Independent travel guide
Austria, explained by people who live here
Where to go, what it costs and when to book. Straight advice on Vienna, Salzburg, the Alps and the lakes, including what you can safely skip.
Most first trips to Austria combine Vienna with Salzburg and one mountain or lake region. This guide helps you choose which one, get there by train or car, and plan it without paying tourist prices for everything.
Where to go in Austria
Vienna
Coffee houses, Habsburg palaces and public transport so good that a car is only a burden. Plan at least three days.
Salzburg
The old town is small enough for one day. Stay longer and you can add the lakes, the salt mines or a day trip to Berchtesgaden.
Tyrol
Innsbruck, ski resorts and high valleys. From the city centre, the Nordkette cable cars take you to more than 2,000 metres.
Salzkammergut
Hallstatt is the photo everyone wants, so go before 9am or stay the night. The lakes around it are much quieter.
Styria
Graz, pumpkin seed oil and the wine roads near the Slovenian border. This is where we live, so expect the details.
Carinthia
The south side of the Alps, with lakes that are warm enough for a proper swim in July and August.
When to visit Austria
There is no bad month, but each season suits a different trip. Pick the season first, then the region.
- May, June and September are the best months for a city trip combined with the mountains: long days, open mountain huts and fewer tour groups than in high summer.
- July and August are for lakes and hiking. Vienna gets hot then, and quite a few family-run restaurants close for their summer break.
- Autumn is harvest time in the wine regions of Styria and the Wachau, and the season for new wine at the Heuriger (wine taverns).
- Winter means Christmas markets from mid-November and ski season from December. January and early March are cheaper than the Christmas and February school holidays.
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Austria, season by season
Christmas markets
Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck and the smaller ones worth the trip. Some markets are mostly punch stalls; we tell you which.
Winter and skiing
Ski areas for beginners and experts, what a week costs, and what to do if half your group doesn’t ski.
Summer in the mountains
Day hikes, cable cars and huts where you can eat on the way. Most huts are open from June to early October.
Before you go
Getting around by train
ÖBB trains link all the big cities: Vienna to Salzburg takes about two and a half hours. Book early for Sparschiene fares.
Driving and the vignette
Motorways require a vignette (toll sticker). The digital one bought online only becomes valid 18 days later, so buy early.
Tipping, cash and costs
Round up or add 5 to 10 percent, and say the total when you pay instead of leaving coins on the table.
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About this guide
About Austria is written in Styria by the team behind AllesOverOostenrijk.nl and AllesOverWenen.nl, two Dutch-language guides read by more than a million people a year. We take our own photos, visit the places we write about and say so when something is overpriced or overrated.
Prices and opening hours change. Every practical info box shows when we last checked it.