a clock tower that has become the symbol of the city. The Kunsthaus, a futuristic blue blob of a building, is the modern art museum that contrasts beautifully with the medieval streets around it. The food is Styrian, which means pumpkin seed oil on everything, Schilcher wine, and some of the best charcuterie in Austria. Graz is also home to Austria’s oldest restaurant, the Landhauskeller, which has been serving food since 1490.
Seefeld: Cross Country Skiing Capital
Seefeld is a plateau resort near Innsbruck that has hosted Olympic cross country skiing events. The trails are world class, groomed to perfection, and set against a backdrop of the Karwendel mountains. In summer, the plateau becomes a paradise for walkers and mountain bikers. The village itself is charming, with traditional Tyrolean architecture and a pedestrianised centre that feels more relaxed than the big Alpine resorts.
Klagenfurt and the Wörthersee
The Wörthersee is the warmest lake in Austria, with water temperatures reaching twenty eight degrees Celsius in summer. The colour of the water is a startling turquoise, the result of the lake’s unique mineral composition. The Strandbad at Klagenfurt is the largest inland beach in Europe, with swimming platforms, water slides, and acres of lawn for sunbathing. Klagenfurt itself is a charming Carinthian town with a Renaissance square and a quirky museum dedicated to the Lindwurm, a legendary dragon.
Bad Gastein: Belle Époque Decay
Bad Gastein is a Belle Époque spa town built in a waterfall filled gorge in the Hohe Tauern mountains. The thermal waters are mildly radioactive, a quirk that was once marketed as a cure for everything from arthritis to infertility. The Felsentherme spa is carved into the rock and offers pools with views of the waterfall. The town is crumbling and grand and strange, with grand nineteenth century hotels that are slowly being restored and a sense of faded glory that is utterly unique in Austria.
Bregenz: Opera on the Lake
The lake stage at Bregenz, the Seebühne, is the largest floating stage in the world. It hosts opera performances in summer, with a stage set that changes every two years and is an artwork in itself. Recent productions have featured a giant eye, a human hand, and a library of books. The view from the audience, looking across Lake Constance to the Alps, is the best prelude to any opera you will ever experience. The town itself is charming, with a well preserved medieval centre and a cable car that rises to the top of the Pfänder mountain.
Which Austria did you discover? The lakes of the Salzkammergut, the wine of the Wachau, the crumbling elegance of Bad Gastein, or the opera on the lake at Bregenz?
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