Self-drive Holidays in Austria East for the Independent Motorist.

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.