Roavina

Country guide

Austria

A photograph of Austria
Photograph · C.Stadler/Bwag · CC BY-SA 4.0

Austria is 83,879 km², and its nine states fall into two kinds of trip. Vienna, Lower Austria and Upper Austria lie along the Danube on level, easily crossed ground, with Vienna alone holding 1,931,593 of the country's roughly nine million people. Tyrol, Salzburg, Vorarlberg and Styria are the Alpine states, entered by valley rather than by plain, and their capitals — Innsbruck, Salzburg, Bregenz, Graz — are each small enough to cross on foot in an afternoon. The distinction decides an itinerary: the Danube cities sit an hour apart by train and the mountain ones do not.

Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor

Cities

Every city catalogued in this country so far, ranked by how much there is to see.

Practical information
Language spoken
German
German is Austria's official language; Croatian, Slovenian and Hungarian also have official status in some regions
Dialling code
+43
Austria's international country code
Currency
Euro (€, EUR)
Austria introduced euro banknotes and coins in 2002
Emergency number
112
One number across the country; 144 reaches an ambulance directly
Plug type
Not recorded
No verified national official source was found
Tap water
Safe to drink
Austria's national tourism authority states that tap water is drinkable in every region

Planning a visit

  1. January: seasonal closure recorded
  2. February: seasonal closure recorded
  3. March: seasonal closure recorded
  4. April: seasonal closure recorded
  5. May: seasonal closure recorded
  6. June: seasonal closure recorded
  7. July: seasonal closure recorded
  8. August: seasonal closure recorded
  9. September: seasonal closure recorded — this month
  10. October: seasonal closure recorded
  11. November: seasonal closure recorded
  12. December: seasonal closure recorded

Top things to see

Ranked by importance — sitelinks, pageviews and heritage status, not editor preference.

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Category

Historic monuments 7 Museums 18 Places of worship 0 Nature sites 1 Viewpoints 0 Food and drink 0 Markets and shopping 0 Entertainment 1 Nightlife 0 Family attractions 0 Art and culture 0 Activities 0

Typical visit duration

Up to 1 hour 96 1 to 2 hours 27 Half a day or more 10

Interests

History 25 Art 0 Museums 18 Nature 1 Sea and beach 1 Viewpoints 0
  1. Belvedere Belvedere
    01 2 hours

    Belvedere

    Belvedere is Prince Eugene of Savoy’s former summer residence, not one palace but a carefully staged Baroque ensemble in Vienna’s Landstraße district.

    • Must see
    • Historic monument
    • Vienna
  2. Albertina Albertina
    02 2 hours

    Albertina

    Albertina is a museum in a former Habsburg palace above Albertinaplatz, immediately behind Vienna’s State Opera.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Vienna
  3. Leopold Museum Leopold Museum
    03 2 hours

    Leopold Museum

    The Leopold Museum houses the collection assembled over five decades by the ophthalmologist and collector Rudolf Leopold, sold to the Austrian state in 1994 and opened to the public in this purpose-built home inside the MuseumsQuartier in 2001.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Vienna
  4. Spanish Riding School Spanish Riding School
    04 1 hr 30 min

    Spanish Riding School

    Spanische Hofreitschule

    The Spanish Riding School is the world's oldest institution still practising classical Baroque horsemanship in its original form, tracing its riding tradition back to 1572 and its Lipizzaner breeding programme to the Habsburgs' interest in Spanish-bred horses.

    • Must see
    • Historic monument
    • Vienna
  5. Imperial Treasury Imperial Treasury
    05 2 hours

    Imperial Treasury

    Kaiserliche Schatzkammer

    The Imperial Treasury, the Kaiserliche Schatzkammer, holds the Habsburg dynasty's crown jewels and imperial regalia inside the Hofburg's Schweizerhof, the Swiss Courtyard at the historic core of the palace complex.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Vienna
  6. MAK – Museum of Applied Arts MAK – Museum of Applied Arts
    06 2 hours

    MAK – Museum of Applied Arts

    Museum für Angewandte Kunst

    The MAK was the first museum of its kind on the continent, and it was founded to improve manufacturing.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Vienna
  7. Mumok Mumok
    07 1 hr 30 min

    Mumok

    Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien

    mumok — the Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig — is Austria's largest museum of modern and contemporary art, and the darkest building on the MuseumsQuartier plaza by design.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Vienna
  8. Mozarthaus Vienna Mozarthaus Vienna
    08 1 hr 30 min

    Mozarthaus Vienna

    Mozarthaus Vienna, at Domgasse 5 in the Innere Stadt, is the only one of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Viennese residences still standing.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Vienna
  9. Wurstelprater Wurstelprater
    09 2 hours

    Wurstelprater

    Wurstelprater is Vienna’s permanent amusement quarter in Leopoldstadt, within the larger Prater complex. It combines rides, games, food, and evening entertainment in an open recreational setting rather than a single enclosed theme park.

    • Must see
    • Entertainment venue
    • Vienna
  10. Haus der Musik Haus der Musik
    10 2 hours

    Haus der Musik

    The Haus der Musik is a ticketed, interactive sound museum in the Palais Erzherzog Karl on Seilerstatte, a five-minute walk from the Vienna State Opera.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Vienna
  11. Belvedere 21 Belvedere 21
    11 1 hr 30 min

    Belvedere 21

    Belvedere 21 is Vienna's museum for contemporary art, housed in a steel-and-glass pavilion in the Schweizergarten, a few hundred metres south of the Baroque Belvedere palace complex it is administratively part of.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Vienna
  12. Kursalon Vienna Kursalon Vienna
    12 2 hours

    Kursalon Vienna

    Kursalon Hübner

    Kursalon Vienna is an Italian Renaissance Revival building standing at the edge of the Stadtpark in Vienna's Innere Stadt district, built in 1865-67 by architect Johann Garben as a public 'cure hall', a cafe and gathering pavilion meant to draw…

    • Must see
    • Historic monument
    • Vienna
  13. Donauinsel Donauinsel
    13 2 hours

    Donauinsel

    Donauinsel, the Danube Island, is a 21.1-kilometre artificial island built between the 1970s and early 1980s as a flood-relief channel, running as a narrow strip between the Danube itself and a new parallel channel, the Neue Donau, dug specifically to…

    • High
    • Nature site
    • Vienna
  14. Vienna Museum Vienna Museum
    14 2 hours

    Vienna Museum

    Wien Museum Karlsplatz

    Wien Museum, on Karlsplatz, is Vienna's museum of its own history, tracing the city from the Roman camp of Vindobona through the medieval, Baroque and Ringstrasse periods to the twentieth century.

    • Notable
    • Museum
    • Vienna
  15. Kirche am Steinhof Kirche am Steinhof
    15 1 hr 30 min

    Kirche am Steinhof

    Otto-Wagner-Kirche

    Kirche am Steinhof is Otto Wagner's Art Nouveau church, built in 1904-1907 as the chapel of the Niederösterreichische Landes-Heil- und Pflegeanstalt für Nerven- und Geisteskranke — the psychiatric hospital on the Steinhof hill, now the Klinik Penzing site — and…

    • Notable
    • Museum
    • Vienna
  16. Gartenpalais Liechtenstein Gartenpalais Liechtenstein
    16 2 hours

    Gartenpalais Liechtenstein

    Palais Liechtenstein (Gartenpalais)

    The Garden Palace (Gartenpalais Liechtenstein) is the Liechtenstein princely family's Baroque summer residence in Alsergrund, the 9th district, built 1691-1711 for Prince Johann Adam Andreas I of Liechtenstein.

    • Notable
    • Historic monument
    • Vienna
  17. Palais Coburg Palais Coburg
    17 1 hr 30 min

    Palais Coburg

    Palais Coburg is a Neoclassical palace at Coburgbastei 4 in Vienna's first district, built between 1840 and 1845 for Ferdinand Georg August, Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld-Koháry, on top of a surviving bastion of the old city fortifications.

    • Notable
    • Historic monument
    • Vienna
  18. Neugebäude Palace Neugebäude Palace
    18 1 hr 30 min

    Neugebäude Palace

    Schloss Neugebäude

    Neugebäude is a ruined Renaissance palace at Simmering, on Vienna's south-eastern edge, built 1568-1573 for Emperor Maximilian II.

    • Notable
    • Historic monument
    • Vienna
  19. Globe Museum Globe Museum
    19 1 hr 30 min

    Globe Museum

    Globenmuseum

    The Globe Museum, or Globenmuseum, is a specialist museum in Vienna devoted to globes and related cartographic instruments. Its collection brings geography, astronomy, craftsmanship, and the history of knowledge together in three-dimensional form.

    • Notable
    • Museum
    • Vienna
  20. Palais Ferstel Palais Ferstel
    20 1 hr 30 min

    Palais Ferstel

    Palais Ferstel is a mid-nineteenth-century palace between Freyung and Herrengasse in Vienna's Innere Stadt, built between 1856 and 1860 to a design by architect Heinrich von Ferstel, after whom it is named.

    • Must see
    • Historic monument
    • Vienna
  24. Lower Belvedere Lower Belvedere
    24 1 hr 30 min

    Lower Belvedere

    Unteres Belvedere

    • High
    • Museum
    • Vienna
  27. MUSA Museum Startgalerie Artothek MUSA Museum Startgalerie Artothek
    27 1 hr 30 min

    MUSA Museum Startgalerie Artothek

    MUSA

    MUSA is Wien Museum’s exhibition venue for contemporary art from Vienna, located beside City Hall in the Innere Stadt. Its changing presentations trace artistic developments in the city over recent decades and introduce less familiar positions alongside established work.

    • High
    • Museum
    • Vienna

Source: OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata ·

Common questions

How long should a first trip to Austria be?

Seven to ten days gives Vienna four days and leaves time for Salzburg, Innsbruck, or Graz by rail. Alpine excursions need flexible weather time and should not be treated as guaranteed additions to a tightly timed city route.

What entry documents are needed for Austria?

Austria follows Schengen entry rules, with document and visa requirements determined by nationality and route. Verify the current position through official Austrian or EU channels before departure.

What is the best way to travel around Austria?

ÖBB trains and coordinated buses link Vienna with Salzburg, Innsbruck, Graz, and other regions. Drivers need the correct motorway toll product, and some Alpine roads charge separately.

When is a practical time to visit Austria?

May to June and September suit many city-and-mountain routes, while December is a distinct winter-city period. Lift, pass, and high-road operating dates matter more than a national forecast for Alpine days.

What money and payment basics apply in Austria?

Austria uses the euro (EUR). Cards are useful, but a euro cash reserve can help at smaller establishments; review the amount and currency before approving any terminal conversion.

What practical safety details should I save for Austria?

Austria uses 112 as its general emergency line and 144 for ambulance dispatch. Its 230 V system takes Type C and F plugs. This guide holds no verified tap-water value, so leave that point unresolved until local guidance is checked.