Located in the southeast of Austria, is the state of Styria. Dwelled in the spectacular beauty of nature and serenity, this place is a tourist's favourite. Graz, the state capital, is also known as 'the green state' and is famous for the lush greenery and the peaceful aura it has to offer.

The first time I visited Zell am See I was actually staying at a small town further north going back towards Saltzburg called Lofer bie Martin. I was staying in the Schloss Grubhoff castle which was once owned by the king of Bavaria but has now been converted into luxurious apartments which can be rented out as holiday lets.

With 49,000 beds in some 390 hotels and pensions, Vienna offers something for everybody, from five-star hotel to low-budget accommodation. Luxurious accommodation in Vienna almost invariably means living at the heart of the city, as many of Vienna's luxury-class hotels are located in the inner city.

After yesterday's exciting outing to Graz we were planning an even bigger outing today: an excursion to the so-called "Drei-Länderecke", an area where Austria, Italy and Slovenia come together. So we left early in the morning to drive from my home province of Styria along the A2 Highway to the Austrian province of Carinthia. The drive across the mountains of Western Styria is extremely scenic and the pleasant panoramas continued into the picturesque province of Carinthia ("Kärnten" in German)

Finally, after the rather rainy day yesterday I opened my curtains to an absolutely gorgeous day today. The lush green Alpine foothills and mountains surrounding Weiz were competing with the brilliant blue sky to catch my attention and naturally I had to get out on the road and explore. new building. Construction on the new baroque style church began in 1757 and was finally completed in 1776.

On a beautiful warm summer day and after a nice filling breakfast we got going early yesterday to embark on our Sunday excursion to the south-western part of Styria. I wasn’t particularly well-rested after a full day yesterday that included a hike, a local driving tour and a birthday party, but I was keen to explore the area west of Leibnitz, Styria’s foremost winegrowing region together with my brother Ewald, his wife Anneliese and our friends Luis and Isabella.

A true pleasure for horse fans! There are plenty of Austrian farms that offer riding holidays ideal for all horse devotees. The farms also offer equestrian instruction where riders are taught correct riding techniques. And they offer more...

Small, princely, intimate...The Principality of Liechtenstein is a microcosm - a small world of variety. The small state, located between Austria and Switzerland, stretches from the Rhine Valley to the mountains which have an altitude of more than 2,500 metres.

Spring is in the air (okay, not quite, but that will change) and the idea of leaving hearth and home to see something new and interesting seems alluring.  You could do worse than spending a (long) weekend or even a few days in the Bavarian capital Munich. 

Over the past several decades, Austria has become much more conscious of the needs of the bicyclist. There has been a steady trend in the creation of bicycle paths (from rural to urban), and, as bicycle riding has gained in popularity, a nation-wide infrastructure has, as it were, followed in tandem. Recently, a number of organizations have begun offering a large variety of tourist packages in Austria devoted to bicycling.

The Danube is rich in history and enveloped in an aura of legend and myth. From the mountains of the Black Forest the Danube makes its way through cliffs and surges down wild and romantic gorges to flow by mighty castles, palaces and monasteries, framed by the enchanting landscapes and Baroque splendor along its banks.

Airports are fascinating places. In the midst of all the rush is the enforced waiting. Waiting that people make use of in all sorts of ways. One of the things that I enjoy most doing is looking at people’s luggage and imagining what they do for a living, where they’ve been, where they’re going to and what they might be like if I knew them.

For the fortunate few, life isn’t complete without a backpacking trip through Europe. This right of passage is believed to further the maturation process of college students, according to sociologists. Of course, others have opined that copious amounts of alcohol, sun and Amsterdam have something to do with it. Regardless of your purpose, you still have to figure out what to take.

(ARA) - How would you like to have free accommodations the next time you travel -- not in a hotel but in a comfortable home away from home. The Broggers of Los Angeles, Calif., are among the growing number of worldwide travelers who have discovered the secret of home exchange and the “ticket” to incredible vacation opportunities.

Wales is truly a land of castles. There are more than 400 castle sites to discover across the principality, ranging from sites where only a few ruined walls remain to some of the finest examples of medieval military architecture in Europe. North Wales boasts a good selection of these castles, including Caernarfon Castle, Conwy Castle, Beaumaris Castle and Harlech Castle.

Experience Linz, Upper Austria’s capital, like never before and join us at the 4th OMV Linz-Donau Marathon! Apart from sign-posted running trails, Linz offers professional Running Seminars to get in perfect shape as well.

Austria’s high Alpine terrain is suitable all year round for ski and climbing tours. Steep runs and deep snow slopes are also, however, an avalanche hazard. 

Year for year, the aroma of cinnamon, mulled wine, Nuremberg sausages, burnt almonds and spicy lebkuchen (honeycake) wafts through the lanes of the "little town of wood and cloth," as the Christkindlesmarkt is locally known. But what makes the consciously traditional Christmas market into a "sensational" experience is more than just the smells.