Austria · Local picks
100+ Places to Visit in Austria
These are our picks across Austria, from grand coffeehouses and palaces to wine taverns, lakes and mountain huts. Opening hours change with the seasons, so check before you go.
Places to Visit in Vienna
Arts and Culture
- Schönbrunn Palace (Hietzing)
The Habsburg summer palace with imperial rooms, vast gardens and the Gloriette viewpoint. - Belvedere (Landstrasse)
Baroque palaces housing the world's largest Klimt collection, including The Kiss. - Kunsthistorisches Museum (Innere Stadt)
One of Europe's great old master galleries, with a café beneath a grand dome. - Hofburg and Sisi Museum (Innere Stadt)
The imperial winter palace, where the apartments and the Sisi Museum tell the story of the empress. - Vienna State Opera (Innere Stadt)
World-class opera, with standing places sold on the day for budget-minded music lovers. - St Stephen's Cathedral (Stephansplatz)
The Gothic heart of Vienna, with a patterned tiled roof and towers to climb. - Hundertwasserhaus (Landstrasse)
A wildly colourful apartment block with wavy floors and trees growing from its balconies. - Leopold Museum (MuseumsQuartier)
The great collection of Egon Schiele and Viennese modernism in a lively museum courtyard.
Cafés
- Café Central (Innere Stadt)
A vaulted grand café once frequented by Freud and Trotsky, perfect for a melange and strudel. - Café Hawelka (Innere Stadt)
A smoky-walled, wonderfully worn family café famous for its warm Buchteln buns. - Café Sperl (Mariahilf)
A nineteenth century coffeehouse with billiard tables and unchanged interiors. - Demel (Kohlmarkt)
The old imperial confectioner, with cakes made behind a glass wall.
Restaurants
- Figlmüller (Innere Stadt)
The classic stop for a Wiener Schnitzel that hangs over the edge of the plate. - Bitzinger Würstelstand Albertina (Albertinaplatz)
A famous sausage stand behind the opera, ideal after a late performance. - Plachutta Wollzeile (Innere Stadt)
Tafelspitz served the traditional way, in copper pots of broth with apple horseradish. - Gasthaus Pöschl (Innere Stadt)
A cosy, honest Beisl tucked into a quiet square, serving Viennese classics. - Mayer am Pfarrplatz (Heiligenstadt)
A Heuriger wine tavern in the house where Beethoven once lived, among the vineyards. - Schweizerhaus (Prater)
A huge beer garden famous for roast pork knuckle and Czech beer.
Shopping and Markets
- Naschmarkt (Wieden)
Vienna's best known market, with food stalls, small restaurants and a Saturday flea market. - Brunnenmarkt (Ottakring)
A long, lively street market where locals shop, with Turkish and Balkan food stalls around Yppenplatz.
Nature and Outdoors
- Prater and the Giant Ferris Wheel (Leopoldstadt)
A huge park with a funfair, chestnut avenues and the wheel from 1897. - Kahlenberg (Döbling)
A Vienna Woods hilltop with views across the city and the Danube, reached by bus and vineyard paths.
Bars and Nightlife
- Loos American Bar (Innere Stadt)
A tiny jewel box of a cocktail bar designed by Adolf Loos in 1908. - Strandbar Herrmann (Landstrasse)
A deckchair beach bar on the Danube Canal for long summer evenings.
Events
- Christkindlmarkt am Rathausplatz (Innere Stadt)
The big Christmas market in front of the City Hall, with lights, mulled wine and a skating path.
Things to Do
- Zentralfriedhof (Simmering)
A vast, peaceful cemetery with the graves of Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms and Strauss.
Stays
- Hotel Sacher Wien (Innere Stadt)
The grand hotel opposite the opera, home of the original Sachertorte.
Places to Visit in Salzburg
Arts and Culture
- Hohensalzburg Fortress (Altstadt)
A vast medieval fortress above the city, reached by funicular, with sweeping views. - Mozart's Birthplace (Getreidegasse)
The house where Mozart was born, now a museum of his early life and instruments. - Mirabell Palace and Gardens (Neustadt)
Free, formal gardens with fountains and statues, famous from The Sound of Music. - St Peter's Cemetery and Catacombs (Altstadt)
An atmospheric old cemetery with chapels cut into the cliff face. - Hellbrunn Palace and Trick Fountains (Hellbrunn)
A playful archbishop's palace with surprise water jets that soak visitors. - Museum der Moderne Mönchsberg (Mönchsberg)
A modern art museum on the cliff with one of the best terraces over the old town.
Restaurants
- Augustiner Bräu Kloster Mülln (Mülln)
A monastery brewery where you fill a stone mug yourself and eat in a chestnut beer garden. - St Peter Stiftskulinarium (Altstadt)
A historic restaurant in the abbey walls, known for its Mozart dinner concerts. - Bosna Grill Balkan Grill (Getreidegasse)
A tiny hatch off Getreidegasse selling the spicy Bosna sausage Salzburg loves.
Cafés
- Café Tomaselli (Alter Markt)
One of Austria's oldest coffeehouses, with a cake tray brought to your table. - Café Konditorei Fürst (Brodgasse)
The confectioner that invented the original Mozartkugel chocolate. - Café Bazar (Rudolfskai)
A riverside café with chandeliers and views across to the old town.
Shopping and Markets
- Grünmarkt (Universitätsplatz)
A daily market for fruit, pretzels and local snacks behind Mozart's Birthplace. - Schrannenmarkt (Mirabellplatz)
A Thursday farmers' market where locals stock up on cheese, bread and smoked meats.
Events
- Salzburg Festival (Festival district)
Opera, theatre and concerts at the highest level from late July to August. - Salzburg Christkindlmarkt (Domplatz)
An Advent market around the cathedral with choirs, crafts and warm drinks.
Nature and Outdoors
- Kapuzinerberg (Steingasse)
A quiet wooded hill with a monastery and an uncrowded view back across the domes. - Untersberg Cable Car (Grödig)
A cable car to a high plateau with Alpine views on the edge of the city.
Things to Do
- Eisriesenwelt (Werfen)
The largest ice cave in the world, a short train ride south, open in the warmer months. - Salt Mine Hallein (Bad Dürrnberg)
Miners' slides and an underground salt lake on a tour below the German border.
Bars and Nightlife
- Die Weisse (Rupertgasse)
A brewery pub making its own wheat beers, popular with locals and students.
Stays
- Hotel Sacher Salzburg (Rudolfskai)
A riverside classic with fortress views and its own Sachertorte café.
Places to Visit in Innsbruck
Arts and Culture
- Golden Roof (Altstadt)
The gilded late Gothic balcony that has become Innsbruck's symbol. - Ambras Castle (Amras)
A Renaissance castle with armour, portraits and a cabinet of curiosities in lovely gardens. - Hofkirche (Altstadt)
A court church ringed by larger-than-life bronze statues around Maximilian's tomb. - Tyrolean Folk Art Museum (Altstadt)
Painted furniture, costumes and rooms that bring old Alpine life to light.
Nature and Outdoors
- Nordkette Cable Car (Hungerburg)
Funicular and cable cars from the old town to high Alpine viewpoints. - Patscherkofel (Igls)
A gentle family mountain with easy trails and an Alpine garden. - Stubai Glacier (Stubaital)
A high glacier ski and snow area reachable by bus from the city.
Things to Do
- Bergisel Ski Jump (Wilten)
An Olympic ski jump with a viewing platform and café above the city. - Alpine Zoo Innsbruck (Hungerburg)
A zoo of Alpine animals on the mountainside, on the way up the Nordkette. - Hall in Tirol old town (Hall in Tirol)
A beautifully preserved medieval town with a historic mint, minutes by train. - Swarovski Crystal Worlds (Wattens)
A whimsical crystal art park and gardens behind a giant green-eyed head.
Restaurants
- Gasthof Weisses Rössl (Altstadt)
A traditional old town inn for Tiroler Gröstl and Speckknödel. - Markthalle Innsbruck (Herzog-Siegmund-Ufer)
An indoor market hall by the river with food stalls and local produce. - Restaurant Seegrube (Nordkette)
A mountain restaurant with sunset views over the city from the cable car station. - Stiftskeller Innsbruck (Altstadt)
A big, friendly Tyrolean tavern with a garden in the old town.
Cafés
- Café Sacher Innsbruck (Hofburg)
Sachertorte in an elegant café inside the imperial palace. - Strudel Café Kröll (Altstadt)
A tiny café baking sweet and savoury strudels all day.
Bars and Nightlife
- Bögen bars (Viaduktbögen)
Bars and clubs under the old railway arches, popular with students.
Events
- Innsbruck Christmas Markets (Altstadt)
Several Advent markets, including one on the Hungerburg and one below the Golden Roof.
Stays
- Hotel Grauer Bär (Universitätsstrasse)
A central hotel with a rooftop spa and pool facing the mountains.
Places to Visit in Hallstatt
Things to Do
- Salzwelten Hallstatt (Salzberg)
One of the world's oldest salt mines, with miners' slides and an underground lake. - Dachstein Giant Ice Cave (Obertraun)
A frozen cave of ice halls, reached by cable car and a short climb.
Nature and Outdoors
- Hallstatt Skywalk (Rudolfsturm)
A viewing platform high above the lake and the rooftops of the village. - Five Fingers viewing platform (Krippenstein, Obertraun)
A platform with five arms jutting over a sheer drop above the Hallstätter See. - Gosausee (Gosau)
A lake with a classic mirror view of the Dachstein glacier and an easy loop trail. - Waldbachstrub Waterfall (Echerntal)
A forest walk from the village to a roaring waterfall, away from the crowds. - Obertraun lakeside beach (Obertraun)
A quiet grassy swimming spot at the south end of the lake.
Arts and Culture
- Hallstatt Beinhaus (Marktplatz)
A tiny charnel house of painted skulls, part of the village's unusual history. - Hallstatt Museum (Seestrasse)
Seven thousand years of salt mining and lake life in a compact museum.
Restaurants
- Seehotel Grüner Baum restaurant (Marktplatz)
Lakeside dining on a terrace over the water, known for fresh char. - Bräugasthof Hallstatt (Seestrasse)
An old brewery inn with a terrace on the lake and simple local dishes.
Stays
- Heritage Hotel Hallstatt (Landungsplatz)
Historic houses by the lake, ideal for seeing the village quiet in the evening.
Places to Visit in Bad Ischl
Arts and Culture
- Kaiservilla (Bad Ischl)
Emperor Franz Joseph's summer villa, still owned by the Habsburg family.
Cafés
- Konditorei Zauner (Bad Ischl)
A famous imperial pastry shop known for its Zauner Stollen.
Things to Do
- EurothermenResort Bad Ischl (Bad Ischl)
Warm saltwater pools in the old spa town.
Places to Visit in St. Wolfgang
Nature and Outdoors
- Schafbergbahn (St. Wolfgang)
A cogwheel railway climbing to a summit with views over a dozen lakes.
Arts and Culture
- St. Wolfgang Pilgrimage Church (St. Wolfgang)
A lakeside church with Michael Pacher's carved Gothic altar.
Stays
- Romantik Hotel Im Weissen Rössl (St. Wolfgang)
The lakeside hotel of operetta fame, with a floating pool.
Places to Visit in Gmunden
Shopping and Markets
- Gmundner Keramik (Gmunden)
The ceramics workshop behind the famous green-flamed pottery.
Arts and Culture
- Schloss Ort (Gmunden)
A lake castle on an island linked to shore by a wooden bridge.
Places to Visit in Altaussee
Nature and Outdoors
- Altausseer See (Altaussee)
A calm lake under the Loser mountain with a gentle walk all the way around.
Places to Visit in Graz
Arts and Culture
- Schlossberg and Clock Tower (Innere Stadt)
A wooded hill with the city's emblematic clock tower and red-roof views. - Schloss Eggenberg (Eggenberg)
A baroque palace built around the calendar, with peacocks in the park. - Kunsthaus Graz (Lend)
A blue bubble of a contemporary art gallery nicknamed the friendly alien. - Landeszeughaus (Herrengasse)
The world's largest historic armoury, still packed with weapons and armour. - Murinsel (Mur river)
A floating steel shell in the river with a café and small playground. - Graz Cathedral and Mausoleum (Burggasse)
The Gothic cathedral and Emperor Ferdinand II's baroque mausoleum side by side.
Shopping and Markets
- Kaiser-Josef-Markt (Kaiser-Josef-Platz)
The city's best farmers' market for pumpkin seed oil, cheese and fruit. - Lendplatz Market (Lend)
A neighbourhood market with stalls and small bistros on the square.
Restaurants
- Landhauskeller (Schmiedgasse)
Styrian classics served in a Renaissance building near the Landhaus. - Glöckl Bräu (Glockenspielplatz)
A traditional brewery inn under the square's mechanical glockenspiel. - Der Steirer (Belgiergasse)
Modern Styrian tapas and a long list of local wines. - Aiola im Schloss (Schlossberg)
Dining on the Schlossberg terrace with views over the old town.
Cafés
- Hofbäckerei Edegger-Tax (Hofgasse)
The former imperial court bakery with a carved wooden shopfront.
Bars and Nightlife
- Bermuda Triangle bars (Mehlplatz)
Lanes of bars and terraces in the old town that buzz on warm nights.
Events
- Steirischer Herbst (Citywide)
An autumn festival of contemporary art and performance across the city. - Aufsteirern (Innere Stadt)
A September folk festival with brass bands, dirndls and regional food.
Nature and Outdoors
- South Styrian Wine Road (Gamlitz)
Steep vineyards, wine taverns and lookout towers near the Slovenian border.
Things to Do
- Zotter Chocolate Factory (Riegersburg)
A chocolate theatre where you taste your way through the factory. - Riegersburg Castle (Riegersburg)
A castle perched on a volcanic rock, reached by lift or footpath.
Stays
- Schlossberghotel (Kaiser-Franz-Josef-Kai)
An art-filled hotel at the foot of the Schlossberg with a rooftop pool.
Places to Visit in Wachau
Nature and Outdoors
- Melk Abbey (Melk)
A golden baroque abbey high above the Danube with a famous library.
Things to Do
- Dürnstein (Dürnstein)
A riverside village with a blue church tower and the ruined castle where Richard the Lionheart was held.
More to Explore
We are still checking these with fresh sources, so confirm opening times before you go.
- Hotel Daniel Vienna (Landstrasse, Vienna)
A design-led, good-value hotel beside the Belvedere with a relaxed bakery café. - Gasthof Goldgasse (Altstadt, Salzburg)
Traditional Salzburg cooking, including Salzburger Nockerl, in a warm old town inn. - Steingasse bars (Steingasse, Salzburg)
A narrow medieval lane with small bars and music pubs below the Kapuzinerberg. - Meininger Hotel Salzburg City Center (Elisabeth-Vorstadt, Salzburg)
A good-value hostel and hotel near the main station. - 360 Grad Bar (Rathaus Galerien, Innsbruck)
A round glass bar on a shopping centre rooftop with views of the peaks. - Tiroler Heimatwerk (Meraner Strasse, Innsbruck)
A shop for real Tyrolean crafts, textiles and traditional clothing. - Nala Individuellhotel (Wilten, Innsbruck)
A small, playful design hotel with a garden on a quiet street. - Café Derbl (Marktplatz, Hallstatt)
A small café for cake and coffee on the main square. - Gasthof Simony (Marktplatz, Hallstatt)
A traditional lakeside guesthouse with old-fashioned rooms. - Café Sacher Graz (Herrengasse, Graz)
A refined café for cake on the main old town street. - Kulturhauskeller (Elisabethstrasse, Graz)
A student-run club and bar in a university cellar. - Hotel Daniel Graz (Bahnhofgürtel, Graz)
A modern, good-value hotel beside the main station. - Heuriger in Spitz (Spitz, Wachau)
Family wine taverns serving local Grüner Veltliner among the vineyards.