Austria offers scenic beauty.
When the snow melts, the Austrian Alps emerge with flowerfilled meadows
Austria might be a petite country, but it packs in the mountains and lakes, rolling vineyards and sophisticated cities. Its long history is highlighted in medieval villages, elegant Renaissance-era towns and imperial palaces, but you’ll also find plenty of contemporary style, lively street markets, eclectic neighbourhoods and lip-smacking cuisine.
1 COFFEE HOUSES
Vienna is crammed with palaces, baroque churches and art-laden museums, but enjoy your best historic moment in an imperial-era coffee house decorated with marbletopped tables, brass fittings and
chandeliers. One such gem is Café Sperl, former haunt of The Merry Widow composer Franz Lehár, where you can soak up the late 19thcentury ambience. Coffee houses serve 20-odd varieties of coffee, plus sweet temptations such as strudels and sugared pancakes.
2 SALZBURG
Salzburg’s riverside and mountainringed setting is matched by equally impressive cultural credentials. The powerful independent bishopric grew rich on salt mines and only joined Austria in 1816. Its old town is jammed with baroque-period squares and lovely gardens, all crowned by a
mighty fortress, and its connections to Mozart and The Sound of Music will entrance music-lovers of all persuasions. The surrounding Salzkammergut region provides astonishing alpine scenery.
3 SKIING
The Arlberg is a world-class ski destination, with 88 lifts linking 300 kilometres of ski fields to villages such as upmarket St Anton, romantic and cosy Lech and family-friendly Stuben. The White Ring circuit takes all day without having to do the same run twice, and the scenery is magnificent. Non-skiers can enjoy ice skating, sleigh rides, fine dining and some sophisticated shopping as snowflakes fall and fires glow.
4 INNSBRUCK
The late-medieval capital of Austria has plenty of cultural credentials and a gingerbread old town, plus an Italian-influenced love of sociable cafés and sunny terraces. Even better, there are mountains all around. The 2269-metre summit Hafelekar, the highest viewing point of the Nordkette mountain range, can be accessed by funicular and cable car. The alpine plateau around Igls above town offers flower-filled summer hikes that will make you want to yodel.
5 WINE TRAILS
Head to the vineyards and you not only get some of Austria’s prettiest landscapes and a dense concentration of medieval towns, but the chance to try excellent wine varieties such as Grüner Veltliner and Blauer Zweigelt. The historic huerigen, or wine taverns, on Vienna’s outskirts are also renowned for their atmosphere of gemütlichkeit (cordiality).