Austria

Are you eager to explore the beauty of Austria? Our comprehensive guide will walk you through Austrian weather patterns and the ideal seasons for your visit. You'll learn easy ways to travel around the country and discover the must-see cities and attractions. The guide also highlights delicious Austrian foods you should taste during your stay. Finally, we'll reveal some lesser-known treasures that most tourists miss but are worth your time.

Weather and Best Time to Visit

Vienna & Eastern Austria: May to June and September to October offer pleasant temperatures and fewer crowds. July and August are warm but busy with tourists.

Salzburg & Northern Alps: June to September provides the best weather for exploring this region, with July and August being peak tourist season. Winter (December to March) is ideal for skiing.

Innsbruck & Western Alps: December to March for excellent skiing conditions. Summer months (June to August) are perfect for hiking and outdoor activities with mild temperatures.

Southern Austria (Carinthia): July and August are the warmest for lake activities and swimming, with temperatures reaching 25-30°C (77-86°F). May, June, and September offer pleasant weather with fewer crowds.

Styria & Wine Country: April to October is ideal, with September and October being especially beautiful during harvest season.

How to Get to Austria

Austria connects to the world through several well-placed airports across the country. Vienna International Airport (VIE) is the largest, handling over 30 million passengers annually who travel to Vienna, Linz, and Graz. 

Winter sports enthusiasts and summer hikers typically use Innsbruck Airport (INN) to access the mountains, where the runway is situated between alpine peaks.

Travelers visiting Mozart's birthplace and the nearby lakes arrive through Salzburg Airport (SZG), which serves the western regions. In the south, Graz Airport (GRZ) provides access to Styria's wine country and historic towns, while Klagenfurt Airport (KLU) brings visitors close to Carinthia's swimming lakes and mountain trails.

These airports serve as the entry points to Austria's cities, countryside, and mountain landscapes, each offering visitors access to different regions of Austria.

How to Get Around

When travelers set foot in Austria, they're stepping into a country where getting from place to place becomes part of the adventure. The trains, run by ÖBB, glide through mountain passes and alongside crystal-clear lakes, arriving when they should and taking people where they need to go. These journeys through the Alps often tell their own stories through the windows.

Buses fill in the gaps, reaching the small towns tucked into valleys where trains don't venture. They cost less and go more places, making them good choices for seeing Austria beyond the main stops.

Renting a car gives freedom to discover hidden corners — those roadside chapels and family-run restaurants that don't make it into guidebooks. Just know that city parking sometimes requires patience and planning.

City dwellers benefit from systems that just work. Vienna's U-Bahn gets people across the capital quickly, while trams and buses complete the picture. Taxis wait at stands throughout cities, though they do cost more than public options.

Newer additions to Austrian streets include rental e-scooters and shared bicycles. They work well for short hops between sights or parks.

In mountain areas, cable cars and funiculars serve double duty — they're necessary transportation for locals and offer riders sweeping views that tell the story of Austria's natural beauty.

• Vienna to Salzburg is a popular domestic train route that takes 2.5 hours. For the best views, sit on the left side when heading west to see the Danube, then switch to the right side after Linz for mountain scenery. 

For traveling between cities, RegioJet runs comfortable buses with internet and snacks, making the journey between Austrian destinations comfortable and connected.

Food Scene

Restaurants in Vienna serve Wiener schnitzel that extends well beyond the edges of the plate, so thin and crispy that locals joke it takes special training to prepare properly. Tafelspitz arrives at the table in copper pots, with the boiled beef tender after hours of careful cooking. 

When afternoon hunger strikes, Viennese folks eat kaiserschmarrn, which tells Austria's history on a plate. These torn pancakes, once favored by Emperor Franz Josef, now bring comfort to anyone needing a sweet break.

Morning at Vienna's Naschmarkt means joining locals who inspect each apple and debate the ripeness of cheeses with vendors whose families have held the same stalls for generations. In Salzburg, farmers arrive at Grünmarkt before dawn, setting up produce still carrying the morning dew. As workday lunch approaches, lines form at Würstelstands across Austrian cities, where sausage vendors serve quick meals that fuel everything from business deals to university study sessions.

In mountainous Vorarlberg, käsespätzle provides the necessary warmth during snowy evenings, hand-scraped noodles under layers of melted local cheese. Tyroleans restore their energy after hiking with tiroler gröstl, a hearty pan of potatoes and meat that tells the story of alpine resourcefulness. Down in Styria, breakfast bread receives a drizzle of dark green kürbiskernöl, a pumpkin seed oil whose nutty flavor connects eaters to the region's farming traditions.

Hidden Gems

1. Pöstlingberg, Linz

From 539 meters above Linz, Pöstlingberg lets you see the city and Danube Valley stretch out before you like a living map. The neo-Gothic pilgrimage church stands tall, while children and adults alike find joy in the Grottenbahn railway with its underground dwarf kingdom. During spring or early autumn, fewer people visit, but the sunshine still warms the hillside.

To get there, take the Pöstlingbergbahn from Hauptplatz in central Linz. This historic train climbs steeper than any other adhesion railway in Europe. The 20-minute journey itself becomes part of the memory as the train winds upward through the landscape.

2. Werkstätte Hagenauer, Vienna

Behind an unassuming door in Vienna's 7th district lies a collection that tells the story of Viennese design evolution. The Hagenauer Workshop created metalwork that defined an era, sleek brass figures, precisely crafted home pieces, and jewelry that broke artistic boundaries in the early 1900s.

The workshop-museum houses these treasures in the very place they were created. Come on weekday mornings when the rooms feel almost private, and you can take time with each piece. 

Find it near Kaiserstraße by taking tram lines 49 or 46, just a short walk from the shops of Mariahilfer Straße.

Scenic Routes

The mountains of Austria tell their stories to passengers who watch from train windows. Each route reveals chapters of the country's natural history, peaks that reach for clouds, lakes that mirror the sky, and villages where time seems to move more slowly.

Innsbruck to Lienz: Trains cut through the Tyrolean Alps on tracks laid generations ago. In summer, cattle graze on slopes that stretch upward from the valley floor. Come winter, those same meadows disappear under blankets of snow. The large windows frame each scene like moving photographs.

Salzburg to Hallstatt: Lakes appear around bends in the track, their waters changing from blue to green with the passing clouds. The journey ends with a short ferry crossing to Hallstatt, where wooden houses cling to mountainsides. In fall, red and gold leaves dot the pine-covered slopes.

Zell am See to Krimml: The Pinzgauer Lokalbahn, a narrow train that fits perfectly into the land, travels paths too steep for standard trains. It leads to Krimml, where water tumbles down Europe's highest waterfall. Late spring brings meadows dotted with tiny blue and yellow flowers.

Graz to Vienna: The tracks pass vineyards where families have grown grapes for centuries. The landscape gradually changes as Vienna approaches. In early autumn, people work among the vines, harvesting grapes that will become next year's wine.

Salzburg to Innsbruck: Between these two mountain-ringed cities, the train passes through Kitzbühel's slopes. Small towns appear and disappear, each with church steeples that mark their centers. The slower regional train lets you see details, a shepherd with his flock, and children playing by the village stations.

Events, Festivals and Local Markets

The Vienna Christmas Market at Rathausplatz fills Vienna with wooden stalls and the scent of roasted chestnuts from mid-November through December. Children skate on ice rinks while parents sip hot punch and browse handmade ornaments and toys crafted by local artisans.

At the Salzburg Christmas Market, Salzburg's cobblestone streets come alive with holiday spirit. Centuries-old buildings frame market squares where visitors warm their hands around mugs of spiced cider while listening to brass bands play carols beneath starry winter skies.

During the Vienna Opera Ball in February, Vienna's opera house transforms for one night as debutantes in white gowns twirl across the floor with partners in tailcoats. The orchestra plays Strauss waltzes while guests from around the world witness this Austrian tradition dating back generations.

Summer evenings at the Salzburg Festival fill Salzburg with music that echoes off medieval walls. Concert-goers stroll between performances in courtyards and theaters where Mozart's compositions return home, performed by musicians who consider this stage a career milestone.

Best Places to Visit

1. Vienna

In Vienna, history lives in the streets. Walking along the wide Ringstrasse boulevard, you'll pass palaces where Habsburg emperors once lived, now open for anyone to explore. Morning might find you watching white Lipizzaner horses practice their precise movements at the Spanish Riding School, while afternoon could mean sitting in a wood-paneled coffee house, just as writers and thinkers did a century ago, with a slice of chocolate Sachertorte and a cup of coffee served on a silver tray.

The city breathes easiest in spring and fall when chestnut trees bloom or turn golden. During April and May or September and October, you can stroll through the gardens of Schönbrunn Palace without summer crowds or watch locals enjoy their city again. December transforms Vienna with wooden market stalls selling warm punch and handmade ornaments, though you'll need your warmest coat.

Music fills Vienna year-round. From the golden hall of the Musikverein, where the Vienna Philharmonic plays, to the State Opera House, where world-class performances happen almost every night. People who've never considered themselves classical music fans often find themselves moved by hearing these pieces performed in the very city where they were written.

How to get to Vienna

• By Air: Vienna International Airport with frequent connections across Europe
• By Train: Excellent rail connections from major European cities
• By River: Danube cruises stopping at Vienna's port

2. Salzburg

Between steep hills and the Salzach River sits Salzburg, a city that looks like it was drawn for a fairytale. Mozart was born here, and his presence remains, not just in the yellow house where he grew up, but in music that drifts from church windows and concert halls. The massive Hohensalzburg Fortress watches over narrow streets where shops still hang traditional wrought-iron signs.

From April through October, the city comes alive with outdoor cafés and musicians playing in squares. The hills turn green, and gardens bloom. Winter brings a different beauty as snow dusts the baroque domes and Christmas markets fill the air with the scent of gingerbread and roasted chestnuts. January and February see locals strapping on skis and heading to nearby mountains.

Throughout the year, you can hear Mozart's compositions performed in the same rooms where he once played them. In the marble hall of Mirabell Palace, music sounds just as clear and beautiful as it did centuries ago. High above the city, the fortress hosts concerts where the view competes with the performance for your attention.

How to get to Salzburg

• By Air: Salzburg Airport with connections to major European cities
• By Train: Direct trains from Vienna, Munich and other European destinations
• By Car: Easily accessible via Austria's excellent highway system

3. Graz 

Graz stands apart from other Austrian cities. Here, buildings from the Renaissance stand next to strange modern creations like the Kunsthaus, a blob-shaped modern art museum locals call "the friendly alien." The medieval clock tower watches over red-tiled roofs from its perch on Schlossberg Hill, reached by climbing stairs, taking a glass elevator through the rock, or riding the funicular railway.

The city feels most comfortable in May, June, and September, when university students fill outdoor cafés along the Mur River, and restaurants set tables in hidden courtyards discovered only by wandering down narrow passages between old buildings.

Throughout the year, the modern Kunsthaus displays art that challenges and provokes, while the Murinsel, a floating platform in the middle of the river, hosts small concerts and exhibitions. The Opera House continues centuries of musical tradition, and open-air performances bring the Schlossberg hillside to life during summer evenings.

How to get to Graz

• By Air: Graz Airport with connections to major European cities
• By Train: Direct trains from Vienna and other Austrian cities
• By Bus: Regular coach services from neighboring countries and Austrian cities
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Tips for Traveling to Austria

VISA & ENTRY

• EU citizens: No visa needed, just an ID card
• Non-EU visitors: Schengen visa for stays under 90 days
• Apply online or at the Austrian embassy 4-6 weeks before travel

CULTURAL ETIQUETTE

• Greet with a handshake and "Grüß Gott" (hello)
• Punctuality valued; arrive on time
• Remove your shoes when entering homes

MONEY MATTERS

• • The euro (€) is the currency
• Cards widely accepted
• Carry some cash for small shops
• Tipping: round up or add 5-10%

HEALTH & SAFETY

• Emergency: 112
• No special vaccines required
• Travel insurance recommended
• Tap water is safe to drink

TRANSPORTATION

• ÖBB trains connect major cities
• Vienna: efficient U-Bahn (subway)
• Regional buses for the countryside
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