It's a beautiful Alpine nation with plenty of opportunities for snow sports in the winter and hiking in the summer. It also has several great city break destinations. If you want to visit multiple parts of Austria, I would recommend travelling around by train. The trains there are usually efficient, rarely busy, and give you the chance to see amazing mountainous landscapes. And it's the most environmentally-friendly option!
One of the best things about Austria is how close it is to so many other European countries. In fact, it borders eight of them! This means there are plenty of opportunities to take multi country trips. I'll give some recommendations on which destinations to combine.
So, here is my list of top five places to visit in Austria:
1) Vienna
The capital city Vienna is obviously a must see when visiting Austria. This is a place filled with culture, history and stunning architecture. My personal favourite attraction when I went was the Belvedere Palace (pictured above), where you can see many notable works of art, including The Kiss by Gustav Klimt. The Schönnbrunn Palace is another interesting (but busy!) place to visit.
Where to go next: It's easy to combine a trip to Vienna with trips to various places in Eastern Europe. Slovakia's capital city Bratislava is less than an hour away on the train and is an ideal place for a day trip. There are also direct trains to cities in Hungary and Czechia.
Read more about Vienna here!
2) Salzburg
Salzburg is Austria's musical city, being both the birthplace of Mozart and the setting of the musical The Sound of Music! I only had a day or two to spend there, but I made sure to go on the Sound of Music tour, which takes you around the sites where the film was made in Salzburg and the surrounding area. It was an experience I would definitely recommend!
Where to go next: Although in The Sound of Music the Von Trapp family are shown escaping from the Nazis over the mountains to Switzerland, this was very inaccurate geographically, as Switzerland is quite a distance from Salzburg. They would have actually ended up in Germany! So if you want to add a stop in another country on to your trip to Salzburg, it's a good idea to look at nearby destinations in the south of Germany, such as Munich.
Read more about Salzburg here!
Named for its lake which is shaped like the moon, Mondsee is a charming town near Salzburg. I visited it on the Sound of Music tour, as the wedding scene was filmed in the church there. The beautiful lake is popular with holidaymakers, as are the many cafés where you can try traditional Austrian cakes!
Where to go next: Salzburg is the obvious choice!
Read more about Mondsee here!
Where to go next: Although in The Sound of Music the Von Trapp family are shown escaping from the Nazis over the mountains to Switzerland, this was very inaccurate geographically, as Switzerland is quite a distance from Salzburg. They would have actually ended up in Germany! So if you want to add a stop in another country on to your trip to Salzburg, it's a good idea to look at nearby destinations in the south of Germany, such as Munich.
Read more about Salzburg here!
3) Mondsee
Named for its lake which is shaped like the moon, Mondsee is a charming town near Salzburg. I visited it on the Sound of Music tour, as the wedding scene was filmed in the church there. The beautiful lake is popular with holidaymakers, as are the many cafés where you can try traditional Austrian cakes!
Where to go next: Salzburg is the obvious choice!
Read more about Mondsee here!
4) Innsbruck
Innsbruck is well known as a base for skiing holidays, but it's also great for city breaks. With lots of colourful buildings and snowy mountains, it's a beautiful place to explore on foot. My favourite parts from my trip there were the Goldenes Dachl (a golden roof) and the Hofgarten (pictured above). I saw an adorable red squirrel there!
Where to go next: Innsbruck spoils you for choice if you're looking to take a multi country holiday. Southern Germany and the region of South Tyrol in northern Italy are short distances away, and the city's position in the west of Austria means that it only takes a couple of hours to get to Switzerland on the train. After my first stay in Innsbruck, I chose to explore two countries I hadn't visited before. First I caught the train to the small Swiss town of Sargans, and the following day, I took the bus to the capital city of Liechtenstein, Vaduz. I stopped in Innsbruck again on my way back. That trip was one of the highlights of my Year Abroad!
Read more about Innsbruck, Sargans and Vaduz here!
5) Kärnten
The final place in my list is not a city or a town but an entire region of Austria. Maybe I'm biased because this is where I used to live! But Kärnten, also known as Carinthia, is definitely a great place to visit, with plenty of castles, lakes and mountains to explore. It has two main cities: Klagenfurt and Villach (pictured above). Villach is quite a fascinating place as it is right next to the borders with Slovenia and Italy. This means that it is the meeting point of the three main cultures of Europe: Germanic, Slavic and Latin.
Where to go next: Slovenia and Italy are the obvious choices! From Villach train station, you can take direct trains to the beautiful Italian cities of Udine and Venice. It is also worth noting that from Venezia Mestre station on the Venetian mainland, it is possible to travel to cities all over Italy. So you only need two train journeys to get from Villach to destinations such as Florence and Rome!
Read more about Kärnten here!
So that concludes my short guide to travel in Austria and beyond. It's definitely a great country to visit for those of us with chronic Wanderlust!
Check out the rest of my Travel Tips here!
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