Austria holidays
Some elements of the Austrian character haven’t changed much over the centuries: the partiality for indulgence, beauty, and cultivation have always been driving forces in the country’s past and present.Naturally beautiful landscapes, mountains, lakes and rivers come as standard in a country that runs from the elegance of Vienna in the north, to the Italian influenced warmth of the Carinthian mountains in the south.
Austria’s capital Vienna, offers cultural events, majestic sights, coffee houses and special Viennese charm. Salzburg, whose picturesque old town is a UNESCO world heritage site, is the birthplace of Mozart and is dominated by churches, castles and palaces.
Austria's towns and cities are famous for their fascinating architecture comprising all styles from gothic to renaissance, from baroque to the Wilhelmine era and from art nouveau to post modernism.
- Vienna is home to the spectacular Schloss Schönbrunn, the former Imperial summer residence and the huge Hofburg (Imperial Palace). Vienna owes much of its international fame to the many celebrated composers who lived there including Strauss, Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn.
- The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the world’s best, the Staatsoper one of the world’s leading opera houses, the Vienna Boys’ Choir one the world’s most famous. After you’ve waltzed your way around the city, be sure to pause for traditional Viennese coffee and cakes in the Old Town. Totally indulgent, but that’s half the pleasure.
- A Salzburg break offers a surfeit of glorious architecture. Festung Hohensalzburg is Central Europe’s largest intact fortress whilst the Princely Residence is a magnificent early baroque edifice. An astonishing 4,000 events combine to make Salzburg one of the most important cultural capitals in Europe. The acclaimed Salzburg Festival, founded in 1920, is the high point in Salzburg’s cultural calendar.
