Uncover Your Austria 2018
From family adventures to long-distance hikes, gnarly mountain bike trails or gentle lakeside e-bike routes, each village and valley, city and town looks forward to welcoming you with Austrian charm this summer. What will you be writing about?
Uncover your very own Austria on a summer adventure and experience some of the country’s most beautiful towns and natural delights. Take advantage of countless direct flight connections from the UK to Vienna and find yourself in the Austrian capital within the space of a couple of hours. From here you can make use of Austria’s National Railway ÖBB and its direct connections to major Austrian cities.
Graz
Following BMI’s introduction of a direct service from Birmingham, the secret of Graz appears to be out. A young, vibrant city that you can’t help but fall in love with, Graz will grab you with its serene beauty, charm and passion for food and flavours. Think culture and culinary delights, with an impressive events calendar to create a hook for any story.
Further information: www.visitgraz.com
Salzburg
Salzburg is not just about Mozart and “The Sound of Music”. It is an extraordinarily beautiful city, presenting the perfect harmony of nature and architecture, art and culture, tradition and modernity. The soft green mountains surrounding the baroque centre invite for exploration, and you can top the day's activities off with a drink in one of the many beer gardens, paying tribute to the city’s long history of beer culture.
Further information: www.salzburg.info
Zell am See-Kaprun
With its unique combination of glacier, mountains and lake, don’t be fooled by the chocolate-box setting of Zell am See-Kaprun. The region opens up with hundreds of trails, tours and routes for hiking and biking, with dozens of quaint mountain guesthouses to take a break and enjoy regional specialities such as mountain cheese or homemade schnapps. This summer you could even participate in a yodelling workshop, set against an impressive mountain backdrop.
Further information: www.zellamsee-kaprun.com
Vorarlberg
The areas of Bregenzerwald, Brandnertal and Lech Zürs am Arlberg are ideal bases for a stay in Austria’s westernmost state of Vorarlberg. A superb mixture of enchanting scenery with the great outdoors and cultural inspiration, hikers, cyclists and e-bikers will find excellent trails for people of all ability, whilst those with a passion for contemporary (timber) architecture, exhibitions and music of all styles are also delightfully catered for here.
Further information: www.vorarlberg.travel
Tirol and its Partner Regions
There could be no doubt that Tirol is one of the most beautiful parts of Austria, with a wealth of resorts and activities reflecting its varied landscape.
St Anton am Arlberg, where it is thought that Alpine skiing first began, has some of the highest mountains in the region. In summer these make way for experiences ranging from Via Ferrata to road cycling, walking and mountain biking.
On the border with Germany is the Tiroler Zugspitz Arena, a place where life slows down and there’s a focus on nature. Mountain bikers are spoilt for choice on more than 100 trails.
Kitzbühel is well known to skiers, but in the summer this stunning area, loaded with myth and tradition, has more than 1,000 kilometres of signposted trails alone. Add to that another 1,200 kilometres of spectacular road bike touring, and you have the perfect outdoors holiday.
The Wildschönau Valley sits below vast mountains, but offers picturesque villages, green pastures housing dairy cows, rustic mountain huts bursting with authentic Tirolean hospitality, and colourful Alpine wildflowers, the likes of which you'll be hard-pressed to find in other regions.
Even in idyllic Austria, pretty Alpbachtal stands out for its enviable position in a verdant green landscape, criss-crossed by more than 900 kilometres of mountain trails for all levels.
St. Johann in Tirol marks itself out as one of the key destinations for lovers of the high mountains. Climbers, mountaineers, long-distance hikers and mountain bikers are attracted to the summits around St. Johann, but it’s also ideal for more leisurely walkers and cyclists.
And then there’s Innsbruck, the capital of Tirol, where the union between culture and nature is visible all around, even from the historic city centre with its elaborate buildings, museums and churches. The view down the splendid Maria-Theresien-Street towards the medieval Old Town, for example, is crowned by the majestic Nordkette chain of mountains in the near distance.
Further information: www.visittirol.co.uk and love.tirol