Top Things to do in Austria
Top Hotels in Austria
Top 10 Things to do in Austria, Austria
As home to majestic mountains, opulent palaces, and high culture, Austria's attractions are classically sumptuous and enduring. But beyond the waltzes, the strudels, the alpine summits, and Habsburg architecture, its modern cities are proof of just how easily Austria combines the contemporary with the historic.
Restaurants in Austria
1. Schonbrunn Palace
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 42,524 reviews
The Cultural World Heritage Site of Schönbrunn Palace is Austria's most frequently visited tourist attraction. In the palace the residential and state rooms with their original furnishings and decorations convey an authentic impression of the imperial lifestyle. The park and gardens surrounding the palace make Schönbrunn in a unique synthesis of Baroque art as well as providing a convenient and highly popular recreational area for Vienna's population.
Reviewed By vicdud - Washington DC, United States
Schonbrunn Palace was beautiful!! The classic pass gets you access to the palace, privy garden, maze, orange garden, and the gloriette; so many awesome things to see! Definitely recommend using any kind of tour guide (audio or person), helps a lot with understanding the royal family and the interior of the palace. It should take about 4 hours and there is a lot of walking involved. There is so much to see and lots of history to learn.
2. Schlossberg
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 944 reviews
Reviewed By Daveshent - Leek, United Kingdom
If in Graz this is a must, weather it is day or night it is well worth the effort of a walk to the top, the history is fascinating and the views over the city amazing.
3. Salzburger Altstadt
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 8,856 reviews
Reviewed By C671TOrickp - Calgary, Canada
Great city to walk around and enjoy the history and the sights and sounds of a wonderful old Austrian city. Lots of shops and cafes to enjoy. Some great restaurants to enjoy as well. Lots of cool passage ways to inner court yards with shopping and cafes. Take your time to enjoy this small old city.
4. Fortress Hohensalzburg Castle
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 11,689 reviews
This amazing 11th-century castle overlooks Salzburg from a hill on the outskirts of the city. Fortress Hohensalzburg is a real eye-catcher, high above the Baroque towers of the city. The castle remains a visible landmark to this day and is an unmistakable feature of Salzburg’s world-famous skyline. From afar, the mighty walls begin to reveal the history visitors experience at first hand within these sturdy defenses. Opening hours: We are open for you 365 days a year - even on public holidays! January – April and October– December: 9.00 a.m. – 5.00 p.m. May – September: 9.00 a.m. – 7.00 p.m. Advent weekends and Easter: 9.30 a.m. – 6.00 p.m. Please note: On 24th of December, we are closing at 2pm.
Reviewed By Brittany_11_10 - Los Angeles, United States
Whether you walk up the road to get to the fortress or take the funicular, visiting Fortress Hohensalzburg is a must-do/see in Salzburg. It's well worth the 13 euro or so (which includes a one-way ride on the funicular as well and a free audio tour). The fortress is very well-preserved, the audio tour and museum offer a lot of interesting history (of the region, the fortress, the rulers over various times, etc.), and the views from the top are stunning. I'd budget at least two hours, but you can easily spend more time up there. From late November to late December, they sell gluhwein, and other beverages and snacks as well.
5. Historic Center of Vienna
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 19,008 reviews
The historic centre of Vienna is rich in beautiful architecture, including Baroque castles and gardens, as well as the late-19th-century Ringstrasse lined with grand buildings, monuments and parks.
Reviewed By X1157PNdeanw - Birmingham, United Kingdom
Everything you could want from a pre Christmas trip - beautiful architechture, fantasitc places to visit (we loved watching the morning workout at the Spanish Riding School); great christmas markets and a good selection of places to eat
6. Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 9,709 reviews
Experience one of the world's foremost museums! Let yourself be enchanted by works spanning five millennia, from Ancient Egypt to the modern era. Experience unique major works by Dürer, Raphael, Titian and Velázquez as well as the world's largest collection of Bruegel paintings, all in a magnificent setting. The Kunstkammer Vienna, featuring the famous Saliera by Benvenuto Cellini, is a veritable universe of art and beauty guaranteed to transform any visit into an unforgettable experience. Included in the ticket are the collections at the Neue Burg on the opposite side of Vienna's Ringstrasse. Here you will see the instruments used by the great composers and be transported back to chivalrous times when knights held sway and tourneys and hunting shaped courtly life.
Reviewed By Ina5555 - Kyiv (Kiev), Ukraine
The museum was the main goal of my Vienna visit, but I never expected it to be such an excellent introduction into the city and palaces sculptures' motifs as well, underscoring how much power was assigned back then to the art as a means of ideological visual education. Having spent 1,5 days in the museum I have made plenty of personal discoveries and enjoyed new for me artworks (e.g. unexpected parallel to the modern popular mass culture is a 1524 'Arya Stark' self-portrait bearing uncanny resemblance, in fact Parmigianino's enchanting masterpiece). The discoveries haven't stopped after the museum visit ended, because the next day during sightseeing I realized I recognize many of the city and its palaces sculptures' motifs and whatever I used to know about the big name old masters the most influential of them in Vienna must be Luca Giordano's The Fall of the Rebel Angels, whenever I saw its impressive replicated Laocoon-like convulsion-wriggled figures conveying the ideals of Counter-Reformation to the empire subjects on the city streets. Just walking the city you can recognize in the city sculptures' many familiar motifs, not only Biblical but antique as well (Hercules lifting Antaeus, Amazons, etc). Practicalities of the museum visit: the air-conditioning wasn't felt at all in the big inner rooms with Roman numerals, I slightly felt it in the small outer rooms with Arabic numerals (as of 14th and 15th of July). Six or seven rooms were entirely closed for reconstruction during my two-day visit. For lockers you need either a 1 or 2 euro coin, but there's a manned storage facility as well. Backpacks have to be left in a locker, normal shoulder bags are OK. Photo of the permanent exhibition without a flash is allowed. Temporary exhibition: Yan van Eyck "Als Ich Can". Probably I somehow unfortunately missed it. In the room dedicated to the special exhibition (0.5 floor, the same floor as the Kunstkammer, Egyptian and Antique collections - beware indeed almost no English translations of the exhibits, an audio guide cannot make up for all of them; the Egyptian rooms maintain specific humidity level) I saw only few works by the painter, and few works by his contemporaries like Rogier van der Weyden. The museum building (as well as the whole square) is a stunning art object in its own right, specifically built to showcase the Habsburg art treasuries, its highlights are covered by audio guide, including Klimt, Munkacsy contributions. Seeing the interiors I couldn't help but felt as the Mask film protagonist having to recover my awestruck jaw from the floor. Really a mind-boggling shrine of a high art which symbols and messages are probably half-obscure nowadays.
7. Postlingbergbahn
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 684 reviews
Reviewed By DragoDer - Murska Sobota, Slovenia
If you want to explore Linz, you have to start with the Postlingbergbahn. On Saturday it was a lot of visitors and the train was 120% full. The ride with this train is an excellent experience. And the view on the top ot the hill is great.
8. Innsbrucker Nordkettenbahnen
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 4,348 reviews
PANORAMIC MOUNTAIN The mountain at the heart of Innsbruck. The Nordkette is part of Austria’s largest nature park, the Karwendel Nature Park, and can be reached directly from Innsbruck city centre in just a few minutes! The breathtaking 360° view leaves a lasting impression, with the capital of the Alps on one side and Tyrol’s most extensive conservation area on the other. The Hungerburg funicular enables visitors to reach the Hungerburg in just 8 minutes. There are several stops along the way including the Alpine Zoo, which is a favorite among families. After reaching the Hungerburg station, a short walk across Hermann Buhl Square, named after the world-famous Austrian mountaineer, leads visitors to the cable car station. The Seegrube, at an altitude of 6,250 ft invites visitors and locals alike to relax, unwind and take in nature at its very best. Lying at an impressive 7,401 ft, the Hafelekar offers the most spectacular viewing experience.
Reviewed By rossm679 - Brighton, United Kingdom
Innsbruck is hemmed in on all four sides by the Alps, unfeasibly close, impossibly steep. And about forty minutes from the centre of town, by way of one funicular and two cable cars you are transported to what seems like the roof of the world. Make an amazing day of it, even as a non-skier, plenty of places to investigate at each stage of the ascent, pretty villages, the Alpine zoo, nice cafes and restaurants for a full and hearty Tyrol meal or a beer and a slice of apfelstrudel. And of course views to absolutely die for. Number one thing to do in Innsbruck by a country mile - and fully included in the excellent Innsbruck card. I really can't recommend this trip highly enough, and can't wait to do it again.
9. Hallstatt Skywalk "Welterbeblick"
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,284 reviews
Experience a bird's eye view of Hallstatt! The new viewing platform extends 12 metres from the mountainside and 360 meters above the ground.
Reviewed By Chicaree - Chicago, United States
There would be no reason to go to Hallstatt & not take the funicular up the mountain, unless of course, you are in shape to walk up. We are not, so we rode the funicular to the viewing platform joining the small crowd waiting patiently for their turn to snap perfect Instagram shots & gaze out at the spectacular views of the Hallstätter See & the breathtaking backdrop of still-snow-covered-in-May mountains. The wonder of nature’s majesty is evident in this peaceful place, the smooth as glass See (Lake), the endless mountains that fringe the view in every direction & fast running streams creating the perfect relaxation playlist. The price of your ticket is two-way, stop at the Information Center to get a discount coupon. Parking is the most challenging aspect of visiting Hallstatt, there is ZERO street parking, there are designated lots showing the number of open spaces available, but the day we visited, our lot showed 20+ available & there were 3. We got lucky & found a space, but driving a large vehicle is not advised, the cost to park is very reasonable, remember to take your ticket & pay at the machine before driving to the exit. We also did the Salt Mine Tour - cannot recommend, it didn’t measure up to other Salt mine tours we have done, but many people in our group enjoyed it so that is something for you to research & consider. You do not have to take the Salt Mine tour, it is a separate price, but if the weather conditions are favorable, do not miss the incredible views from the Skywalk platform & Cafe Restaurant.
10. Designer Outlet Parndorf
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 942 reviews
Designer brand shopping in more than 160 exclusive designer stores just 30 minutes away from Vienna and 25 minutes from Bratislava. From iconic fashion brands like Prada, Armani, Bally and Gucci to sporting labels like Nike and Adidas and high-street favourites, like Tommy Hilfiger, Polo Ralph Lauren, Guess, Diesel and Desigual - You can find your favourite labels with price reductions of up to 70%, all year round, and further discounts at our annual summer and winter sales. Our selection of carefully designed services and amenities include - Shopping until 8 pm from Monday to Wednesday - Shopping until 9 pm on Thursday and Friday - Daily shuttle bus from Vienna - Global Blue Tax Refund office to claim back your tax - Modern centre information desk with multi-lingual staff - Restaurants and cafes serving local and European cuisine - Specially designed children's play areas - Free and convenient parking - Exciting events like late night shopping event in March, August and November
Reviewed By kalincho_87 - Sofia, Bulgaria
Nice place where you can buy products from premium brands with really good discounts. Parking is free of charge. You'll need at least a couple of hours just to make one fast tour.
