Discover Austria

It's the spectacular, snowcapped mountains of regions like the Tyrol that provide the most familiar images of Austria - a landscape of jagged peaks and rampaging rivers, giving way to green pastures studded with onion-domed churches. Yet Austria is by no means all alpine vistas: the country stretches across central Europe for some 700km, from the shores of the Bodensee in the west to the edge of the flat Hungarian plain in the east. Far removed from the archetype are the wetlands and reed beds of Burgenland, and the dramatic sequence of stopes that carve their way up the Erzberg in Styria. In Upper and Lower Austria in particular, a predominantly low-key landscape of gentle rolling hills and vineyards can come as something of a surprise to first-time visitors. Yet this fertile, low-lying northern half of the country is, in fact, where the majority of Austrians live and work, many of them within commuting distance of the capital, Vienna - the country's chief tourist destination after the alpine regions.

For all its bucolic charm and fondness for the days of empire, when Vienna sat at the centre of the vast, multinational Habsburg dynasty, Austria today is thoroughly modern, clean, efficient and eminently civilized, with uniformly excellent tourist facilities. Like neighbouring Switzerland, it's also a supremely law-abiding nation, where no one jaywalks or drops litter, and the trains and trams run on time. Whether you're staying in one of the popular skiing, hiking or spa resorts, or in an out-of-the-way Gasthof, you're likely to experience " Gemütlichkeit " - a typically Austrian term expressing a mixture of cosiness and hospitality - at some point during your visit.

Getting There

Vienna is Austria's main air transport hub, but there are international airports at Linz, Graz, Salzburg, Innsbruck and Klagenfurt. If you're visiting Austria from outside Europe, it may be cheaper to fly to a European `gateway' city and travel overland from there. Munich, for example, is only two hours by train from Salzburg. Technically there's no departure tax when flying out of Austria, instead you cop a `passenger service charge' of around US$15. Tyrolean Airways is the main domestic carrier and operates several flights a day between Austria's larger cities. Austrian trains are comfortable, clean and reasonably frequent. The Bundesbus (federal bus) network supplements the rail service, and is used for local trips or to get to out-of-the-way places rather than for long-distance travel. Some ski resorts in Tirol and Vorarlberg can only be reached by Bundesbus or private transport.

By Rail
Austria has excellent rail connections to all major European destinations. Buses are generally slower, cheaper and less comfortable than trains. Getting to Austria by road is simple, and there are fast, well-maintained Autobahnen (motorways) to all surrounding countries. Major border crossing points are open 24 hours a day. Those served by minor roads are open between 7 am and 9 pm (give or take an hour). Fast hydrofoils skim along the Danube between Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest during spring and summer but they're not exactly cheap. Steamers ply the Danube between Vienna and the German border town of Passau from May to late September.

By Boat
Boat services along the Danube are slow and expensive and geared to scenic excursions rather than functional transport. Mountain transport falls into five main categories: funicular (Standseilbahn), cable car (Luftseilbahn), gondola (Gondelbahn), cable chair (Sesselbahn) and ski lift (Schlepplift). The cheapest way to get down a mountain is to place a dustbin liner under you and let fate and gravity prevail.