Austria tourist information

Austria is often cloudy with cold winters and plenty of rain in the lowlands or snow in the mountains. Summers in Austria are cool with occasional showers, creating ideal travel conditions.

The highest mountain is Grossglockner at 3,798 metres. The main river is the Danube. Austria's major resource industries are iron ore, oil, timber, magnesite, lead, coal, lignite, copper and hydropower.

In July 2002, Austria's population was 8,169,929, most people concentrated on the eastern lowlands because of steep slopes, poor soils and low temperatures elsewhere.

Austria was once the centre of power for the massive Austro-Hungarian Empire.

However, the country became a small republic after its defeat in World War I.

Following nazi annexation and conquering allied occupation in 1945, Austria didn't regain its independence until 1955.

Unification with Germany was forbidden and Austria's constitution was changed to include a law for "perpetual neutrality" as a condition for Soviet military withdrawal.

Austria entered the European Union in 1995 and the European Monetary Union in 1999.

Visitors from most western countries who travel to Austria for a vacation need a passport for entry. However, a visa isn't necessary for business or tourist travel up to three months.

Austria holiday travel information

About 1.6 million people live in the capital city of Vienna and an average 19 million tourists travel to Austria every year. In other words, there's a fair chance the person you bump into isn't a local.

Vienna has nearly 150 art galleries and is widely regarded as the art capital of Europe. Must-see attractions while in Vienna include the Schonbrunn Palace, Kunsthistorisches Museum, St Stephen's Cathedral, the Albertina, the Hofburg, the parliament building, the Riesenrad ferris wheel in Prater Park built in 1897, and the Sigmund Freud Museum at Berggasse 19.

Vienna, where most people work from 8am to 4pm, is divided into 22 districts and has efficient train and tram systems. A Vienna Card provides three days of unlimited travel and more than 210 discounts for 18.50 Euro (2011), including free travel for an accompanying child below the age of 15.

One of the most popular locations in Vienna is Schleifmuhlgasse, a single street in the heart of the city boasting art galleries, vintage clothing shops, cafes and restaurants. Nearby is Naschmarkt, Vienna's largest market with a multicultural flavour.

During winter the local population bunkers down against the cold, although about 20 street markets open throughout the city in the festive season from mid-November to Christmas Eve. More than three million shoppers are attracted each year from around the world to explore these markets, which are usually open for as long as 12 hours a day, from 10am to 10pm.

In summer, Vienna is a non-stop carnival of film festivals, music concerts, art shows and food fairs. Summer nights are consistently warm in Vienna, a city boasting an excellent network of cyclepaths upon which to visit the local tourist attractions. Vienna is also well-designed for pedestrians with many areas sealed off to traffic during the day.

Austria travel Tip ... The Wachau is the name given to a 40km stretch of the Danube about 90 minutes west of Vienna within which the river twists and turns through steep hills carpeted with fruit trees and grape vines. The Wachau district is peppered with fairytale castles, many perched on the top of hills. Cycle paths run the length of the Wachau along both banks of the Danube and bicycle can be hired in almost all towns.

In the Wachau region you will find the Gottweig and Melk monasteries. Gottweig boasts the third largest baroque staircase in the world, more than 700 paintings and Austria's largest private collection of graphics.

Vienna is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, sprinkled with wedding-cake architecture, magnificently preserved history, manicured parks and vineyards near the CBD.

The third largest city in Austria is Linz, which has been renowned over the past few decades as an international centre for art, music and culture. Linz, which was once a grimy industrial town, adopted the prestigious role of European Capital of Culture in 2009. This is a city where modern architecture compliments historic landmarks. Tourists tend to congregate in the historic Old Quarter on the southern bank of the Danube River. Landmarks worth visiting include the Old Town Hall, the white marble Trinity Column, the Mariendom, Jesuitenkirche and Stadtpfarrkirche churches, the Linz Castle, the Castle Museum, the Lentos Art Museum, the Mozarthaus (where Mozart lived while writing his Linz Symphony) and the Landhaus provincial parliament. Linz, just 30 kilometres from the Czech border and about two hours' drive from Salzburg, is a hub for cruises on the Danube.

Austria is fairly monocultural with 97% of its citizens of Germanic origin and the same percentage speaking German as their mother tongue. Almost 90% are Roman Catholic.

The main attractions of Austria are its scenery and snow skiing. The Alpine slopes operate from mid-December to late March for skiing.

Flowers carpet sections of the Austrian Alps in June and this is a great time to buy your air tickets or consider vacation package deals for the cheapest travel in Austria. The peak vacation season is in July and August with prices correspondingly higher for hotels and other travel accommodation.

Austria's skiing season creates a crowded swarm of tourists in some parts of the country from December to April, particularly in the Christmas and New Year vacation period.

If you have an air ticket to Austria, budget at least US$90 per day for food, accommodation and a few luxuries such as a cup of coffee with an Austrian pastry. There are about 300 coffee houses in Vienna alone.

Austria is an expensive country in which to travel. Even the waiters and taxi drivers expect a tip.

Before buying yourAustria air tickets or booking your vacation package, be aware that it can be very difficult finding and booking budget hotels in Austria if you travel during the peak vacation seasons.

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Austria travel information

If you've got plenty of money, the most popular skiing resorts are at Tirol, Vorarlberg, Salzburg, Carinthia and Upper Austria. If you're rich, the places to be seen and go skiing are St Anton, Lech and Kitzbuhel.

The St Anton am Arlberg area boasts a white altitude between 1300m and 2811m, 276km of ski runs for all skill levels, 86 modern cable cars and lifts, steep slopes with 180km of powder runs, race circuits and fun parks for snowboards. The White Ring circuit of ski fields has some of the best scenery in the Austrian Alps. Because St Anton faces south, the snow tends to get slushy by mid-afternoon, especially in spring. There are various drinking venues amid the ski slopes. For example, several hundred metres above the village of St Anton is the infamous Moosewirt Bar where British, German, Italian and local skiiers in particular usually let their hair down in the late afternoon. Arguably the best late-night venues in St Anton itself are the Kandahar nightclub, the Piccadilly bar and Bar Cuba. A majority of St Anton tourists are in their 20s and the village's charmingly rustic yet modern main street is closed to traffic.

Situated in the heart of the Austrian Alps, Innsbruck is another very popular travel destination for tourists, offering a wealth of nearby holiday fun such as mountaineering, hiking, mountain biking, golf, summer skiing, whitewater rafting, paragliding or parachuting.

Innbsruck is capital of the mountainous Tyrol region, where you can find some of the best holiday skiing in Europe. The mountains are covered in snow and travel is freezing during winter, but the landscape becomes lush green during summer with steamy weather and temperatures peaking above 30 degrees Celsius. Summer is from May 28 to September 25 and this is when the snow melts from mountain trails and the landscape is carpeted with leaf, grass and flower. Innsbruck, which has numerous museums and colourful baroque housing from the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, also offers nine ski regions up to 3,300m with 285km of downhill runs. Priced from 160 to 213 euros in 2011, the Innsbruck Super Skipass covers the nine Innsbruck regions and the ski resorts of Kitzbuehel and Arlberg. A Nordkettenbahnen cable car can be boarded in the middle of Innsbruck and in 20 minutes takes passengers to 2,256 metres, where scenic ski runs can be enjoyed. There are eight ski resorts within an hour of downtown Innsbruck with free shuttle bus transport available to them all. A highlight of the year is the world-class Innsbruck Extreme snowboarding competition every March. The city hosted the Winter Olympics in 1964 and 1976. Innsbruck has a population around 100,000, about a quarter students. Two of the more popular nightspots in Innsbruck are the Blue Chip Disco and Limerick Bill's. A more upmarket destination is the panoramic 360 Degree Bar. Families in particular might target the Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis ski resort a bit over an hour from Innsbruck, where there are excellent facilities and activities for children. If you want to see some of the rare armoury and weapons from the city's medieval and Renaissance past, two spots to target are Ambras Castle and Innsbruck Hofkirche, or Court Church. There are 24 guided hikes around Innsbruck with costs covered for people who buy an Innsbruck Card, which also provides three days of travel on all public transport, entry to museums and other attractions, and cable car fees.

Other popular activities for tourists in Austria include sailing, windsurfing, water skiing, hang-gliding, ballooning and mountain climbing, but they all cost a fair bit of money.

The least expensive travel activity is hiking. About 15,000 kilometres of Alpine paths wind their way through the mountains of Austria and the best travel season for hiking is from June to October. Take precautions - there are more annual hiking deaths in Austria than fatal road accidents.

Sunburn at high altitudes is a danger. If you travel to Austria you should bring a full wardrobe as the temperature varies according to altitude.

High mountain temperatures vary from close to zero in winter to as high as 25 degrees Celsius in summer.

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Austria holiday information

If you don't want to buy more air tickets, the train and bus services throughout Austria are world-class but a bit expensive. The roads are excellent and a safe way to travel in Austria, with autobahns to neighbouring countries and some spectacular mountain routes.

Cycling is a healthy alternative way to travel in Austria as the country has good rental and cycleway facilities, but you must really pump the pedals up steep slopes. Helmets are not mandatory.

Austria's somewhat benign crime rate has been creeping up in recent years. Travellers should be wary of pickpockets and purse-snatchers who operate where tourists tend to gather.

Salzburg is a beautiful city largely centred on tourists who come to see the birthplace of Mozart. Some travellers find Salzburg too similar to a museum or a fun park, but everybody is impressed by the stunning mountains and lakes that are near the city.

Two of Austria's most picturesque villages are Durnstein in the wine-growing region of Wachau and Hallstatt in the heart of Inner Salzkammergut.

Durnstein is a cobble-stoned village boasting medieval castle ruins overlooking the waters of the Danube. This village can be reached by road, rail or boat.

The village of Hallstatt is renowned for its history of salt mining spanning 7,000 years. The world's first salt mine, 2,800 years old, is perched above the village. Hallstatt is on the banks of a lake surrounded by towering mountains and some of its wooden houses are more than 500 years old. Hallstatt is about two hours by bus or train from Salzburg.

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