Things to Do in Austria 1 guide

Why visit Austria

Habsburg grandeur in the east, glaciers in the west, and a lake or a concert hall wherever you break the journey.

Austria packs an improbable amount into a country smaller than Maine — imperial Vienna at one end, the glaciers and ski valleys of Tyrol at the other, and a chain of mirror-clear alpine lakes in between. This was the seat of the Habsburgs for six centuries, and it shows: palaces, baroque abbeys, gilded concert halls and coffee houses that treat sitting still as a civic art. Beyond the cities, the Alps cover roughly two-thirds of the map, threaded by scenic railways and one of Europe's great high mountain roads. Use this hub to plan your trip: browse our Austrian city guides below, or read on for the regions, seasons and routes that tie the country together.

Cities in Austria

Map of Austria

Countries near Austria

Trip planner Plan your trip to Austria

Best time to visit — season by season

Spring
Mar–May

The quietest good-value stretch. Vienna's parks and palace gardens come back to life, the Wachau's apricot and vine terraces blossom along the Danube, and city sightseeing is comfortable. High alpine passes and hiking trails often stay snowbound into May, so the mountains are still a shoulder season while the cities are already at their best.

Summer
Jun–Aug

Long, warm days and the whole country open at once — this is lake season in the Salzkammergut and Carinthia, where the water genuinely warms enough to swim, and prime time for alpine hiking once the passes clear. Cities can turn hot and busy, and the classical festival season fills Salzburg, so book ahead if you are travelling then.

Fall
Sep–Nov

Arguably the sweet spot. September still hikes like summer with thinner crowds, the Wachau and Burgenland move into grape harvest, and Vienna's wine taverns tip their new vintage. October brings clear, sharp mountain views; by November the weather closes in and the higher resorts wait for snow.

Winter
Dec–Feb

Two very different holidays. The Alps deliver some of the most reliable skiing in Europe from around December through April, while the cities trade on Advent markets, concert season and the balls that run through carnival. Expect short daylight, cold and frequent grey in the lowlands — and much better light up high.

Regions of Austria

  • Vienna & Lower Austria

    The imperial east. Vienna holds the Habsburg palaces, the great museums and the coffee-house culture, and just upriver the Wachau valley bends through terraced vineyards past Melk Abbey and Dürnstein — one of the loveliest stretches of the Danube anywhere.

  • Salzburg & the Salzkammergut

    Baroque Salzburg sits beneath its clifftop fortress with the Alps rising behind, and east of it the Salzkammergut scatters dozens of lakes between limestone peaks — Hallstatt, Wolfgangsee and St Gilgen among them. The classic combination of a walkable old town and swimmable water.

  • Tyrol & the Arlberg

    Austria's alpine heartland, where Innsbruck sits in a valley ringed by peaks that rise straight from the edge of town. This is the country's ski country — St Anton, Ischgl, Kitzbühel — and in summer the same cable cars carry hikers into high pasture and glacier terrain.

  • Styria & Graz

    The green southeast. Graz has a UNESCO-listed old town, a hilltop clocktower and a young university energy, while the Styrian countryside rolls out in wine roads, pumpkin fields and thermal spas — a softer, warmer Austria than the postcard Alps.

  • Carinthia & the southern lakes

    Tucked against the Italian and Slovenian borders, Carinthia is the country's warmest corner, built around big swimming lakes like the Wörthersee and Millstätter See, with the Hohe Tauern peaks and the Grossglockner road along its northern edge.

  • Vorarlberg & Lake Constance

    The far west, easier to reach from Zurich than from Vienna. Bregenz sits on the shore of Lake Constance, and behind it the Bregenzerwald pairs working dairy villages with a run of striking contemporary timber architecture that draws design travellers.

Getting around

Austria is an easy country to cross without a car. ÖBB, the national railway, links every major city on a fast and punctual network — Vienna to Salzburg in around two and a half hours, on to Innsbruck in about four, with the scenic Semmering and Arlberg lines climbing straight through the mountains. Vienna, Graz, Linz and Innsbruck all have dense tram, bus and metro systems, and Salzburg's old town is small enough to walk end to end. Where a car earns its keep is the alpine interior: the Salzkammergut lakes, the side valleys of Tyrol and Carinthia, and the Grossglockner High Alpine Road all reward having your own wheels, and some of the prettiest villages see only a handful of postbuses a day. A sensible plan for most trips is rail between the cities, then hire a car for the mountain leg.

The highlights Austria's signature sights & road trips

Austria's signature sights at a glance

Suggested routes

The classic Austria rail trip

~1 week

The country end to end on fast, punctual trains, taking in the imperial capital, the Danube valley, baroque Salzburg and the Tyrolean Alps. No car needed at any point — run it in either direction.

  1. Vienna — fly in; three days for the palaces and museums
  2. The Wachau — Melk Abbey and a vineyard stretch of the Danube
  3. Salzburg — old town, fortress and the Alps behind
  4. Hallstatt — day trip into the Salzkammergut lakes
  5. Innsbruck — peaks straight above the city centre

Lakes, peaks and the Grossglockner

~10 days–2 weeks

A driving loop through the alpine interior for the scenery a train can't quite reach — lake swimming, high passes and national park hiking. Best attempted in the snow-free months, when the high road is open.

  1. Salzburg — pick up the car here
  2. The Salzkammergut — Wolfgangsee, Hallstatt and the lake villages
  3. Hohe Tauern National Park — the Grossglockner High Alpine Road
  4. Carinthia — the Wörthersee and the warm southern lakes
  5. Graz — finish in the green southeast

Vienna and the east, long weekend

~3–4 days

A short break that stays in the flat, easy eastern corner — the capital plus one river day and one wine day, all within about an hour of Vienna by train or car.

  1. Vienna — two days in the centre
  2. The Wachau — abbey, castle ruin and a river cruise
  3. Burgenland — Neusiedler See reed beds and wine villages

Austria travel FAQ

When is the best time to visit Austria?

It depends which Austria you want. For cities, late spring (May–June) and September are ideal — mild, green and less crowded than high summer. For lake swimming and alpine hiking, July and August are the reliable months. For skiing, roughly December through April, with the highest resorts holding snow longest. December is also when the cities are at their most atmospheric, with Advent markets and a full concert season.

How many days do you need in Austria?

Three or four days covers Vienna properly. A week lets you add Salzburg and the Wachau by train without rushing. Ten days to two weeks is enough to cross the whole country and include the Salzkammergut lakes or Tyrol — and if you want the high alpine roads and national parks as well, plan closer to two weeks and hire a car for that leg.

Do you need a car in Austria?

Not for the cities. Rail links Vienna, Salzburg, Graz, Linz and Innsbruck quickly and reliably, and all of them have good local transport. A car becomes genuinely useful once you leave the main lines — the Salzkammergut lake villages, the side valleys of Tyrol and Carinthia, and the Grossglockner road. Many visitors take the train between cities and rent a car for a few days in the mountains.

What is Austria best known for?

Classical music above all — Mozart, Haydn, Schubert and Strauss all worked here, and Vienna still runs on opera houses and concert halls. Alongside that: Habsburg palaces and baroque architecture, the Alps and their ski resorts, the coffee-house tradition, and food that runs from Wiener Schnitzel and Tafelspitz to Sachertorte and apricot dumplings.

Do people speak English in Austria?

German is the official language, but English is widely spoken in cities, tourist areas, hotels and ski resorts, and is generally taught in schools. You will meet less English in rural valleys and among older residents, though a few German words — grüß Gott, danke, bitte — go a long way anywhere.

What currency does Austria use, and is it in the EU?

Austria is a member of both the European Union and the eurozone, so the currency is the euro (€). It is also in the Schengen area, meaning no routine border checks with neighbours like Germany, Italy or Slovakia. Cards are accepted almost everywhere, though Austria remains fonder of cash than some of its neighbours — it is worth carrying some for small cafés, mountain huts and rural stops.

What food should you try in Austria?

Wiener Schnitzel is the obvious one — properly a thin veal cutlet, fried until it blisters away from the crumb. Beyond it, look for Tafelspitz (boiled beef with apple-horseradish), goulash inherited from the Habsburg empire, and Käsespätzle in the mountains. For something sweet: Sachertorte, apple strudel, Kaiserschmarrn and, in season, Wachau apricot dumplings. Wash it down with a Grüner Veltliner or a glass of new wine at a Heuriger tavern.

What kind of trip is Austria best for?

City breaks, skiing and lake summers.