Austria travel tips

Best time to visit Austria

Every guide's best months, checked against its own thirty-year rainfall: a filled month is recommended, a hatched one has over 250 mm of rain. Most of Austria agrees on Jan, Feb, Mar, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Dec.

PlaceJFMAMJJASONDIn words
HallstattMay to June, and September to October — the summer day-trip coaches arrive by the dozen and the winter is dark and beautifulMay to June, and September to October — the summer day-trip coaches arrive by the dozen and the winter is dark and beautiful
ViennaApril to May, September to October, December for marketsApril to May, September to October, December for markets
SalzburgMay to September, and December for the Christmas marketsMay to September, and December for the Christmas markets
KitzbühelDecember to March for the snow and the race, and June to September for the walking and the golf — the town stays open all year, unlike most of the AlpsDecember to March for the snow and the race, and June to September for the walking and the golf — the town stays open all year, unlike most of the Alps
St. Anton am ArlbergDecember to April for the snow — the resort is built for winter and much of it shuts outside it, with a short summer walking seasonDecember to April for the snow — the resort is built for winter and much of it shuts outside it, with a short summer walking season
InnsbruckDecember to March for snow, and June to September for the mountains — the shoulder weeks close the lifts and the huts bothDecember to March for snow, and June to September for the mountains — the shoulder weeks close the lifts and the huts both
Wachau ValleyMay to June, and September to October for the harvest — the winter closes the boats and most of the wine taverns with themMay to June, and September to October for the harvest — the winter closes the boats and most of the wine taverns with them
IschglLate November to early May for the snow — this is a winter resort almost exclusively, and the village mostly shuts for the summerLate November to early May for the snow — this is a winter resort almost exclusively, and the village mostly shuts for the summer
SöldenLate November to early May for the snow, and July to September for the high road and the walking — the glacier skis at both ends of the yearLate November to early May for the snow, and July to September for the high road and the walking — the glacier skis at both ends of the year
Zell am SeeDecember to March for the snow and June to September for the lake — the Kitzsteinhorn glacier skis at both ends of the year, which few places manageDecember to March for the snow and June to September for the lake — the Kitzsteinhorn glacier skis at both ends of the year, which few places manage
MayrhofenDecember to April for the snow, and June to September for the walking — the Hintertux glacier an hour away skis all twelve monthsDecember to April for the snow, and June to September for the walking — the Hintertux glacier an hour away skis all twelve months
Bad GasteinDecember to March for the snow and the baths, and June to September for the walking — the thermal baths and the town work all yearDecember to March for the snow and the baths, and June to September for the walking — the thermal baths and the town work all year

best month · over 250 mm · the letters are the months, January to December.

The guides in Austria

houses near body of water and mountain during daytimeHallstattAustriaA village of a few hundred people on a lake under a salt mountain, and the most photographed view in Austriaaerial photography of city buildingsViennaAustriaImperial palaces, coffee houses, and world-class musicSalzburg below the Hohensalzburg fortress at golden hourSalzburgAustriaMozart, a fortress on a rock, and the Alps starting at the end of the streetThe painted house fronts along Kitzbühel’s medieval main streetKitzbühelAustriaA walled medieval town that happens to have a ski resort attached, and the Hahnenkamm downhill every January, which is the most frightening race in the sporta snow covered mountain with a ski lift in the distanceSt. Anton am ArlbergAustriaThe birthplace of the modern ski school, at the centre of the biggest linked area in Austria, with a reputation for hard skiing and harder drinking that it has entirely earnedview of buildingsInnsbruckAustriaA Habsburg city with ski runs above the rooftops and a cable car from the middle of town to the Alpsgreen grass field near lake under blue sky during daytimeWachau ValleyAustriaForty kilometres of terraced Danube between two abbeys, with the best white wine in Austria on the slopesAn Alpine village of wooden chalets under the Paznaun ridgesIschglAustriaA high, snow-sure resort that links across the border into Switzerland for duty-free shopping, and puts on a stadium concert on the mountain twice a seasonThe sun setting on the ski slopes above SöldenSöldenAustriaTwo glaciers, the first World Cup race of every season, and a road that climbs to 2,800 metres — the highest paved pass in Austria — above the villagewhite and brown concrete building near body of water during daytimeZell am SeeAustriaA lakeside town with a glacier twenty minutes away, which means you can swim and ski in the same week and the resort does not shut for the summera car driving down a winding road in the mountainsMayrhofenAustriaA valley town at the end of the Zillertal with the steepest piste in Austria dropping into it, a music festival on the snow, and a working village underneath all of itThe waterfall frozen where it drops through the middle of Bad GasteinBad GasteinAustriaA belle époque spa town built in tiers down a gorge with a waterfall through the middle of it, half restored and half magnificently derelict, with radon thermal baths underneath