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Tourist information for Eastern Austria:
Eastern Austria contains a gorgeous mixture of scenery and places to
visit. The fertile plain of the Danube provides wonderful opportunities for
cycling, walking and nature-watching among timeless villages and lush farmland.
Here are the great cities of Linz and especially Vienna, one of the great
cultural and commercial centres of Europe, rich in history, architecture, and
buzzing with life. Away from the river plain the land rises gently towards the
Eastern Alps before they sink in the far east to the strange and atmospheric
wetlands bordering Hungary. In the south and west is the majestic and relatively
undeveloped Alpine scenery of Styria.
Map of Eastern Austria
Towns and places of interest in east Austria:
Vienna is one of the great cities of Europe, the crossroads between the
east and west of the continent. You get a real feel of the east here, yet the
city has been home to many of western Europe's greats. Wandering the streets,
admiring the stately buildings, and stopping for the occasional coffee and cake,
would keep you busy for days. Some of Europe's major museums and galleries are
in Vienna, and then there are the walks in the Viennese woods, and maybe a visit
to the funfair with its giant Ferris Wheel, made famous in the film The Third
Man. The centre of the city is compact enough to be explored on foot, or you can
use the very efficient transport system comprising buses, trams and underground
(U-Bahn). Make sure you have a good guide book and get the most out of your
visit to this wonderful city.
Krems, (nowadays merged with its neighbour Stein and with some
interesting buildings in the old town) and Melk are the towns at each end
of the Wachau, the name given to this 40 km beautiful and winding stretch
of the Danube.This area is popular locally, with its vine-clad hillsides sloping
down to the river and the many ruined castles dominating the hilltops. The
region is excellent for walking and cycling with well marked trails.
Durnstein is a very pretty town where Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned
until freed by his minstrel Blondel. Melk is overlooked by its spectacular
medieval monastery, well worth a visit as is the old town.
St Polten is the regional capital of Lower Austria. The town contains two
Baroque materpieces, its cathedral's interior and the Institut der Englischen
Fraulein. These are offset by the modern architecture of the town's new centre,
especially the spectacular and quirky Shedhalle. Towns worth visiting around St
Polten include Pottenbrunn with its castle, the monastery at
Herzogenburg, or the pretty village of Lilienfeld set in the wooded
foothills of the Alps and offering good and easy walking. Lackenhof and
Waidhofen are two of the resort towns in the Alpine area of Ybbstal,
and from both there is excellent walking in summer or skiing in winter.
 In
the southeast corner of Austria is the Burgenland. Here is the
Neusiedler See, Austria's largest lake and popular holiday destination, with
swimming and watersports. The flat reedy countryside is ideal for cycling and
touring the pretty wine-growing villages nearby. In Eisenstadt tour the
Estherhazy castle where Joseph Haydn spent most of his life.
 Graz
in Styria is Austria's second city and an excellent base for exploring
the region. Plenty to see, (castles, museums), walks along the river Mur,
strolls in the old town, and a lively nightlife.Nearby attractions are Schloss
Eggenburg and the open-air museum of Austrian village architecture at Stubing.
Drive through the rolling hills of the wine-growing area south of Graz or head
50 kms east to Feldbach and visit the spectacular fortress of Schloss
Riegersburg
 Western
Styria has some of the most beautiful Alpine scenery anywhere, but is much less
developed than the Tyrol. Becoming progressively higher and wilder as you move
west from Graz, the area is wonderful for summer walking, and Schladming
is the main winter sports resort.
The Salzkammergut is Austria's lake district, easily reached from
Salzburg or southern Germany. Beautiful still lakes surrounded by mighty peaks
provide beaches, swimming and watersports of all sorts, excellent walking with
easy access to the high meadows and good skiing patronised more by locals than
tourists. Pretty towns and villages abound. The four main lakes are the
Hallstattersee, perhaps the most beautiful with the lovely town of
Hallstatt and its Celtic museum, the extremely attractive Wolfgangsee
with good easy skiing, the Mondsee for sailing and windsurfing, and the
Traunsee, perfect for families, with its bustling resort of Gmunden.
The main town of the area is Bad Ischl, an attractive and lively spa
town.
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