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Things to see in Austria

Print our full travel guide to Austria

Austria Attractions

Austria is perfect for sightseeing, with an assortment of wonderful tourist attractions; just the mention of this scenic, multicultural country brings to mind images of skiing in the Alps, exploring Vienna's impressive Baroque architecture and sampling the warm, rich cuisine of the alpine villages and their friendly inhabitants.

Austria is the birthplace of many famous figures, including Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Sigmund Freud, not to mention Arnold Schwarzenegger. Austria is also home to Swarovski crystals, Lipizzaner stallions and the 11th-century Hohensalzburg Fortress, as well as one of the largest youth parties in Europe, the Danube Island Festival.

Austria is a year-round destination, with snowy winters perfect for mountaineering, skiing and snowboarding, and mild summers ideal for sightseeing. The many sights and attractions are made accessible by the national railway system, the U-Bahn, extensive motorways and various ports and harbours. With all these magnificent highlights so easily within grasp, taking a trip to this beautiful country in the warm heart of Europe is guaranteed to be a fulfilling, memorable experience for anyone!


Hofburg

The Hofburg Palace, or Imperial Palace, was the home of the Austrian Hapsburgs for 600 years. The first fortifications were erected by King Ottakar Premyst in the 13th century and were added to by every generation until it became the monumental structure it is...  see full details



Spanish Riding School

The Spanish Riding School of Vienna is the oldest and last riding school in the world where classic dressage is still practised in its purest form. This Institute was founded in 1572 and named for the Lipizzaner horses, which are of Spanish origin. The...  see full details



Schönbrunn Palace

The magnificent Schönbrunn Palace was used as the summer residence of the Hapsburgs from the 18th century onwards. Set amongst superb gardens this vast, symmetrical structure is everything you would imagine an imperial palace to be. A tour of the palace offers visitors the...  see full details



Giant Wheel

One of Vienna's most recognisable attractions, the Giant Wheel is located in a large wooded park and playground known as the Prater. It was built in 1897 by an English engineering firm and is the only one of its era still standing (the...  see full details



Belvedere

The Belvedere consists of two splendid rococo mansions, designed in the early 18th century, which face each other across formal, sloping grounds offering excellent views over the city. From the outside it is Vienna's finest palace complex, built by Prince Eugène of Savoy (1680-1735),...  see full details



Vienna State Opera

The Vienna State Opera performs a repertoire of near-one hundred operas, operettas and ballets every day from September to June. The opera house was founded in the early 18th century (it was rebuilt in 1955 after being all but destroyed in 1945) and...  see full details



St Stephen’s Cathedral

The Cathedral is one of the city's most recognisable symbols and the massive south tower standing at 445 feet (136m) tall is a dominant feature on the Vienna skyline. The 343 steps can be climbed for a fantastic view over the city. St...  see full details



The Albertina

The former Hofburg residence today houses one of the largest and greatest graphic art collections in the world with drawings, old master prints and modern graphic works. The museum explores the development of graphic arts since the 14th century and there are over 60,000...  see full details