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| Tips and photos of unusual, out-of-the-way Austria attractions, posted by real travelers and locals. Map |
 | Austria Off the Beaten Path | Tips 11 - 20 of 185 |  |
The first mountain railway was built through the pass at Semmering in 1854. The train journey is worth the trip alone - it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site - see the website: http://www.bassa-austria.at/partner/trsued/whsemmeringbahn/home.htm for more on the railway. Atop forested terraces, huge hotels attest to Semmering's grand tourist past when the royal - and not so royal - of Vienna would make a mountain escape. See my Semmering pages for more ideas on this interesting and pretty area. Leave a Comment
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The limestone massifs of the Rax and the Wiener Schneeberg are separated by the deep Hollental (Hell's Valley) through which the Schwarza River flows. Along with the Rax, the Schneeberg is considered as a Wiener Hausberge - Home mountain for people from the Vienna region. You will find locals enjoying the mountain at all seasons. There is an extensive trail system in place with several mountain huts to stop or stay at. Many people take the cog railway - the Schneebergbahn - up from Puchberg - a resort town on the north side of the mountain. There is an old steam option or the green, yellow, black cars of the Salamander train. From the upper station - Hochschneeberg station, 1795 meters/5889 feet, you can walk across the summit plateau in a couple of hours to the massif high points: Kaiserstein 2061 m/6762 ft and the Kosterwappen 2075 m/6808 ft. The cliffs of the Rax lie directly west. These are the last 2000 meter peaks in the Alpine chains. Leave a Comment
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The royal family of the house of Liechtenstein is one of the older families in Europe. The family was one of the shining lights in the Hapsburg Empire serving closely being elevated to that of hereditary Imperial Prince in 1608. The family lived in Feldsberg (Valtice), Moravia in the 18th Century but moved closer to the powers that be - Vienna - in the 19th Century. They lived in the simple home pictured for most of the 19th Century - the Majoratspalais on Bankgasse, just off the Ring. The family has always been involved in amassing some of the world's greatest art treasures and these were housed in this palce until 1807 when they were relocated to the grander Gartenpalais, now the Liechtensteinmuseum, a grand house of baroque art opening to the public in the spring of 2004 - Vienna. The Majoratspalais still served as a family residence for when the family was in Vienna, though some of the building has been rented out to Austrian government agencies over the last years. The family is planning on opening up the entrance and grand staircase to the public in 2005. It is well worth a walk by if you are around the Hofburg in Vienna, just to see that some of the Hapsburg Empire is alive and well at its core.
http://www.fuerstenhaus.li/museum.0.html?〈=en for more on the history of the Ruling Family of the House of Liechtenstein.
http://www.liechtensteinmuseum.at/en/pages/home.asp for more on the new to open Liechtensteinmuseum located in the Gartenpalais - also in Vienna. Leave a Comment
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ust 50 minutes south of Salzburg, near the town of Werfen, are the largest accessible ice caves of the World - the Eisreisenwelt - World of the Ice Giants. To get to the caves is a little adventure in itself. From a car park on high (Minibuses do go up from Werfen below, too), you walk about 15 minutes to a cable car. From the upper station, another 15 minute walk takes you to the entrance of the caves. There is a 75 minute tour which visits formations and large caverns. You only visit 1/50th of the cave - there are over 42 km of passages which have been explored. Take warm clothes with you. These are ice caves, afterall:-] Leave a Comment
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During my castle viewing odyessy through Austria, I required a base for the Carinthia leg of my tour. I decided upon St. Veit An Der Glan because of its close proximity to the Hochosterwitz Castle and Friesach and for the fact that it was right on the rail line. Much to my pleasure, the town of St. Veit An Der Glan was rather pleasant with a lovely Hauptplatz and couple of interesting local attractions. All the more interesting was the town was having its annual oktoberfest. This was actually lots of fun and a great place to eat and drink after dark.
St. Veit An Der Glan does not seem to receive many English speaking tourists and is sort of off the beaten track since most people who visit Carinthia stay in Klagenfurt. I would advise anyone traveling through the region to stay here as the hotels are cheaper and it is more centrally located with Carinthia. Leave a Comment
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Any traveler visiting Bergenz has to travel to the top of Pfander Mountain. This mountain can be scaled either by foot or you can drive to the top. However the most common way to get to the top is by cable car. This has been expanded considerably since I visited back in 1993. At the top of Pfander is what most people might want to call a zoo even if the owners of the property would rather refer to it as the Pfander Wildlife Park. Anyway there are lots of animals indigenous to the Alps including mountain goats, deer and wild boar. They are contained in large fenced in compounds in an attempt to make it look unzoolike. It is free to access which is good because the ride up the cable car is going to set you back 9.50 Euros.
The real reason I visited the mountain top was for the views which are quite stunning. From the summit you can see up and down Lake Constance. Sadly there was an overcast on the day I visited or I think the views would have been all the more remarkable.
There are also several restaurants and shops also at the summit. The cable car operates from 9am to 7pm every day throughout the year. Leave a Comment
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Friesach has a wonderful castle that overlooks the town from a nearby hill called the Peterberg. The castle itself is called the Lavant. Much of it is in ruins however the keep is still standing. Within the castle walls is a fine 12th century church called the Peter's Church. The views of town from the castle walls are quite interesting. The castle is about a mile from the town centre of Friesach. Leave a Comment
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To be honest visiting Bergenz was less than a thrill but I did like this one attraction, the Martinsturm. The Martinsturm is located in what is essentially the old town of Bergenz, up on the slopes of the mountain overlooking the city. The tower is home to a military museum that was somewhat interesting. From the top of the tower there are fine views of Bergenz and Lake Constance. Leave a Comment Phone: 05574-466-32
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Friesach is pictureques little town on the highway from Klagenfurt to Vienna. Friesach is one of the few walled towns in Austria and one of the very rare towns in all of Europe with its moat still intact. All though it is probably an overused phrase to call the town timeless, there is fact little in town that is modern. There are also very few tourist inspite of the fact that the town is excellent place to stop on the way to or from Klagnefurt. In fact there were so few English speaking tourist coming here that the no one in the tourist office spoke the language. Therefore though the town has been compared to Germany's Rothenburg, unlike that town you have this one to yourself to stroll around in and check out the sights.
The town dates from somewhere in the 9th century and prospered through out much of the medieval years. Today there is an assortment of fine Gothic churches and a grand castle to explore. I personally found this part of Austria to be quite enchanting and Freisach, with it quaint little hotels and guesthouses, make for a fine base for exploring it.
The one little problem with the website posted below is that it is only in German. Many this states how unexplored Friesach is by foriegn tourists. Leave a Comment
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The Tirolean alps are filled with world-famouos ski villages and resorts. Everyone has heard of Innsbruch and Kitzbuhel. In the same neighborhood, but a little less known is the lovely town of Zell am See, right on the "Zeller See".
Most hotels and pensions in Zell are NOT slopeslide...you will have to take a short ski bus ride. But, Zell is a real town. It has real grocery stores, schools, etc. There is actually something to do when you've beaten yourself up to the point of quitting up on the slopes. : ) And, prices are a little lower than you'd find in the more famous places. Leave a Comment
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on February 24, 2004
on March 30, 2004
on March 26, 2003
