Austria
EUROPE · 6 PLACES
Austria packs Habsburg palaces, Mozart's alleyways and 3,000m glaciers into a country you can cross in four hours by train. Coffee house one morning, cable car over a turquoise lake the next.
Vienna
Imperial museums, coffee houses and a real club scene. Start here.
Salzburg
Baroque old town, fortress on a crag, Alps beginning at the edge of town.
Innsbruck
City arcades below a 2,300m ridge you reach by cable car in 25 minutes.
Hallstatt
Stay over so you get the lake village without the day-trip coaches.
Graz
Cheapest, most relaxed stop: students, Balkan food, UNESCO rooftops.
Zell am See
Lake swims, a 3,000m glacier and the Grossglockner road in one base.
One month here
Imperial museums, coffee houses and a real club scene. Start here.
Baroque old town, fortress on a crag, Alps beginning at the edge of town.
Stay over so you get the lake village without the day-trip coaches.
Lake swims, a 3,000m glacier and the Grossglockner road in one base.
City arcades below a 2,300m ridge you reach by cable car in 25 minutes.
Cheapest, most relaxed stop: students, Balkan food, UNESCO rooftops.
Three months here
Long enough for the outer districts, the Wachau and a German course.
Use it as a base for the whole Salzkammergut lake district.
Slow lake days, the salt mine and hikes into the Echerntal valley.
A full alpine season: glacier, gorges, dams and the high road.
Hike or ski from the doorstep; day trips into the Stubai and Wattens.
Cheap base for South Styrian wine country and the run to Slovenia.
Festivals worth flying for
Salzburg Festival · 17 July - 30 August 2026
Opera and theatre across the city; Jedermann on the cathedral square. Book months ahead.
Bregenz Festival · 22 July - 23 August 2026
Verdi's La traviata on a vast floating stage in Lake Constance. Returns 21 July 2027.
Donauinselfest, Vienna · 3-5 July 2026
Europe's biggest free open-air: dozens of stages on a Danube island, no ticket needed.
Vienna Ball Season · January-February
Hundreds of balls; the Opera Ball is the big one. Full evening dress is enforced.
Christmas Markets · Mid-November to 26 December
Punch, roast almonds and crafts on every major square in Vienna, Salzburg and Graz.
In an emergency
Emergency number 112
112 reaches all services in English. In the mountains dial 140 for Alpine rescue; 144 ambulance, 133 police, 122 fire. Pharmacies post the night chemist.
Language
German, with strong Austrian dialects. English is widely spoken in cities.
Money
Euro. Cards work almost everywhere, but small inns, mountain huts and sausage stands stay cash-only.
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