Austria Travel Guide to Top Tourist Attractions
As one of Europe's foremost favorite holiday destinations, Austria attracts visitors all-year-round with fabulous sites to see during summer and winter. Actually, having a few of Europe's best skiing, winter is nearly as busy and popular as summer in the nation's stunning mountainous regions.
Tourists are drawn magnetically to the beautiful scenery in the Alpine republic's provinces as well as to the superb cities such as Vienna and lovely Salzburg where world-famous Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born.
In spite of being one of Europe's smaller nations, Austria is mainly a country of upland areas and tall mountains such as the Eastern Alps occupying no less than 60% of its territory. The River Danube naturally flows for approximately 350 kilometers covering west to east along the northern portion of the nation, enhancing its allure as a prime tourist destination.
Now you can discover the top sightseeing opportunities and what you can do by using this practical Austria travel guide to find top attractions in Austria. Why leave anything to chance and miss seeing something very significant while visiting Austria.
1) The Vienna Hofburg. The extraordinary Vienna's Hofburg Palace for centuries has been the seat of Austria's monarchy for the mighty Habsburgs. Today the President conducts officially state business precisely in the same rooms which Emperor Joseph 11 once occupied. Almost each Austrian ruler from 1275 ordered alterations or additions that resulted in several various architectural influences such as Classicism, Gothic, Rococo, Baroque, and Renaissance.
Together with its numerous fine gardens and squares, the whole Hofburg complex now comprises about 59 acres that encompass 2,600 rooms and 19 courtyards. A great tour here should include the Imperial silver collection, as well as the various dining services that exude unmistakable aura where sumptuous banquets once occurred here.
Do not forget to visit the Sisi Museum, which focuses on the times of and Empress Elisabeth's life, and then the Imperial Apartments, containing 19 rooms, where Emperor Franz Joseph and his wife once resided.
2) Salzburg Altstadt. As the place where Prince Archbishops called home, Salzburg became a spiritual focal site from an early period of European Christianity. St. Rupert founded the Benedictine Abbey of St. Peter in AD 690 and in the center of the Altstadt serving archbishops' residence till the early 1100s.
The Prince Archbishops went so far to employing the best architects and artists of their times in both building and decorating their monasteries, churches, and residences, and though those have been restored but in the exacting tastes of consecutive centuries, both the medieval and Baroque structures combine to develop a lovely old quarter worth exploring.
Highlights include from St. Peter's Abbey, its church, its charming cemetery, to its catacombs, immediately identified as a filming location for The Sound of Music.
Close by stands the cathedral, and by roaming around its bright Baroque burgher homes, you'll come across delightful squares and attractions which include Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's birthplace, today a museum. Beyond the striking spires and cupolas rises Salzburg's castle of Hohensaltzburg that you may reach through a funicular.
3) The Spanish Riding School. The school goes back to Emperor Maximilian 11's time, who introduced the renowned Lipizzaner horses into his country in 1562.
Nowadays, aristocracy prefers the old style of riding and is still practiced. Tourists won't want to miss seeing famous equestrian being displayed in the Baroque Winter Riding School, which occurs here from Charles VI's time.
Constructed in 1735, the handsome hall was designed for the nobles to show their riding skills. Since the tickets to watch the graceful creatures performing their "dance" are popularly sought after, you are advised to book online, far in advance.
4) Schonbrunn Palace. Situated on the outskirts of Vienna, the palace was built in 1700s, and then, some time later, Empress Maria Theresa transformed it into a summer residence. A tour will include highlights, from taking you through the palace's 40 rooms, open to the general public, the Great Gallery with decorative ceiling paintings, the Royal apartments, the Million Room, and then Maria Theresa's salon that displays its gilded and carved rosewood panels. Also, you'll see the striking Hall of Mirrors, built with gold Rococo-framed mirrors. Behind the palace extend 500 acres of gardens and parks, all in the Baroque style common in the 18th century.
Be sure when visiting Schönbrunn that you don't miss attractions such as the maze-like formal gardens; the Palm House that's filled with exotic and tropical butteries and plants; an Alpine garden attached to a farmhouse; Europe's reputed oldest zoo; and finally, the classical Gloriette, which is a great marble building beautifying a hill beyond the gardens.
A carriage museum located in the old Winter Riding School now displays many historical state sleighs and coaches. The whole palace and complex of gardens are today a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
5) Innsbruck's Hofburg. The Emperor Maximilian l, reigning between 1400s and 1500s, decided to make Innsbruck the central residence as well as the power base of the Hapsburg government, and as a consequence, becoming Europe's focal point. Empress Maria Theresa remodeled his palace in 18th-century Rococo and Baroque styles. A tour's highlights include the opportunity to see the lavish royal apartments, the painted ceilings all over, and the marble Giant Hall.
The highlight of the Court Church is the stunning Tomb of Emperor Maximilian l, dying in the year 1519. Everywhere considered the greatest example of Renaissance sculpture by the Germans, the monument's main feature is the huge black marble sarcophagus showing the emperor in a bronze figure. Nearby are twenty-four marble reliefs which depict major events in the emperor's life. Close by, stand 28 bigger-than-life-size statues of bronze that represent the emperor's ancestors and even contemporaries.
Additional works of sculpture include twenty bronze busts of Roman rulers and twenty-three bronze statues of saints which belong to the Habsburg family.
