Austria travel guide



Austria is...
Austria isn’t...
Our Austria Vacations
Walking vacaton in the Austrian Tyrol
Beautiful mountain scenery and attractive Tyrolean villages
Austria self guided hiking vacation
A glorious mix of spectacular scenic views.
Austria yoga & walking vacation
Daily yoga, stunning alpine hiking, delicious food.
Prague to Budapest cycling vacation
A wonderfully contrasting ride through the heart of Europe
Winter walking vacation in the Austrian Tyrol
Winter walking from the northern banks of the biggest lake in Tyrol
Germany and Austria self guided walking tours
Circumnavigate Germany's highest mountain!
Germany and Austria hiking vacation, self guided
Circular trek around Mount Hochkönig and Königssee
Danube cycling vacation, self guided
Discove the compelling history of the Danube
Austrian walking vacation
Explore Austrian Alps on foot from our remote mountain home
Austria self guided cycling vacation
Discover Salzkammergut, the Austrian lake district
Austria learn to ski or splitboard vacation
Take your skiing/snowboarding to the next level!
Austria multi activity vacation
Adventurous mountain vacation in the stunning Austrian Alps
Danube self guided hiking vacation in Austria
Outstanding walking along the Blue Danube in the Wachau
Austrian winter walking vacation
Winter activities from a stunning Alpine retreat.
Austria cycling vacation, cycle the Lake District
A lovely introduction to picture-postcard Austria
Eastern Europe tour by rail
Cities, scenery & coasts: Travel from Berlin to the Balkans!
Learn to ski and yoga vacation in Austria
Ski and Snowboard in the Alps alongside daily yoga classes
European rail tour, 29 days
Tour Europe's best cities on this 29-day adventure!
Danube cycling vacation, Germany and Austria
Follow the winding route of the Danube
Easy walking vacation in Austria lake district
Gentle shoreline routes and chocolate box villages
Snowboard and yoga vacation in Austria
Snowboard and Yoga in a remote location in the Austrian Alps
Austria snow shoeing vacation
Guided snowshoe walking and winter activities in the Alps
Austrian lakes activity vacation
Self-guided walking and cycling routes in Austria
Christmas markets vacation, Central Europe
Indulge the senses by exploring the best of the festive market scene
Winter yoga and Walking Vacation
Guided winter walks and cross country skiing + daily yoga.
Vienna to Budapest cycle ride, self guided
Enjoy rides along the Danube from Austria to Hungary
Walking vacation in Austria
high peaks, remote lakes and meadows flush with wild flowers
Eastern europe by train, the Iron Curtain tour
Whizz around Europe's lesser-visited cities by rail!
Cycling vacation in the Netherlands, Germany & Austria
European cycling at its best
Austria skiing and winter activity vacation
Ski, Snowshoe & Cross Country ski in a remote mountain base
What we rate and what we don’t in Austria
Cross country skiing
Hohe Tauern National Park
Family vacations
Hiking
Salzkammergut
Tyrol
Skiing on fake snow
The Sound of Music
St Anton
Our top Austria Vacation
Austria self guided hiking vacation
A glorious mix of spectacular scenic views.
This vacation has departures every two days from May to September, please inquire for availability on all your tailormade trips.
Food, shopping and people in Austria
Eating and drinking in Austria
From a rich landscape comes a rich cuisine. Austrian’s classic dishes are based on the kinds of things that you’d want to eat having spent a day hiking: hearty, meaty, with plenty of dairy.Treat yourself to coffee (served with cream) and cake (more cream here) at 3pm – both very integral to the Austrian constitution. Then, when dinner rolls around you’ll find nothing hits the spot like Käsespätzle, which are egg noodles simply smothered with mountain cheese, or ‘Brettljause’ – a farmer’s platter with wafer thin slices of smoked meats, which beats a Ploughman’s hands down.
When it comes to drinking, Eiswein (ice wine) is a delicacy, whilst continental lagers like Bavarian weissbier – wheat beer – are consumed in abundance from attractive glass tankards. East Austrians drink their wine at Heurigers, out-of-town taverns specialising in bottles from the local wine regions.


People and Language
May God greet you: Grüße Gott (sometimes shortened to ‘sgott’)
Goodbye: Auf Wiedersehen
The bill, please: Zahlen, bitte!
Gifts & shopping
It’s not all dirndls and cowbells. After a week of wearing felt slippers in your guest house, you might be a house-shoe convert and need to buy a pair of your own – look out for slippers made using local felt. Christmas decorations make charming presents and, if you’re feeling particularly generous, you might find Swarovski crystal versions. Swarovski isn’t the only glitzy glassware manufacturer in Austria – there’s Riedel stemware, too – these high quality wine glasses grace restaurant tables across Vienna. One thing you’ll be sure to find at every airport and gift shop are Mozartkugel, chocolate and marzipan treats from Salzburg, Mozart’s hometown.

How much does it cost?
Wiener schnitzel: £10-£15
Big bag of Mozartkugel: £7.50
A brief history of Austria
Skip ahead, to Rudolph I of Germany, who ruled Austria from 1278. His house, the Habsburgs, remained in power in Austria for the next 640 years – extraordinarily, all the way up until the end of World War I. This enormous house married into many royal families across Europe. There were Habsburgs everywhere from Spain to the Netherlands. Even Marie Antoinette was one (but we’ll get to that later). In 1542, the Habsburgs became Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, and gained control of territories as far as Spain and southern Italy. Read more