Most Beautiful Cities in Austria — PART TWO

Austria — the land of gorgeous Alpine surroundings and cultural cities that any culture lover must explore. In one of our previous blog posts (“5 Most Beautiful Towns in Austria“), we talked about five of the most beautiful cities in this amazing country, and in part two we bring you five more of them that you must explore and enjoy.

So, let’s explore a few more Austrian cities…

Klagenfurt, Carinthia

Klagenfurt, the capital of Carinthia, is the sixth-largest Austrian city, and it’s known as a bustling student city, with many interesting cultural things to see and lovely natural surroundings. One of the most famous places in Klagenfurt is Minimundus — a park with miniature versions of world-famous landmarks, a place where you can explore miniature cultural places from all around the globe. Just around the corner, you’ll find the Planetarium with amazing stories about the Universe.

Minimundus in Klagenfurt

Besides world-famous Minimundus, we loved exploring Klagenfurt’s best cultural landmarks. The most important one is Landhaus for sure. It’s the seat of the Carinthian Parliament, and it’s dating back to the 16th century. The building looks stunning from the outside, but you just have to get in and explore its Renaissance rooms, decorated with gorgeous frescos.

Klagenfurt is located in the south of Austria, and we may say that it’s the warmest one, even though it’s pretty close to the Alps. Winters are quite cold, but summers get really nice and warm in this city laying on the Wörthersee (Lake Wörther). So, if you get there during the summertime you’ll have different possibilities of enjoying the lake, such as stand up paddling. Oh, the scenery around the lake is wonderful, be sure to enjoy it and take a lot of photos.

Klagenfurt, City Hall
(cc) Johann Jaritz / CC BY-SA 4.0

Zell am See, Salzburg

Zell am See is, just like lovely Hallstatt that we talked about in the first part of this blog post, one of the best small cities in Austria. It is set on one of the most beautiful lakes in Austria — Zeller See (Lake Zeller), which also gives you some great opportunities in the summertime. Also, the mountains are gorgeous, and you can go for a nice hike.

Zell am See

If you decide to go Zell am See, be sure to explore the nearby Kaprun castle, that is dating back to the 12th century. It is the most popular tourist attraction in this part of Austria, and various events are held there throughout the year. The most famous one is for sure the Medieval Festival in the summer, which you must visit — you’ll feel like you’ve traveled through time.

Explore the gorgeous, medieval city center, and find the church which tower dominates the city skyline — St Hippolyte’s Church. This Romanesque church is one of the oldest buildings in this region, but the tower that we know now was added in the 15th century. Also, explore the square around the church, you’ll see some cute buildings, and you might stumble upon a local market, with amazing local specialties.

St. Hippolyte’s Church in Zell am See
(cc) Chmee2 / CC BY 3.0

Kufstein, Tyrol

Kufstein is the second-largest city in Tyrol, and it is quite an amazing Austrian destination, set on the Inn river, and on the border with Germany. Since it’s set on the foothills of the Alps, you will find many hiking trails that you can take to enjoy the amazing natural surroundings.

Kufstein has an amazing fortress, that’s actually its main landmark. The Kufstein Fortress (German: Festung Kufstein), overlooking a river, was first mentioned at the beginning of the 13th century, and today it serves as the city museum. In the remote area called Mariastein, you will find an amazing church, set on a rock, dating back to the 14th century, that has been the pilgrimage church from the 15th century.

The Kufstein Fortress

Feldkirch, Vorarlberg

Feldkirch is a city set on a border with Switzerland and Liechtenstein, and it’s an impressive medieval center that you must visit. You must see the Schattenburg Castle, which is now a museum that shows local history and architecture.

The Old Town, locally known as Heiligkreuzl, is just stunning, so if you’re into seeing some real old-world charm, you cannot miss this one. Explore its tiny alleys lined with quaint cafes, stores, and eateries. Cross the Heiligkreuz Bridge, and take some photos of it — it’s very picturesque. Also, there are some amazing parks in its surroundings, so be sure to wander around a little and explore them.

Feldkirch Old Town
(cc) library_mistress  / CC BY-SA 2.0

Bregenz, Vorarlberg

Bregenz is set on one of the most beautiful lakes in Austria — Bodensee or Lake Constance, which is shared with Germany and Switzerland. It has the amazing preserved city wall that dates back to the 13th century, and if you follow it you’ll stumble upon more amazing attractions of this stunning old city. You must see its city hall from the 17th century and the amazing building of the Post office.

Bregenz
(cc) Florian Glöcklhofer / CC BY-SA 2.5

There is also one stunning church, that dominates the city skyline. It’s the neo-Gothic Herz-Jesu-Kirche, which is a pretty new building, dating back to the beginning of the 20th century. Visit the Vorarlberg Museum, where you will learn about the history of Vorarlberg — the smallest and richest state in Austria.

Besides exploring its cultural places, be sure to climb up the Pfänder ski resort, you will enjoy nature, as well as the amazing panoramic view of the city.

These are some of the most beautiful places in Austria, for the rest, we recommend you to visit the first part of this blog post: “5 Most Beautiful Towns in Austria“