Austria is full of rich cultural offerings and traditions, many dating from when Vienna was the seat of a powerful empire. There’s plenty of music, too. This is the country of Mozart and Johann Strauss, music festivals in Alpine settings, and the original setting of The Sound of Music.

Austria also offers fairy-tale castles and skiing, spectacular scenery and Sacher torte. The grandeur of Vienna’s imperial buildings matches Austria’s huge romantic streak and its passion for rituals.
Whether in the coffeehouse, the church or the grand ballroom, Austrians seem to blend a kind of Italian romanticism and charm with a Germanic love for order. You can experience that romanticism with something as simple as a hike through the mountains of the Tirol—or as spectacular as a visit to Vienna’s Spanish Riding School, where you can see the magnificent Lipizzaner stallions perform their gravity-defying “airs above the ground.”

For much of its history, Austria has been synonymous with the Habsburgs, the continent's most influential dynasty and one of the longest-lasting. They retained power for 700 years (1218-1918) through empire-building marriages and a series of pragmatic leaders. At the height of the country's glory, its great emperors controlled Europe from Spain to Poland and from Holland to modern-day Romania. Empire-building fostered other kinds of creativity: The nation was the music center of Europe during the 18th century and a hotbed of literature, art and science in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Mozart, Haydn, Strauss, Beethoven, Brahms, Kafka, Klimt and Freud are just a few of the luminaries who lived in Austria during the late imperial era.

Austria's mountains and valleys offer extensive and exceptional hiking opportunities. Trails wind through Alpine villages and countryside, offering breathtaking views and crisp mountain air. You may plan your own hiking trips, join a hiking group led by a local guide (check with the local tourist office for information) or purchase a hiking package complete with base hotels and a day-to-day itinerary. Inns and mountain huts dot the trails, so tents and cooking equipment are optional. If you plan to go hiking, be sure to take sturdy hiking boots, light rain gear and warm clothing (evenings in high altitudes can be very cold)

First-time visitors could spend an equal amount of time in Vienna and Salzburg. Vienna has more sights, but some enjoy the intimacy of Salzburg more. Austria is one of the most beautiful countries in Europe, so plan a minimum of 10 days to cover the areas on this itinerary.
Day 1—Arrive Vienna.
Days 2-4—Vienna.
Day 5—Drive to Melk to see the monastery (allow at least an hour); take the side trip to the ice caves of Dachstein Peak. Overnight in Hallstatt.
Day 6—In the morning, depart for a beautiful, unhurried drive (allow a minimum of four hours) through Bad Ischl (to see the emperor's summer hunting villa), St. Wolfgang, St. Gilgen, Lake Fuschl and picturesque sites in the Salzkammergut region. When you get to Salzburg, spend the night there.
Days 7-9—Salzburg.
Day 10—Depart Austria.
If you want to spend extra time in the Salzkammergut region, you could spend it in St. Wolfgang, a strikingly beautiful little town on the edge of a large lake. If you have five more nights available, visit Graz after Day 4 and then Innsbruck after visiting Salzburg. Another possibility is to travel from Vienna to Budapest, Hungary (five and a half hours by hydrofoil or three and a half hours by train), stay a night or several days, then return to Vienna (hydrofoil available only during the summer).

Sights—The Stephansdom; the Innere Stadt (the historic city center), with its winding back streets and baroque churches; the wonderful imperial buildings along the Ring; the Staatsoper (famed opera house); the Hapsburg tombs in the Kaisergruft; the Jugendstil (art-nouveau) Secession Building; Schonbrunn Palace and gardens; the Wiener Volksprater fairground; the tombs of the composers at the Zentralfriedhof.

Museums—Art collections at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Belvedere Palace and the Albertina; the Treasury, Imperial Apartments and Sisi Museum in the Hofburg; the MuseumsQuartier; the Sigmund Freud Museum; Mozart's only extant address, the Mozarthaus; Austria's famous Thonet chairs in the Hofmobiliendepot.

Memorable Meals—Traditional Austrian dining in the Palmenhaus, overlooking the former palace gardens; the large Wiener schnitzels at Figlmuller; the Kaiser's favorite tafelspitz at Plachutta; the views of the Stephansdom from Do & Co; Asian cooking at its freshest at Kim Kocht near the Volksoper; a sausage from a wurstlstand on a cold winter day.

Late Night—Enjoying a glass of wine and the schrammelmusik in the garden of a heurige (wine tavern); drinking beer in one of the city's labyrinthine medieval wine cellars; jazz at Porgy and Bess in the so-called Bermuda Triangle; outdoor dancing at the Volksgarten Disco; strolling through Vienna's famous Advent street markets during the Christmas season.

Walks—A stroll through the First district or along the Ring; a visit to the Donauinsel (an island in the Danube); an exploration of the huge parks at Schonbrunn Palace and the Lainzer Tiergarten; a walk through the forested hills of the Wienerwald to the Kahlenberg, with splendid views back across the city.

Especially for Students—The zoo (Schonbrunn Tiergarten) at Schonbrunn Park; the Prater amusement park at Weiner Volksprater; ice skating in winter; making music at the Haus der Musik; the aquariums and miniature forests of the Haus des Meeres.

Things to Know
Passport/Visa Requirements: Passports, sufficient funds and proof of onward passage are needed by citizens of Canada and the U.S. Visas are not required for a tourist visit of up to 90 days. Reconfirm travel document requirements with your carrier before departure.

Population: 8,199,783.
Languages: German, English..
Predominant Religions: Christian (Roman Catholic, Protestant), Islamic.
Time Zone: 1 hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (+1 GMT). Daylight Saving Time is observed from the end of March to the end of October.
Voltage Requirements: 220 volts. Two-pole socket with safety prong (50 Hz).
Telephone Codes: 43, country code; 512,Innsbruck; 5356,Kitzbuehel; 70,Linz; 662,Salzburg; 1,Vienna.