Well worth a side trip on your return to Salzburg is the ancient village of Hallstatt (34 miles southeast of Salzburg), dating back centuries B.C. Perched between water and mountain, the storybook square and cluster of terraced fishermen’s cottages and churches overlook a tranquil, fjordlike lake. A thrilling funicular runs up the mountain, where it’s a short hike to the entrance of the world’s first known salt mines, which visitors can tour.
Built as a public works project, the winding Grossglockner Road opened in 1935.
WHERE: Salzburg is 157 miles/253 km west of Vienna; Lienz is 131 miles/211 km south of Salzburg. WHEN: road closed Dec–Apr. BEST TIME: May–Sep for nicest weather.
Historic Architecture and Modern Design
OLD GRAZ
Austria
Graz, established as the southeastern seat of the Hapsburg Empire in 1379, features one of Central Europe’s best-preserved Altstädte (Old Towns). Known for its magnificent architecture from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, it buzzes with upbeat energy, thanks to a sunny climate and three prominent universities, the oldest founded in the 16th century. Europe’s largest armory is located here, with more than 30,000 pieces of every imaginable kind of armor and weaponry filling four floors of the 17th-century Landeszeughaus. Jump forward a few centuries at the curvy Kunsthaus (House of Art), Graz’s newest landmark, which holds contemporary art bragging rights for its groundbreaking exhibitions. It billows up from the banks of the Mur in striking contrast to the medieval contours of the Old Town. Off the river’s banks is the Murinsel (Mur Island), an artificial floating platform made of glass and steel and home to an amphitheater, playground, and trendy café-bar.
You can find a refreshing blend of antiquity and contemporary art at the Schlossberg Hotel, in two splendid 16th-century Baroque buildings; its 54 guest rooms are situated around three courtyards, providing a cloistered serenity. Ride the elevator to the hillside terrace for a spectacular view. There’s more art behind the glass-and-metal façade of the sophisticated Augarten Hotel, which features a warm interior accented by chestnut-hued wood and colorful works by more than 250 contemporary artists. In its 56 gorgeous guest rooms, mid-century–modern furnishings contrast with soothingly neutral walls.
From spring until fall, a number of prestigious fairs and music festivals enliven the flagstone streets and squares, while students keep the atmospheric beer cellars, bars, and beisls (pubs) full. Fresh herbs and produce vie for attention with homemade cheeses and local pumpkinseed oil at the farmers market behind the opera house. One of Graz’s most enticing day trips is a meander along any of the eight weinstrassen (wine roads) south of the city (see also the Wachau Valley, p. 90). At the Bundesgestüt (Federal Stud) in nearby Piber, visit the famous Lipizzaner horses, bred and raised here for the Spanish Riding School in Vienna (see p. 85).
Architects Peter Cook and Colin Fournier designed the organically shaped Kunsthaus art museum.
WHERE: 124 miles/200 km southwest of Vienna. LANDESZEUGHAUS: Tel 43/316-80179810. KUNSTHAUS GRAZ: Tel 43/316-80179200; www.museum-joanneum.at. SCHLOSSBERG HOTEL: Tel 43/316-8070; www.schlossberg-hotel.at. Cost: from $195. AUGARTEN HOTEL: Tel 43/316-208-00; www.augartenhotel.at. Cost: from $200. FEDERAL STUD: Tel 43/1533-9031; www.piber.com. BEST TIMES: early Jun for Spring Festival of electronic art and music; late Sep–mid-Oct for Steierischer Herbst (Styrian Autumn) festival; late Nov–Dec for Christmas markets and Piber’s Christmas Walk.
Much More than Just Mozart
SALZBURG: BAROQUE AND MODERN
Austria
This golden city’s High Baroque architecture is due in large part to prince-archbishop Wolf Dietrich, who reigned from 1587 to 1612. He lavished much of his wealth on rebuilding Salzburg into an Italianate city based around five plazas, dominated by the medieval Hohensalzburg Fortress atop its rocky cliff. The French-style confection of Schloss Mirabell, which he generously built for his mistress (and their 15 children), sits across the Salzach River from the opulent Residenz, historic home of the ruling prince-bishops and dating from the 12th century. The Residenz houses magnificent staterooms and a gallery of Rembrandts, Rubens, and other European masters.
As you wander the heart of Salzburg, with the famous Glockenspiel ringing out classic Mozart or Haydn, you can’t miss the massive Salzburger Dom. With towers 249 feet high, the grand 17th-century cathedral is renowned for its 4,000-pipe organ and elaborate frescoes. Next to the 13th-century Stiftkirche St. Peter—the church where Mozart premiered his Great Mass in C Minor in 1783—is the bustling restaurant and beer cellar he frequented, Stiftskeller St. Peter. First mentioned in a document in A.D. 803, Austria’s oldest eatery still draws crowds for candlelit dinners while costumed performers sing arias from Mozart’s operas.
Indeed, it is impossible to escape the presence of Mozart here in his hometown (the Salzburg Festival celebrates his work annually; see p. 81). In Getreidegasse, the Old Town’s venerable merchants’ quarter, Mozart’s Geburtshaus (birthplace) is a pilgrimage destination for music lovers. Now a museum, it contains many of his childhood belongings, including musical scores and his first child-size violin. A few steps away is one of the country’s most glamorous hotels, the Goldener Hirsch, a 600-year-old historical monument that’s ground zero during the city’s various festivals and a favored choice for its excellent service and wonderful restaurant. The neighborhood is characterized by flower-bedecked arcades and inviting eateries, such as the historical Café Tomaselli, where people-watching is enjoyed over coffee and homemade pastries on a delightful cobblestone square.
Pulsing new life into this historic city are experimental restaurants, design hotels, and the brand-new hilltop Museum der Moderne. Clad in minimalist white marble and glass, it has three exhibition levels and a restaurant terrace that offers spectacular views, particularly magical at night. Down in the Old Town, French fare is served with an Austrian twist at chic Esszimmer, where a glass floor allows guests to gaze down on the flowing Almkanal. Hotel Stein, the 1399 hostelry on the banks of the Salzach River, now boasts modern rooms dressed in either neo-Baroque or animal prints, with a rooftop café that offers great views and buzzes with locals come evening. The 660-year-old Arthotel Blaue Gans blends medieval stone arches and ancient wood beams with minimalist rooms and a top-notch restaurant, both highlighted with avant-garde works from the hotel’s own art collection.
WHERE: 186 miles/299 km southwest of Vienna. STIFTSKELLER ST. PETER: Tel 43/662-841-2680; www.haslauer.at. Cost: Mozart Dinner $65. HOTEL GOLDENER HIRSCH: Tel 43/662-8084; in the U.S., 800-325-3535; www.goldenerhirsch.com. Cost: from $270. MUSEUM DER MODERNE: Tel 43/662-842-220; www.museumdermoderne.at. ESSZIMMER: Tel 43/662-870-899; www.esszimmer.com. Cost: dinner $85. HOTEL STEIN: Tel 43/662-8743460; www.hotelstein.at. Cost: from $275. ARTHOTEL BLAUE GANS: Tel 43/662-842-4910; www.blauegans.at. Cost: from $210. BEST TIMES: late Jan for Mozart Week; Mar—Apr for Easter Festival; late Jul–Aug for Salzburg Festival; late Nov–Dec for Christmas Market on the Domplatz.
“The wonderful, inexhaustibly magical city, with its mysterious, soft, light-saturated air!”—HUGO VON HOFMANNSTHAL
VIENNA
Austria
A fresh breeze of creativity has been sweeping through this gracious old-world city, adding 21st-century appeal to the legacies of Beethoven, the Strausses, Freud, Klimt, and Mahler. One of the most compelling capitals of Europe, Vienna is exploding with contemporary art in the new MuseumsQuartier and emerging design districts, while forward-thinking architecture distinguishes new hotels and cutting-edge restaurants rife with culinary talent. More than ever, the romantic city on the Danube—famous for its gemütlichkeit, its cafés and dazzling confections, its coffeehouses, and its Lipizzaners—is a delightfully civilized and elegant place and a timeless destination for art, music, and culture.
TOP ATTRACTIONS
THE HOFBURG (IMPERIAL PALACE)—The Hofburg served as the seat of Hapsburg emperors for 6 centuries, through the Holy Roman Empire until the end of the monarchy (1806–1918). E
ach emperor made his own additions and renovations, resulting in today’s sprawling complex, the official seat of the Austrian president. Among 18 wings, 19 courtyards, and 2,600 rooms, you’ll find the following highlights:
The Michaelerkuppel tops off the Hofburg Palace.
The Imperial Apartments (Kaiserappartments)—Emperor Franz Josef I lived here in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Visitors can tour his opulent private rooms, the great audience hall, and the dining rooms, richly decorated in Rococo stucco work, tapestries, and Bohemian crystal chandeliers—Vienna at its most Viennese. INFO: Tel 43/1-533-7570; www.hofburg-wien.at.
Lipizzaner Horses of the Spanish Riding School—Founded in 1572, the Spanische Reitschule preserves classic dressage in its purest form, with frequent presentations executed with charmingly antiquated formality (including their morning exercise performed to music) that are open to the public. These horses are said to be the finest equestrian performers on earth. INFO: Tel 43/1-533-9031; www.srs.at.
The Treasury (Schatzkammer)—This superb collection includes the imperial crowns of the Holy Roman and Austrian empires and numerous treasures from the house of Burgundy and the Order of the Golden Fleece. INFO: Tel 43/1-525-240; www.khm.at.
Vienna Boys’ Choir at the Hofburgkapelle—Linked with Vienna’s musical life since 1498 and associated over the years with composers such as Mozart, Schubert, and Bruckner, members of the choir perform Sunday Mass at the Imperial Chapel (reservations are required). INFO: www.wsk.at. When: Jan–Jun and Sep–Dec.
ALBERTINA MUSEUM—Combining a 17th-century palace and a new 14-story building, the Albertina contains one of the world’s largest collections of graphic art, from the Gothic to the contemporary, plus some 25,000 architectural drawings and a major photography collection. The impressive permanent collection, including Albrecht Dürer’s fabled Hare (1502), is complemented by important temporary exhibitions. INFO: Tel 43/1-534-830; www.albertina.at.
SCHLOSS BELVEDERE (BELVEDERE PALACE)—This is actually two 18th-century palaces separated by landscaped gardens. The upper palace exhibits 19th- and 20th-century Viennese art, including the world’s largest collection of paintings by Gustav Klimt (The Kiss and Judith among them). The lower palace showcases the Gothic and Baroque. INFO: Tel 43/1-795-570; www.belvedere.at.
KUNSTHISTORISCHES MUSEUM—One of the richest fine-arts museums on the planet, with works from the ancient world and all over Europe, is housed in palatial galleries across from the Hofburg Palace. The Italian and Flemish collections are especially fine, as is the world’s largest collection of paintings by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, which includes his Hunters in the Snow. INFO: Tel 43/1-525244-025; www.khm.at.
MUSEUMSQUARTIER (MQ)—Once the grounds of the imperial stables and now Vienna’s sprawling cutting-edge cultural complex, the MQ is home to open-air restaurants and more than 60 arts institutions, including museums, artist studios, and performance spaces. The Kunsthalle hosts contemporary exhibitions, the steel-gray Museum Moderner Kunst (MUMOK) features modern art and international design, and the limestone Leopold Museum boasts the world’s largest collection of works by Egon Schiele. Recharge at the popular café Halle, in the MQ. INFO: Tel 43/1-523-5881; www.mqw.at.
ST. CHARLES CHURCH (KARLSKIRCHE)—Built in the early 18th century, this Baroque masterpiece has an entrance framed by huge freestanding columns, replicas of Rome’s Trajan’s Column. From the top of the dome, enjoy the heavenly frescoes within and the magnificent views out over the city. INFO: Tel 43/1-504-6187; www.karlskirche.at.
ST. STEPHEN’S CATHEDRAL (STEPHANSDOM)—Even after centuries of renovation and rebuilding, the Stephansdom, dedicated in 1147, retains a medieval atmosphere. Its towering Gothic spires still dominate the city skyline. Inside, it’s full of monuments, sculptures, and paintings. Catacomb tours run regularly, revealing sarcophagi of former archbishops and Hapsburg emperors. INFO: Tel 43/1-515-52-3526; www.stephanskirche.at.
SCHLOSS SCHÖNBRUNN—Built by the Hapsburgs between 1696 and 1712, this 1,441-room summer palace was inspired by Versailles and is filled with delicate Rococo touches that set it in contrast to the starker Hofburg. Mozart performed here at age six for the Empress Maria Theresa, and Emperor Franz Joseph was born here. About 40 of its rooms are open to visitors, and the palace’s park, opened to the public around 1779, is still popular for its hedge maze, reproduction Roman ruins, botanical garden, and zoo. INFO: Tel 43/1-811-13-239; www.schoenbrunn.at.
OTHER MUST-DOS
CHRISTMAS IN VIENNA—Vienna is Christmas: white with snow, adorned with traditional decorations, and beautifully noncommercial. There’s midnight mass at St. Stephen’s, where the Vienna Boys’ Choir performs Viennese carols. At City Hall’s Christkindlmarkt, which dates back to 1298, hundreds of festive outdoor stands sell everything that smells and tastes of the holidays. Behind the MuseumsQuartier, the bohemian Spittelberg neighborhood’s more intimate market is popular for its artisanal stalls along narrow lanes fronting Biedermeier and Baroque façades.
The country’s most-visited Christmas market takes place at Rathausplatz, Vienna’s City Hall square, during the weeks leading up to the holiday.
THE MUSIKVEREIN—Built in 1867, with nearly flawless acoustics, the Musikverein is one of the greatest music halls in the world. It’s home to the Vienna Philharmonic, whose New Year’s concert featuring the music of Johann Strauss is broadcast around the globe. The celebrated Vienna Mozart Concerts take place here and elsewhere in town, from May to October. INFO: Tel 43/1-505-8190; www.musikverein.at.
THE STAATSOPER (VIENNA STATE OPERA)—Built in 1887 as the imperial court opera, the green-domed opera house is one of the world’s best, offering an incredibly long season of masterworks by Verdi, Mozart, and Strauss. INFO: Tel 43/1-514-44-2250; www.wiener-staatsoper.at.
VIENNESE BALL SEASON—Vienna takes its ball season seriously. Beginning on New Year’s Eve with the Imperial Ball at the Hofburg and continuing through Fasching (Carnival) season until Lent begins, thousands of white-tied and elegant-gowned waltzers attend more than 300 formal balls. The belle of them all is the legendary Opera Ball, established by the Emperor Franz Josef in 1877 and held in the ornate Staatsoper. Tickets are easier to come by for galas hosted by the professions, including the Coffeehouse Owners’ and Florists’ Balls, held in such venerable venues as the Imperial Palace and City Hall. INFO: www.vienna.info. OPERA BALL, VIENNA STATE OPERA: Tel 43/1-514-44-2250; www.wiener-staatsoper.at. Cost: from $240. IMPERIAL BALL, HOFBURG: Tel 43/1-587-36-6623; www.kaiserball.at. Cost: from $180.
WHERE TO STAY
HOTEL ALTSTADT—This former aristocrat’s home in the cobbled Spittelberg neighborhood has been carefully transformed into an elegant 42-room Viennese inn featuring contemporary art from the owner’s personal collection. The newest wing, designed by renowned Italian architect Matteo Thun in 2006, features nine dramatic rooms with gray-black walls and red velvet upholstery. INFO: Tel 43/1-522-6666; www.altstadt.at. Cost: from $195.
HOTEL IMPERIAL—Built in 1867 in the Renaissance style by Emperor Franz Josef for his niece and her husband, Vienna’s trophy hotel is still the official hotel for state visitors. Many details remain unchanged (give or take a few multimillion-dollar renovations): priceless furnishings, marble floors, gilded balustrades, ceiling frescoes, glittering chandeliers. Guests will naturally feel as if they’re being treated like Queen Elizabeth, who uttered before leaving that it was “the most beautiful hotel we have ever stayed in.” INFO: Tel 43/1-501-100; in the U.S., 800-325-3589; www.hotelimperialvienna.com. Cost: from $465 (off-peak), from $565 (peak).
HOTEL KÖNIG VON UNGARN—Simple and polished, with old-world service, the 33-room King of Hungary property is Vienna’s oldest hotel, tucked away in the shadow of St. Stephen’s cathedral and in operation since 1746. After a day of exploring Old Town’s busy Kärnterstrasse and meandering passageways, relax over drinks in the lovely glass-ceilinged courtyard. INFO: Tel 43/1515-840; www.kvu.at. Cost: from $250.
HOTEL RATHAUS WEIN UND DESI
GN—Housed in an 1890s building with a gorgeous original iron elevator and inviting winter garden, this boutique hotel, opened in 2004, takes wine appreciation to new levels. All its 39 handsome, high-ceilinged guest rooms are stocked with professional stemware and wine-based bath products, and each room is dedicated to a top Austrian vintner who provides wines for the minibar. INFO: Tel 43/1-400-1122; www.hotel-rathaus-wien.at. Cost: from $225 (off-peak), from $300 (peak).
THE RING HOTEL—This chic urban hideaway behind a historic façade is known for impeccable service and laid-back luxe design. Opened in 2007, The Ring boasts a superb location on the leafy Ringstrasse, an inviting spa, and 68 spacious rooms with high ceilings and easy-on-the-eyes minimalist décor. It is the new face of Vienna’s hotel array, a welcome alternative to the city’s ubiquitous Imperial style. INFO: Tel 43/1-22122; www.theringhotel.com. Cost: from $280.
HOTEL SACHER—Opened in 1876 by Eduard Sacher, 44 years after his father created their namesake torte (still served in the hotel’s café; see below), this luxury hotel evokes pure elegance, from the plushly decorated parlor and crystal chandeliers to guest rooms with silk-covered walls and original paintings from its private collection. A roof-raising expansion in 2005 added two floors of more modern accommodations. INFO: Tel 43/1514-560; www.sacher.com. Cost: from $515 (off-peak), from $615 (peak).
1,000 Places to See Before You Die Page 15