Destinations
| Vienna |
Accommodation
hotelscombined.com
Austria Hotels. Compare hotel prices from the top hotel reservation websites at once. Hotels Combined searches discount hotel websites simultaneously and compares cheapest Austria hotel rates.
Austria Hotels
Guide Books
Lonely Planet Austria (Travel Guide)
Official Travel Sites
austria.info
Austrian National Tourist Office.
Austria Travel
Independent Travel Sites
aboutaustria.org
Get to know Austria with this great Travel and Culture Guide: sightseeing, accommodation, study & Wwork and best adresses and travel tips on more than 500 pages.
About Austria – your travel guide to Austria
Ski Austria
neilson.co.uk
From independent to ski holiday packages Neilson’s Austria ski resorts offer the perfect destination for a wonderful ski holiday.
Ski Holidays Austria
skiaustria.com
skiingaustria.co.uk
Comprehensive guide for ski holidays in Austria with online booking of ski hotels, flights and rental cars.
Skiing Austria
Austria Travel Guide
Austria is officially known as the Republic of Austria with a population of over 8 million people. The official language of Austria is German. Austria has a temperate continental climate. Summers last from early June to mid-September and can be hot in some years and rainy in others. Day-time temperatures in July and August are around 25° C (77° F), but can often reach 35° C (95° F). Winters are cold in the lowlands that could last from December to March. In the Alpine region large temperature fluctuations occur all year round and nights are chilly even in high summer. The northern Alps are generally a lot wetter than the rest of the country.
THINGS TO DO:
Cycle Touring – Austria is popular for its scenic cycle routes along its largest rivers. Though Austria is a mountainous country, cycle routes along rivers are flat or gently downhill that can be suitable even for casual cyclists. The most famous route is the Danube cycle path from Passau to Vienna. This is one of the most popular cycle paths in Europe, attracting large crowds of cyclists from all over the world each summer.
Hiking – It is normally safe to hike without a guide in the Austrian Alps because there is a dense network of marked trails and mountain shelters. Walkers are strongly advised not to stray off the trails and not to hike in bad weather or without suitable tools and equipment. Before setting off, always check with the local tourist office whether the trail is limited to your abilities or not. Don’t forget to check the weather forecast. Sudden thunderstorms are common and are more likely to happen in the afternoon. A rule of thumb is that if you haven’t reached the summit by noon, it’s time to give up and return to shelter.
Eat – Austrian food is unique and delicious, and is traditionally of the heavy, hearty “meat and dumplings” variety. Wiener Schnitzel is a bread-crumbed and fried veal escalope and is something of a national dish. Knödel is a kind of dumpling which can be made either sweet or savory according to taste. In Vienna the Tafelspitz is a boiled beef with potatoes and horseradish and is traditionally served on Sundays, normally accompanied by clear broth with dumplings and herbs. Apart from these, Austria is renowned for its pastries and desserts, the most well-known of which is probably the Apfelstrudel.
A typical Austrian friendly yet somewhat reserved and formal, softly spoken and courteous, law abiding, socially conservative, rooted, family oriented, conformist and, a Catholic at heart, not particularly religious but a follower of tradition, well educated if not as cosmopolitan as his/her European cousins, cynical, and equipped with a dry, sarcastic sense of humor.
Austrians as a large like to define themselves merely by what they are not. Tourists often make the mistake of classifying Austrians as Germans, which despite a common language well, they are not. So, be ready with your dictionary and translation books if you want to meet the locals.
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