Austria attractions

Built in the early 16th century, the Landhaushof was the first Renaissance building in Graz and remains one of the most notable Renaissance buildings in central Europe. The massive structure today takes up an entire city block, but the original building containing a law firm and a chapel was much smaller. The building, which was home to the Styrian Diet, was soon enlarged by expanding into nearby buildings. Due to the expansion over the years, the Landhaushof features several different architectural styles, although great care was taken to blend the varied styles together. The building today features a main façade with elegant round-arched windows, airy porticoes and a three-story arcaded Italianate courtyard. The Landhaushof has three courtyards altogether, each hosting musical concerts and theater performances during the summer months.

Austria’s largest church, Linz’s New Cathedral (Mariendom) dominates the city skyline and offers space to host an impressive 20,000 worshippers. Despite the name, the cathedral is far from new—it celebrated its centennial in 2024. Light floods the enormous neo-Gothic structure through stained-glass windows and the Linz Window tells the city’s story.

Come summertime, Lake Attersee becomes a haven for water sports enthusiasts, hikers, and anyone who enjoys the great outdoors. Spread out over more than 18 square miles (47 square kilometers), it’s among the largest lakes in Austria, and its proximity to both Salzburg and Vienna make it an ideal destination for day trips.

Flanked by the Carpathian Mountains of southern Austria, Lake Wörthersee is a ribbon of water stretching from the glamorous town of Velden in the west to the city of Klagenfurt in the east. Known as one of Austria’s warmest and cleanest lakes, Wörthersee draws travelers wanting to swim in its spa-like waters and hike or cycle its shores.

Located in Salzburg Old Town, the Salzburg Museum of Natural History (Salzburg Haus der Natur) is the city’s most popular museum. Wander its diverse displays to see models of dinosaurs; journey around the human body and try hands-on experiments at the Science Centre; and admire marine creatures and reptiles in the Aquarium and Reptile Zoo.

The Salzburg Museum incorporates seven branches, including the Toy Museum (Spielzeug Museum) and Museum of Natural History (Haus der Natur), but its main branch is at the Neue Residenz and is connected by subterranean tunnel to the adjacent Panorama Museum. The underground passage itself features a section of Roman wall covered with murals and models of the city at important points in its development but the main attraction of the Panorama Museum is the cyclorama of the city. Painted in 1829 by Johann Michael Sattler, the masterpiece painting-in-the-round is supremely impressive for its fine architectural and topographical detail and is 26 meters (85 feet) in diameter. Visitors stand on a central platform, from here telescopes and computer screens highlight various areas of the city, providing detailed descriptions of 19th-century Salzburg.

If you love chocolate, there's one Vienna destination made for you—Chocolate Museum Vienna. With your ticket, discover how chocolate is made, and uncover the history of this delicacy, from the Maya to the Austrian royals. If you have a sweet tooth, don't miss a chocolate or praline-making workshop, and take home your tasty creations.

An architectural wonder, this 325-foot (100-meter) tower is one of the world’s highest wooden viewing platforms, offering panoramas of Lake Wörthersee and Austria’s mountainous Carinthia region. You can climb its 441 steps, ride the elevator, soar across the Fly 100 zipline, or slide down the helter-skelter-style slide in 20 seconds.

A world away from the magnificent palaces and regal monuments of Vienna’s historic center, the Museum of Illusions Vienna (Museum der Illusionen) makes a fun addition to any sightseeing tour. The museum is filled with weird and wonderful illusions, puzzles, and mirrors that are entertaining for all ages.

The focal point of Vienna’s Volksgarten park, the Temple of Theseus is a 19th-century copy of the Temple of Hephaestus in the ancient Agora of Athens. Originally built to house Canova’s Theseus and the Minotaur statue—now located in the Art History Museum—the temple is still used to showcase rotating works of art.

Austria’s largest national park, National Park Hohe Tauern runs from the Brenner Pass in the west to the Grossglockner mountain in the east. The park unfurls across three southern Austria provinces in a swath of mountains, lakes, glaciers, waterfalls, and forests that beckon walkers, skiers, and nature and outdoor enthusiasts.

Situated inside the upper floors of the Salzburg Cathedral, this museum features a permanent exhibit of religious items, primarily from the 8th through 18th centuries. Objects on display include reliquary crosses, a monstrance, a Roman missal, and an intriguing Cabinet of Curiosities. The Cathedral Museum’s interiors are also quite impressive, with chessboard-style marble floors and ornately plastered domed interiors.

See the world in small at Klagenfurt’s Minimundus, a model village near the lake. Educational and enjoyable for all ages, the mostly outdoor park showcases replica landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, CN Tower, and St. Peter’s Basilica, all recreated in accurate detail. Miniature steam trains, ships in ponds, and interactive displays add to the fun.

In the heart of Salzburg Old Town, the Toy Museum (Spielzeug Museum provides the respite traveling parents have been longing for. Crammed full of retro and modern toys, with films, trains, dolls’ houses, dressing up, racing cars, and more, it will keep little ones happy for hours, while parents and carers unwind with a cup of tea.

A lush expanse of green on Donauinsel (Danube Island), Donaupark’s manicured gardens, tree-lined paths, and glades offer an escape from city noise that’s popular with both locals and travelers. Keeping watch over it all is the Danube Tower (Donauturm), a landmark where you’ll find an observation deck and rotating restaurant.

Tucked into Salzburg Old Town, the Traklhaus is a tiny museum celebrating the 20th-century Austrian poet Georg Trakl, one of the city’s most celebrated sons. Set in the family house where Trakl was born in 1887, the museum charts his life and work with photos, diaries, and extracts from his poems.

The rock-and-roll-themed Hard Rock Café outpost in Vienna offers a bold art deco bar, outdoor terrace, and spacious dining room and concert venue—all decorated with the music memorabilia for which the restaurant chain is famous. Enjoy signature cocktails or tuck into a meal of American crowd-pleasers mixed with Viennese classics.

Crescent-shaped Lake Mondsee is often regarded as the gateway to the spectacular alpine scenery of the Salzkammergut (Austrian Lake District west of Salzburg, and is surrounded by the snow-topped peaks of the Austrian Alps. It is a perfect summer base for hiking, biking, sailing, fishing and kayaking.

Set in a 17th-century building adorned with mosaic “tongue-beards,” the Museum of Modern Art Salzburg Rupertinum (Museum der Moderne Rupertinum) was Salzburg’s original modern art gallery. Since the opening of its larger sibling, the Museum of Modern Art Salzburg Mönchsberg, it has hosted rotating exhibitions, often graphics or photography.

Austrian composer Franz Schubert spent the last few weeks of his life in this apartment in 1828, completing a series of piano sonatas and his last work, Der Hirt auf dem Felsen (The Shepherd on the Rock) just before his death. The 2-room apartment is now the poignant Schubert Sterbewohnung museum, which documents his final days.

Vienna’s first museum dedicated purely to photography, the WestLicht Center for Photography has an eclectic collection that will thrill any photography buff. Visit this museum, set in a former glass factory, to admire historic cameras and equipment, and take in temporary exhibitions that highlight art photography and photojournalism.

Set along Austria’s Enns River, the 13th-century Trautenfels Castle (Schloss Trautenfels) is today part of the country’s oldest museum, the Universalmuseum Joanneum. Admire the castle’s marble hall and 16th-century frescoes as you explore exhibits highlighting the history of the Liezen District, its local landscape, and culture.