Innsbruck
Picturesquely perched on a hill and set among beautiful gardens, this Renaissance pile was acquired in 1564 by Archduke Ferdinand II, then ruler of Tyrol,鈥
Must-see attractions in Austria
Vienna
Vienna's foremost opera and ballet venue, the neo-Renaissance Staatsoper, is one of the finest concert halls in the world. Even if you can't get tickets鈥
Salzburg
A prince-archbishop with a wicked sense of humour, Markus Sittikus, built Schloss Hellbrunn in the early 17th century as a summer palace and an escape鈥
Vienna
Vienna鈥檚 Gothic masterpiece Stephansdom 鈥 or Steffl (Little Stephan), as it鈥檚 ironically nicknamed 鈥 is Vienna's pride and joy. A church has stood here鈥
Salzburg
Salzburg's most visible icon is this mighty, 900-year-old clifftop fortress, one of the biggest and best preserved in Europe. It's easy to spend half a鈥
Salzburg & Salzburgerland
Billed as the world鈥檚 largest accessible ice caves, Eisriesenwelt is a glittering ice empire spanning 30,000 sq metres and 42km of narrow passages鈥
Vienna
The MuseumsQuartier is a remarkable ensemble of museums, cafes, restaurants and bars inside former imperial stables designed by Fischer von Erlach. This鈥
Vienna
The Hofburg's Kaiserliche Schatzkammer contains secular and ecclesiastical treasures (including devotional images and altars, particularly from the鈥
Vienna
Nothing symbolises Austria's resplendent cultural heritage more than its Hofburg, home base of the Habsburgs from 1273 to 1918. The oldest section is the鈥
Vienna
The Habsburgs' opulent summer palace is now a Unesco World Heritage site. Of its 1441 rooms, 40 are open to the public; the Imperial Tour takes you into鈥
Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna
Vienna
A highlight of any trip to Vienna is a visit to the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, brimming with works by Europe鈥檚 finest painters, sculptors and鈥
Graz
Designed by British architects Peter Cook and Colin Fournier, this world-class contemporary-art space is known as the 'friendly alien' by locals. The鈥
Hohe Tauern National Park
Enshrouded in mist, arched by a rainbow, frozen solid 鈥 this waterfall always looks extraordinary, no matter what time of year. The Wasserfallweg 鈥
Innsbruck
Grabbing attention with its pearly white facade and cupolas, the Hofburg was built as a castle for Archduke Sigmund the Rich in the 15th century, expanded鈥
Innsbruck
Innsbruck鈥檚 pride and joy is the Gothic Hofkirche, one of Europe鈥檚 finest royal court churches. It was commissioned in 1553 by Ferdinand I, who enlisted鈥
Vienna
The Kaiserappartements, once the official living quarters of Franz Josef I and Empress Elisabeth, are dazzling in their chandelier-lit opulence. The Sisi鈥
Hohe Tauern National Park
Bad Gastein鈥檚 star attraction is this 341m waterfall, which rages over rugged cliff faces and through thick forest to tumble into three turquoise pools鈥
The Salzkammergut
This castle, set just beyond the lake's edge and reached by a walkway, is believed to have been built on the ruins of a Roman fortress. It dates from 909鈥
The Danube Valley
Of the many abbeys in Austria, Stift Melk is the most famous. Possibly Lower Austria's finest, the monastery church dominates the complex with its twin鈥
Vienna
Vienna's neo-Gothic City Hall, completed in 1883 by Friedrich von Schmidt (who designed Cologne Cathedral) and modelled on Flemish city halls, with lacy鈥
Vienna
The great composer spent close to three happy and productive years at this residence between 1784 and 1787. Exhibits include copies of music scores and鈥
Vienna
Once used as the Habsburgs' imperial apartments for guests, the Albertina is now a repository for an exceptional collection of graphic art. The permanent鈥
Vienna
Built between 1716 and 1739, after a vow by Karl VI at the end of the 1713 plague, Vienna's finest baroque church rises at the southeast corner of鈥
Vienna
Four billion years of natural history are covered at Vienna's Naturhistorisches Museum. Among its minerals, fossils and dinosaur bones are exceptional鈥
Salzburg
The crowning glory of Salzburg's DomQuartier, the Residenz is where the prince-archbishops held court until Salzburg became part of the Habsburg Empire in鈥
Vienna
In 1897, 19 progressive artists swam away from the mainstream K眉nstlerhaus artistic establishment to form the Wiener Secession (Vienna Secession). Among鈥
Innsbruck
Innsbruck's golden wonder and most distinctive landmark is this Gothic oriel, built for Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (1459鈥1519), lavishly festooned鈥
Vienna
An 1844 Biedermeier building houses Austria's literature museum, which opened in 2015. It contains books, manuscripts, letters, photos, illustrations and鈥
Linz
The technology, science and digital media of the future are in the spotlight at Linz' biggest crowd-puller. In the labs you can interact with robots,鈥
Graz
Graz' elegant palace was created for the Eggenberg dynasty in 1625 by Giovanni Pietro de Pomis (1565鈥1633) at the request of Johann Ulrich (1568鈥1634)鈥
Vienna
The Haus der Musik explains the world of sound and music to adults and children alike (in English and German) in an amusing and interactive way. Exhibits鈥
The Salzkammergut
Climb to the Dachstein caves (Dachsteinh枚hlen) and you鈥檒l find yourself in a strange world of ice and subterranean hollows, extending 80km in some places鈥
Tyrol
Lifted high on a rocky crag like an offering to the alpine peaks that surround it, Kufstein's turreted castle provides a fascinating insight into the town鈥
Hohe Tauern National Park
One of the high points (in every sense) of the Grossglockner Road, the 2369m 碍补颈蝉别谤-贵谤补苍锄-闯辞蝉别蹿蝉-贬枚丑别 viewpoint takes its name from the Austrian emperor鈥
Tyrol
An easygoing family hike is the 5km (approximately three-hour) loop through the dramatic 200m-high Rosengartenschlucht, where boarded walkways make for a鈥
The Salzkammergut
A double act that combines with one of Austria鈥檚 most unusual and refreshing museums, the Museum for Sanitary Objects (Klo & So), the K-Hof museum complex鈥
Graz
Rising to 473m, Schlossberg is the site of the original fortress where Graz was founded and is marked by the city's most visible icon 鈥 the Uhrturm. Its鈥
Graz
If you have a passion for armour and weapons, you'll especially enjoy the Landeszeughaus, where more than 30,000 pieces of glistening weaponry are housed鈥
Salzburg & Salzburgerland
During Salzburg鈥檚 princely heyday, the sale of salt filled its coffers. Today, at Austria鈥檚 biggest show mine, you can slip into a boiler suit and descend鈥
Vienna
Three Neue Burg museums can be visited on one ticket. The Sammlung Alter Musik Instrumente (Collection of Ancient Musical Instruments) contains a鈥
