Austria

About Austria

Population: 8 739 806

Size: 83,878 km2 (32,385 mi2)

Official Language(s): German

Capital City: Vienna

Time Zone: Central European Time Zone

Currency: Euro

Electrical Plug Type: Plug Types C “Europlug” and F “Schuko”

Drives on the: Right

Food You Must Try: Wiener Schnitzel is a traditional Viennese dish; tenderized, breaded, fried veal or pork loin. You can go for the original or branch out with a variation like Bauern Schnitzel, made with bacon and eggs!

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Best things to do in Austria

UNESCO Sites in Austria

• The old town of Salzburg is a beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is famous for being the birthplace of Mozart and an important city for classical music. The movie, The Sound of Music was filmed here.
• Hallstatt is a small Alpine village and UNESCO World Heritage site. Hallstatt’s 16th-century Alpine houses surround a lake, with a Gothic Catholic Church in the centre of the town. It is the oldest, most photographed village of the country.
• Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians are used to study the spread of the beech tree (Fagus sylvatica) in the Northern Hemisphere across a variety of environments and the environment in the forest. The site is a transnational site, also shared with Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Ukraine.

Top Attractions in Austria

• Highline 179 in Reutte, Austria is the world’s longest Tibet-style pedestrian suspension bridge according to the Guinness World Book of Records.
• The annual Bregenzer Festspiele in Bregenz, Austria attracts thousands of viewers. You can spend the day in Bregenz, a beautiful town on the Austrian side of Lake Konstanz, and end with an opera in a unique setting as the stage is in the lake
• Belvedere Palace, one of the many palaces visitors should explore in Vienna.
• Hofburg Palace, an imperial palace of the Habsburg family. It was built in the 13th-century, and it served as a winter palace for the ruling family.
• Innsbruck is a favoured destination for winter sports lovers. The city hosted two Winter Olympics in the past. Many of the famous ski resorts are near Innsbruck.
• With the Danube River running through it, the Wachau Valley is a popular tourist destination in southern Austria. Wachau is also known for its wines, as well as fruits such as apricots. The valley has more than 500 historic monuments, so tourists are going to have to make some tough choices.

Fun Facts about Austria

1. Vienna has the oldest zoo in the world, founded in 1752
2. Famous Austrians include Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sigmund Freud, and Mozart
3. The Alps cover 62% of Austria’s landmass
4. The popular musical The Sound of Music is based on the real life, Austrian family, the Von Trapps.
5. Postcards were first used in Austria
6. Located in Werfen, 40 km south of Salzburg is the most extensive ice cave system in the world – Eisriesenwelt
7. St Peter Stiftskeller is one of the oldest eating establishments in the world, established in 803
8. The sewing machine was invented by an Austrian, Josef Madersperger, in 1818.
9. Austria’s average unemployment rate from 1960 to 2013 is 4.59%, the second lowest in the European Union after Luxembourg
10. The Krimml Falls (Krimmler Wasserfalle), in the state of Salzburg, is Europe’s tallest waterfall, reaching a height of 380 meters.

Our thoughts about Austria

Adi says: “In Hallstatt, we spent just a couple of hours but I loved the small mountain town feel; no traffic, quiet. I loved the fresh winter air and how clean and perfectly decorated everything was. It’s touristy but not to the point where it’s over the top; a few groups here and there. It’s easy for a tourist to navigate due to its size and lack of language barriers. Everybody in the shops and restaurants speaks English and is helpful.”

Latest Articles About Austria

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  An Austrian Day Trip to Hallstatt in Winter

  Adi and her family take a day trip to Austria to discover the magic of UNESCO-Listed Hallstatt in winter. We recently vacationed in Slovenia and on the way back my husband surprised me with one hour detour from our route to Hallstatt, Austria. Hallstatt is a village in the Salzkammergut, a region in Austria listed as a UNESCO World ...
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  A Journey Through the Most Beautiful Places in Austria

  Guest contributor, Barbara, takes us on a tour of the most beautiful places in Austria. From the bustling capital of Vienna to picture-perfect Halstatt, she takes us through the some of the best places to visit in Austria. Austria, situated in the heart of Central-Europe, is an exciting country with a rich historical background, fascinating cities ...
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  The Ultimate List of 42 Awesome Day Trips from Stuttgart, Germany

  Adi shares her top 42 ultimate day trips from Stuttgart, Germany, filled with picturesque villages, food, castles, nature, and family fun. Find all the best things to do near Stuttgart in Germany and beyond.  When it comes to day trips our family of four is professional. We wake up early, prepare and pack food and snacks, ...
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