Top Austria hotels
Etiquette Vienna
29 Reviews What I committed in Vienna, that lot of Viennese are fair. It is strange for me to see newspapers put into box (and not locked) and it is written: "put 1 euro there and bring newspaper". It means...
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The Austrian People Salzburg
14 Reviews In Salzburg the people are very polite and all the people that I met spoke English (although some fluently, others only a bit). However, I think that when visiting another country you should try a few...
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Food and Drink Innsbruck
7 Reviews ... is another well-established Cafe-Konditorei in Innsbruck (the oldest in Innsbruck/Tyrol). Konditorei means pastry shop and you can expect self-made cakes and pastries. The Munding can be found in...
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Tipping Vienna
7 Reviews Although the US has a fixed percentage and Austria may not, tips in Salzburg or Vienna or Innsbruck are very welcome (just like in south Tirol, an Italian province at the border with Austria). And...
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Desserts Salzburg
10 Reviews There's no way to escape it when you are in Salzburg: MOZART everywhere and everything. And when too much of a good thing is too much, there's one Mozart-item you don't want to miss: the Mozartkugel....
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Music Innsbruck
3 Reviews As I was saying, we followed the sounds of the music into the park. Where we came upon a small bandstand in which there were about 12 - 15 people playing. I swear one of the songs they played was...
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festivals / Festwochen Vienna
23 Reviews From the 14th March until the 26 th March 2003, the 5th French speaking film festival will take place at the Votiv Cinema in Vienna! Films presented during this festival are from France, Egypt,...
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Beer and Wine Salzburg
7 Reviews I'm not a beer drinker at all but beer is a tradition in Austria so I just had to try it . Its very good actually especially on a hot July day . My husband was in his glory as he loves beer anyway. He...
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Seasons Innsbruck
3 Reviews The summer high season is in July and August, when crowds will be bigger and prices higher. The heat can be very uncomfortable during the summers in the cities. Some institutions also will close down...
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Kaffeehaus Vienna
17 Reviews Unlike the fast-paced, take-out coffee experience that is customary in America, Vienna has an unrushed café culture. Along with coffee, the waiter will serve a glass of cold tap water. Small food...
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Dining Salzburg
12 Reviews All of the food I tasted in Salzburg was first class, and I went out of my way to try the local dishes. One of these was Viennesse Beef! Served with a mint sauce and...
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People Innsbruck
3 Reviews When in Innsbruck/Tyrol --- or Austria in general you will hear a lot of folk-music mostly connected with some serious YODELING :) But how does one do that : holladiholladiridio????...
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dress - codes Vienna
3 Reviews Although there is no formal dress code in the sense that you won't be let in without a tie, you will for sure get better service and experience less arrogance and grumpiness if you dress up a little....
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historical costumes Salzburg
5 Reviews Watch out for the parades - especially on sundays and special festivities like Easter-Sunday, when I took this picture. A band in tradtional costumes parading through the city, with great music like...
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Old Town Innsbruck
5 Reviews Beautiful paintings everywhere you look. During the guided tour this painting was explained to us. But I have to admit, I forgot what it was.... sorry!!! It still is beautiful to look at though...
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X-mas / Weihnachten Vienna
19 Reviews I've been in a fair few European capitals in December but I think it's highly unlikely that anyone does Christmas better than the Viennese. The place seems somehow made for Christmas and you will have...
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Street Performers Salzburg
3 Reviews You know that Salzburg is a city of (mostly classical) music, don't ya? If not you'll quickly learn from the musicians playing on the streets. Even in cold winter. This one on the picture played...
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Traffic Innsbruck
2 Reviews Austria requires Toll stickers on all vehicles travelling on their motorways and highways. You can purchase these stickers from post offices and petrol stations or the Austrian Automobile Clubs....
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ball - season & carneval Vienna
4 Reviews The highlight of Vienna's social calendar, and the most important event, in the Viennese culture lives, is the Opera Ball that happens every year, into the Viennese Opera House. "Rich dance for the...
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Market Day on Thursday Salzburg
2 Reviews Every Thursday, even in winter a nice flower market is held on Residenzplatz in the New Town. I was quite surprised when I stumbled across this small, charming market right as I started my sightseeing...
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Innsbruck Card Innsbruck
1 Review Innsbruck Card includes free travel on public transport facilities, access to 21 sightseeing attractions and a return trip to the top of 'Nordkette' (7658 ft.), the Olympic 'Patscherkofl' (7372 ft.)...
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museums Vienna
24 Reviews Schoenbrunn castle - the former summerresidence of the austrian emperors. The big park around the castle Schoenbrunn is a great place for a walk, or to go jogging, BUT is Off limits for dogs...
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Coffee Salzburg
1 Review One of the truly Austrian habits is to spend some time weekly at the coffeehouse. "It's Austria!", they say. It's really relaxing to sit and drink nice coffee with a piece of cake! Isn't it marvelous!
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Events Innsbruck
2 Reviews If you have the opportunity to travel to Innsbruck at the end of November until some days before the 24th of December, you can enjoy the Christmas market. There is one in the Old Town at the Golden...
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I thought it is worth writing this tip: please do not spit in Austria. You will not find Austrians doing this. If you see one, most likely, the person is not an Austrian.I have just come from China where many people spit. This is not common in Austria.
If you go to a restaurant, do not forget to tip. If you don't leave some, that would imply that you were not happy with the service. 10% is customary but of course when the bill is high, it is totally up to you how much to give.Locals usually tell the waiter how much to get as they give the money. Say the bill is Euro 24, the customer gives Euro 30 and might say "26 Euros please" to the waiter. The waiter (a bit louder) says "Dankeschoen" (which means thank you) and gives back Euro 4 to the customer.In the hotel, it would be nice if you leave about Euro 1.5 to Euro 2 for every night of your stay.It is not common to give tips in takeaway shops, like in most countries.
Everywhere we went hiking, we saw lots of cows! The kids loved petting them. All of them are wearing large cowbells you can hear constantly while hiking. Some areas don't even have fences around them but they do have grates the cows don't like walking over on the hiking trails. I suppose the bells are there so you can find them if they wander off. We even saw some that looked like Highland cows. I thought they only had those in Scotland.
As snacks (to go with beer) Austrians like a kind of salted white radish ("Beer-Rettich"). A kind of creamy, red-pepper spiced curd ("Liptauer-cheese") served with rolls or pretzels is also a common and delicious snack, especially for cheese-lovers, available in most pubs , beer-gardens and Viennese "Heurigen"
This is obviously not the standard in Austria but rather a little fun episode to share.When our friends' lovely two-year-old twin daughters saw us coming in with helmets on, as we cycled to their house, they deemed it nice to wear their own too. The amusing part is that they kept them on all day for the entire weekend from breakfast to bed time! It happened then that we all wanted to have breakfast with something on our heads, pretending this would be the enforced safety rule of the house.
Apple strudel is a traditional pastry of Austria and a popular dish in many countries that once belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is the most widely known kind of strudel.Apfelstrudel consists of an oblong strudel pastry jacket with a filling of chopped apples, sugar, cinnamon, raisins and bread crumbs. Rum is sometimes used to add flavour. Other ingredients include pine nuts, walnuts, or slivered almonds. The secret is in making the pastry very thin and elastic.The filled Apfelstrudel is baked in an oven and traditionally is served warm, usually sprinkled with powdered sugar, and should be baked with good cooking apples that are tart, crisp, and aromatic.
We wanted to have dinner in Innsbruck but the restaurant was filled. I asked if we might wait in the bar (thinking perhaps a table would open up). My Austrian daughter in law explained to me that in Austria - when you are seated at a table, it is yours until you decide to leave... so there is no waiting for a table to "open up" as happens in the U.S. . We headed out and found an available table at a restaurant nearby.
1: keep to the right on stairs and escelators for those going faster than you. 2: try to speak quietly on the buses and trams as people are private and mind their own business.3: Try to speak at least the basic greetings, it's just polite. 4: Ladies, don't be surprised if men help you with your coat and open doors for you, even help you with your bags. You will get frowns for walking behind your man or for getting your own coat. 5: Dogs are well loved here and they are allowed everywhere, so don't be surprised. 6: The only soda you will find here is coke, they mostly drink coffee, wine, beer, and assorted juices. 7: Always carry change in case you go into a WC (similar to a portapotty only cleaner)some of them do charge and you might not notice until you're leaving the WC.
The food is part of a culture as it is a language, a religion and traditions. Food and nutritional habits say a lot about a country and it's people. So how to summarize Austria when it comes to food? Well, first of all, there is always LOTS of it, mostly made with a lot of fat (butter) and meat. So vegetarians, vegans or healthy-food-eaters beware, you are going to have a hard time in Austria. Why? Because even the "vegetarian options" on the menues (if there even are any veggie meals!!!) will be fried, fat and fried again!! Austrian Cuisine is good if you don't mind the calories. Try the famous Viennese Schnitzel, a Tyrolean Gröstl or of course the Apple Strudel. I am not so much a friend of the Sacher cake, as it is simply a chocolate cake way too expensive and not tasty at all. So don't go for the "original" one as it is not worth it. Have some Mozart Kugeln chocolates, they are in...
If you go between last week of November to first week of December, you might just chance upon the Krampus (see pix). During this period, they celebrate St. Niklaus Day. There will be youngsters dressed up in horrifying beast costumes, chasing after maidens (especially) and other people of course, asking them to atone for their sins (i think). It can be quite scary if you are caught unawares. Especially scary to children. But an interesting custom nevertheless.
Hotel Imperial Vienna
6 Reviews and 237 Opinions the hotel imperial is located downtown within walking distance of many of the sights of vienna. this...
Hotel Sacher Salzburg Salzburg
9 Reviews and 310 Opinions I stayed here for a weekend in the spring of 2011. The staff were lovely, the food (especially the...
Best Western Hotel Goldener Adler Innsbruck
5 Reviews and 245 Opinions I really cannot praise this hotel more highly. It stands in the heart of the old town just a few...
Reviews and photos of Austria attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Austria sightseeing.
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Q: My husband, my 8 month old baby and I are going to Vienna at the end of May, we will be going for one week, probably 4 days in...
A: Definitely Prague! It's more interesting, it's more bautiful, it's friendlier, it's cheaper and I can't think of in what way it would make a difference to parents of a...
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