Things to do in Austria

Austria runs east to west more than north to south, and that shape decides how visitors move through it. Vienna anchors the east. Salzburg sits two and a half hours west by train, and the real mountains start beyond both.

West of Salzburg

Innsbruck sits in a valley the Inn cut. It has hosted the Winter Olympics twice, in 1964 and 1976. The Golden Roof over its old town square went up around 1500, one of 2,657 gilded tiles made for an emperor's wedding.

• Innsbruck — the Nordkette cable car climbs from the old town to the ridge above it in minutes.
• Kitzbühel and Zell am See — the ski resorts east of Innsbruck, reachable by transfer from Salzburg too.
• Vorarlberg — the western tip, closer to Zurich than to Vienna, on the shore of Lake Constance.

Graz and the south

Graz is Austria's second city, about two and a half hours south of Vienna by train. Its old town joined the UNESCO list in 1999. The clock tower above it keeps its hands swapped: the long one counts hours.

Styria beyond Graz turns to vineyards, gentler country than the Alps further west.

What the country is for

Austria's trade runs on three things: imperial cities, working ski towns, and alpine lakes from Carinthia to the Salzkammergut. Skiing runs from December to March in the west. Hiking and lake swimming take over from June, while the baroque cities keep selling all year.

Practical

• Weather. Vienna and Graz reach about 25C by day in July and sit near freezing in January; Innsbruck's summer tops out closer to 19C, and its winter goes properly sub-zero.
• Getting around. The rail network runs on time. Vienna to Graz takes about two and a half hours, Vienna to Innsbruck more than four.
• Money. Euro everywhere, cards standard in cities, cash still useful at mountain huts and market stalls.
• Tipping. Round up or add five to ten per cent, said aloud when paying rather than left on the table.
• Booking ahead. Ski season fills Tyrol's hotels months out, and the Salzburg and Bregenz summer festivals sell tickets early too.