Austria is a very interesting tourist destination in Central Europe. A landlocked mountainous country, only a third of its territory is less than 500 meters above sea level.
Austria is in the center of some first-rate tourist territory; It borders Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south.
Austria has extensive railway lines. When you look at the schedules, you will see Vienna represented as Wien , the German name.
Mountainous Austria offers plenty of opportunities for scenic train routes. The best scenic train routes are mapped out for you in this guide to Scenic Train Routes in Austria.
The Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) manage a network of 5700 km of railway lines. Smaller companies have lines on alpine routes. There are also lines that work only in summer for tourists.
Below are some representative timetables for train travel in Austria to other tourist destinations. Times depend on the speed of the particular train chosen.
- Vienna to Salzburg: 3-4 hours, 159 miles
- Salzburg to Innsbruck: 2 hours, 86 miles
- Salzburg to Munich: 1-2 hours, 70 miles
- Vienna to Venice: 8-10 hours 273 miles
Resources for Austria on travel to Europe: articles
Check out this Austria City Guide for information on Vienna, Salzburg, Bregenz, Villach and Hallstatt and other Austrian tourist destinations.
When visiting some of these top destinations, a tourist often takes a short city tour or a tour of the rural treasures found on the outskirts. Viator has a page of their top Austria tours to peruse.
Photos of Austrian tourist destinations
Vienna pictures
Salzburg pictures
Other maps of Austria
Vienna and its surroundings are rich in vineyards, and it can be seen on our map of Austria’s wine regions.
Currency
The currency in Austria is the euro. At the time the euro was adopted, its value was set at 13,7603 Austrian shillings. [more about the euro]
Idiom
The main language spoken in Austria is German. The dialects are spoken throughout Austria: Wienerisch in Vienna, Tirolerisch in Tyrol and Volarlbergerisch in Vorarlberg. In the main tourist centers, English is widely spoken.
Restaurants
You will have a wide variety of places to eat, including cafes, heurigen (wine bars) and pubs. Overall, Austria’s restaurant food and service is remarkably well done, and not everything is as heavy as you’d expect. Still, you can eat traditional Schnitzel (thin cut, usually beef, breaded and fried) and Wiener Backhendl (chicken). To test whether a Wiener Schnitzel is up to par, it can be sat in white pants and should not leave a greasy mark. This course of action is recommended only for brave souls with unlimited resources to buy pants.
Tip
A 10-15 percent service charge is included in hotel and restaurant bills. Many people add 5% for good service. Attendees get a euro or so, and taxi drivers expect 10 percent.
Austrian rail passes
As Austria is a small country, you may want to buy an Austria-only rail pass, but you can get a better deal by combining Austria and one or more countries. A good combo is the Germany / Austria Pass. Want to go east? Try the Eurail Austria / Slovenia / Croatia Pass (Buy Directly or Get Info). A single country pass (Buy Directly or Get Info) for Austria is also available.
For more information on the Rail Pass, see Which Rail Pass is Right for Your Vacation.
Driving in Austria
General speed limits (unless otherwise stated): 50 km / h in cities, 100 km / h on motorways, 130 km / h on motorways.
Driving on the motorways in Austria requires the purchase and display of a ‘vignette’ on your vehicle. Find out more about the Austrian cartoon.
Wearing a seat belt is compulsory in Austria.
Austrian airports
There are airports in Vienna, Linz, Graz, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt.
The weather, when to go
The climate in Austria varies with altitude. For a map with information about Austria’s historical weather, see Austria’s travel weather.
