On the sunny slopes of the Hungerburg plateau, surrounded by snow-capped Alpine peaks, the Alpine Zoo Innsbruck (Alpenzoo Innsbruck) is a unique wildlife reserve with a spectacular setting. Devoted to protecting native Tyrolean wildlife, the zoo is home to more than 2,000 animals, with over 150 different Alpine species represented.
Standing proud on the edge of the Schlossberg hill and park, the Graz Clock Tower (Grazer Uhrturm) is a city icon. Between a neat triangular roof and a wooden gallery that once served as a place for volunteers to watch for fire, its four faces tell the time in an unusual fashion: The long hand marks hours and the shorthand minutes.
Stretching east of Salzburg, the Austrian Lake District—the Salzkammergut—is home to some of Austria’s most stunning scenery. This is an idyllic spot for a summer vacation, with picturesque alpine villages, lush green valleys framed by snow-dusted peaks, and dozens of glittering lakes. These dazzling landscapes, coupled with thousands of years of salt-mining heritage, have earned the Hallstatt-Dachstein region UNESCO World Heritage status.
Gaining a reputation as “the” cultural hotspot in Graz, the Joanneum Quarter links the city’s historic museum buildings and library from a modern plaza created in the city’s old town in 2011. Escalators sweep visitors up from the plaza to different museums that showcase art, history, science, and literature.
Silent Night (Stille Nacht in German is one of the world’s favorite Christmas carols. And priest Joseph Mohr and organist Franz Xaver Gruber composed it in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, a little town near Salzburg. The Silent Night Chapel (Stille Nacht Kapelle, built on the spot where the magic happened, commemorates their work.
The largest outdoor adventure park in Austria and one of the biggest in all of Europe, Area 47 offers visitors extreme adventure and adrenaline-fueled activities in a safe environment. You can journey through gorges, into deep caves, and through wild white-water rapids, and even transform yourself into a human cannonball.
Situated in south Salzburg in the Hellbrunn Palace (Schloss Hellbrunn estate, Salzburg Zoo—often called the Tiergarten Hellbrunn—houses around 1,400 animals from Eurasia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas. Around 300,000 people visit a year to view the animals and enjoy the other offerings, such as educational programs and events for kids.
Perched above Austria’s forested Inntal Valley, 16th-century Tratzberg Castle is one of the Tirol’s most impressive Renaissance and Gothic castles. Guided tours of this one-time defensive outpost take you on a journey through its history, and the lives of the Habsburg emperors and medieval merchants who once lived here.
Located in the east wing of Salzburg's Old Residence (Alte Residenz), where Austria’s prince-archbishops once lived, the Residence Gallery (Residenzgalerie) is now home to the state of Salzburg’s painting collection. Step inside to see an impressive array of European art dating from the 16th to the 19th centuries, including paintings by the likes of Rubens and Rembrandt.
Founded in 1823 and brimming with treasures relating to Tyrolean history, cultural heritage, and art, the Tyrolean State Museum (Tiroler Landesmuseum) is Innsbruck’s most notable museum. Named after Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the sprawling Ferdinandeum is just one of five properties managed by the Tyrolean State Museum.
Graz City Hall sits in the heart of the Hauptplatz, flaunting a handsome 19th-century façade that masks 16th-century roots. Today, the building is the mayor’s seat, serving mainly as a city administration office, although it also has a sideline as a wedding venue. You can often see brides and grooms dressed in their finery at the hall’s doors.
Opened in 2007, the award-winning Salzburg Museum unpacks Salzburg’s history as well as its cultural and musical heritage across six sites in the city. Its main venue is the New Residential Palace (Neue Residenz in Salzburg’s Mozartplatz, which invites visitors to trace the city’s history through artworks, artifacts, and multimedia content.
Devoted to the world of hearing, Audioversum—Science Center is a high-tech, interactive, family-friendly museum. Walk through core exhibits like a giant 3D ear and a virtual reality sound labyrinth, try games to test your hearing, and experience the soundproof Scream Box to measure the volume of a shout.
Karwendel Alpine Park (Alpenpark Karwendel) sprawls over 270 square miles (700 square kilometers), making it the largest nature park in Austria. The park is made up of 11 protected areas, characterized by wild rivers, ancient forests, and rugged peaks, which visitors can experience on hikes and tours.
One of Austria’s most important baroque palaces, Eggenberg Palace is a must for Graz visitors. Created in the 17th century along with elegant gardens, the site was once home to Austria’s influential Eggenberg dynasty. Today, tours cover the curiosities of the state rooms and their frescoes, plus stories about the Eggenberg family.
With the mountains always in the backdrop, Innsbruck Old Town (Altstadt) is a lively, picturesque part of town, which has history, too. Emperor Maximilian I housed his Imperial court here in the 15th century, leaving a legacy of landmarks including the famous copper-tiled Golden Roof. This jumble of cobbled streets beside the River Inn is crammed with Tyrolean boutiques, cafés, and souvenir shops.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
