Salzburg is like a dream world. The tiny compact streets and the endless playing of fantastic music fills you with warmth and pleasure. Mirabels garden is just amazing while the castle takes your breathe away. Salzburg is expensive however. Just to get into the castle via a cart costs around 15 euro each - far too much for us backpackers!
The food is good though and the atmosphere friendly. A perfect location for a romantic weekend break.
Great if you like museums. The castles and the coffee are both great as well. But Vienna seems to lack a personality (other than big city) these days, which is strange given that it used to be such a cultural center. Skip the overrated statue clock and beware pickpockets outside the Dom. Get off the main streets for a more relaxed feel.
Bregenz is a nice town, maybe a little more "Swiss" than people might be used to seeing in other parts of Austria. In other words: a nice place to live, a mediocre place to visit. While I did actually enjoy the city, it had more of a "modern metropolis" feel than a European feel. There are many great resturaunts and bars in the city though. The Mexican resturaunt called "Viva" is good, but a little expensive at about 20E a plate, and 7E for cocktails. The beachfront on Lake Constance is nice though, although you do have to pay for access to the "nice beaches". Otherwise you only get a dock to swim from.
We love Innsbruck too! We recommend to go to Jimmy's, a nice bar in the center. For those who love to swim, Lanser See is the very best place.
Salzburg is an amazing, cultural, historical city set in the most breathtaking scenery with places to visit suiting a broad variety of tastes. Top of my list was the Eagles Nest tour just over the border in Germany. Built for a fiftieth birthday present for one of Austria's least popular statesmen, Adolf Hitler, it's a breathtaking feat of engineering and a truly eerie experience, considering the facilities perched on top of a mountain were enjoyed by some of the Nazi party's worst villains and other nations' key statesmen whilst they were in power. Conquered by the Allied forces in 1945, it survived being demolished as a memory of the Nazis by the appeals of locals and the sheer magnitude of the work that went into building it -- apparently Eisenhower kept an ornamental door knocker as a memento after visiting. Whilst the salt mine tour sounds particularly dull, on the contrary it is a real adventure where you descend by slides into the mines -- much recommended. I thought nightlife…
Innsbruck is beautiful, clean, and refreshing. I could easily spend a year there.
I liked the city. I think it's underrated because other Austrian cities like Vienna or Salzburg are more famous, but Graz has many things to give. I'm sure travelers will be surprised with that city. It's small but elegant, clean, and tidy, but with a very personal atmosphere. You must visit Schlossberg, Glockenspielplatz, Hauptsplatz, Sporgasse and much more. The bad thing is that nightlife is quite boring, at least if you go in summer (as it's a university city, in summer there are no students there, so it's very hard to find something to do at night!). I think I would have enjoyed more my stay in Graz if it hadn't poured with rain for two whole days (and I stayed three)! The day I was leaving, it stopped raining!
Vienna is one of my favourite cities in the world. I lived just outside Vienna for 5 months and i still didnt get to see all i wanted from the beautiful city. Schonnbrun and the Hofburg are un-missable while the Rathaus and Stephansplatz will have you begging for more. And more there is! You can sit on Mariahilferstrasse and watch the world go by while eating schnitzels and drinking coffee. Sit in one of the many parks and just watch the viennese go about daily life.
This city really does just ouze with class, the underground is one of the most efficient ive ever come across and the Austrians seem genuinly pleased to see you.
My only concern is the amount of tourists. But, as I'm one myself how can I really complain!
Salzburg is so charming, especially the Mirabell Gardens and Schloss Hellbrun -- places mentioned in "The Sound of Music." I loved Mozart Square and its friendly helpful people and would love to visit it a second time.
For some reason, Salzburg is quite possibly my favorite place in all of Europe. When I was there last I remember just thinking "Damn this is so....so European!" ha ha. Last time we saw a lot and spend two nights and two full days, but I'm going back this summer and spending three nights and two and a half days. The winding streets, gardens, fortress- it's all so amazing. Definitely worth going to!
Graz definitely doesn't match up to its close rivals Vienna and Slazburg, but it does offer a great day trip. The river winds through the city and its plesant to take a stroll alond it while taking in some of the modern and ancient architecture. The old clock tower is also worth a visit with some great views of the city available by it.
Innsbruck is fantastic! How can anyone say there's nothing to do? Unless, that is, you're not into hiking, skiing, and mountain-biking, in which case it may be a bit boring. It's even worth it for the scenery and the turquoise rivers. It's one of the few places I've left feeling disappointed -- disappointed I didn't stay longer!
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