I have been to Graz for several days earlier this year and I can tell you that this town has much more to offer than just the famous Clock Tower (Uhrturm) for which it is known.
Graz is the third-largest town in Austria, it is located about 200 km south of Vienna, it is the capital of Styria ... Read review
excl. Breakfast - HRS Rating: 7,65/10 - Are you looking for a hotel, whose employees are ... more
always doing their utmost to guarantee you the most pleasant stay at Graz? For a hotel, which saves you a lot of time due to its central location and easy accessibility? For a hotel in comfortable lounge design, equipped with state-of-the art technical equipment, stylish, large and newly renovated guest rooms with complimentary wireless internet access?For a hotel which serves you a delicious and rich buffet breakfast, which gives you the energy to begin a successful day?Stop searching! You have already found the perfect spot! City: old town, cathedral, castle, mausoleum, villa, armoury, Schloßberg, Renaissance architecture.Surrounding area: 7 wine routes, Apfel / Schlösser / Eisenstraße, Piber (Lippizaner stud farm), open-air museum.Outings: Bärnbach, Stainz, Marburg, Hungary.
Only a few minutes' walk away from the centre and the historic old town, the Austria Trend ... more
Hotel Europa Graz is located opposite the city's main train station. Whether in Graz for business or pleasure, you will enjoy the central location and modern amenities of the Hotel Europa - an international hotel that has retained its uniquely Austrian flair for hospitality.
Information: :Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
Location. The five floor Austria Trend Hotel Europa Graz was built in contemporary style ... more
with clean white lines in 1986 and is situated 1.5 kilometres from the medieval centre of Graz, a World Heritage Site. The Kunsthaus (art gallery) is 1.5 kilometres from the hotel and Schloss Eggenberg, a 16th century castle, is two kilometres away. Graz railway station is 200 metres from the hotel and Graz Thalerhof Airport is 12 kilometres away, with an approximate driving time of 20 minutes. Hotel Features. Guests can relax in the sauna and solarium and the hotel has an imposing two floor atrium lobby with greenery, air conditioning and high speed wireless Internet (surcharge). Complimentary newspapers are available, the hotel has a bar and a breakfast (surcharge) is served each morning. The 24 hour front desk has multilingual staff and a safe deposit box. Guestrooms. The 114 guestrooms are located over five floors and have decor in earth tones with contemporary furnishings including desks. All are equippedwith satellite television, high speed wireless Internet (surcharge) and direct dial phones. Other amenities include climate control, safes and minibars. Bathrooms provide hair dryers. Expert Tip. Visitors can revisit medieval middle Europe as they stroll around the old town of Graz, a World Heritage Site.
Information: :Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
Location. The five floor Austria Trend Hotel Europa Graz was built in contemporary style ... more
with clean white lines in 1986 and is situated 1.5 kilometres from the medieval centre of Graz, a World Heritage Site. The Kunsthaus (art gallery) is 1.5 kilometres from the hotel and Schloss Eggenberg, a 16th century castle, is two kilometres away. Graz railway station is 200 metres from the hotel and Graz Thalerhof Airport is 12 kilometres away, with an approximate driving time of 20 minutes. Hotel Features. Guests can relax in the sauna and solarium and the hotel has an imposing two floor atrium lobby with greenery, air conditioning and high speed wireless Internet (surcharge). Complimentary newspapers are available, the hotel has a bar and a breakfast (surcharge) is served each morning. The 24 hour front desk has multilingual staff and a safe deposit box. Guestrooms. The 114 guestrooms are located over five floors and have decor in earth tones with contemporary furnishings including desks. All are equippedwith satellite television, high speed wireless Internet (surcharge) and direct dial phones. Other amenities include climate control, safes and minibars. Bathrooms provide hair dryers. Expert Tip. Visitors can revisit medieval middle Europe as they stroll around the old town of Graz, a World Heritage Site.
Information: :Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
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Advantages: attractive scenery, nice people, lots to see Disadvantages: no direct flights from the UK
I have been to Graz for several days earlier this year and I can tell you that this town has much more to offer than just the famous Clock Tower (Uhrturm) for which it is known.
Graz is the third-largest town in Austria, it is located about 200 km south of Vienna, it is the capital of Styria (one of the nine provinces of the Republic of Austria), and there is also a univeristy in Graz.
Football fans might remember that ... ...
Other than that, Graz is not very well known in the UK. But it is certainly worth to spend a few days here to explore the attractions, to do some shopping or simply to enjoy the scenery and relax.
If you drive to Graz by car, please bear in mind that - unlike in other Austrian towns - there is a very strict speed limit of 30 km/h with the exception of some priority roads where you are allowed to drive at a maximum speed of ... more
I have been to Graz for several days earlier this year and I can tell you that this town has much more to offer than just the famous Clock Tower (Uhrturm) for which it is known.
Graz is the third-largest town in Austria, it is located about 200 km south of Vienna, it is the capital of Styria (one of the nine provinces of the Republic of Austria), and there is also a univeristy in Graz.
Football fans might remember that one of the teams based here (Sturm Graz) played (and lost) against Manchester United in the Champions League.
Other than that, Graz is not very well known in the UK. But it is certainly worth to spend a few days here to explore the attractions, to do some shopping or simply to enjoy the scenery and relax.
If you drive to Graz by car, please bear in mind that - unlike in other Austrian towns - there is a very strict speed limit of 30 km/h with the exception of some priority roads where you are allowed to drive at a maximum speed of 50 km/h (it did cost me approx. GBP 25.- to be too fast).
Public transport: There is no underground in Graz, but they operate quite an efficient tram and bus system, which means that you do not have to use your car to get around in Graz.
Graz is known as the Green Town because there is a lot of green in the town, like extensive parks and gardens and the famous Schlossberg hill (details follow below). Even the trams are green (at least there were green originally before some of them were turned into moving commercials by allowing companies to paint the trams with their product advertisments).
WHERE TO GO AND WHAT TO SEE
There is an airport in Graz, but I doubt that you will find any direct flights form the UK. The only available options are via Zurich, Frankfurt Munich or Vienna.
Let's assume that you arrive at the main railway station (by train from Vienna).
You should then walk down the Annenstrasse towards the town centre. Annenstrasse is known to be the most famous shopping street in Graz (and it is the most expensive property in Graz in the Austrian version of Monopoly).
At the end of Annenstrasse you cross a square (Südtiroler Platz) and then you cross the river Mur to continue into the Murgasse until you arrive at Hauptplatz (main square, town centre).
On your way, apart from the shops, you will see a number of quite old houses including a very old (but still operational) hospital and pharmacy.
Hauptplatz is the heart of Graz, there and in Herrengasse (starts at Hauptplatz) you will find the most attractive buildings, fine houses, restaurants, museums and shops.
Luegg house, for example, is known for its stucco facade dating back to the 17th century, whereas the Landhaus (seat of the local parliament) is a remarkable renaissance building.
The Zeughaus (also in Herrengasse) is a muesum of arms, one of the largest such colleciton in the world, with a lot of armoury in excellent order, previously used by the knights and soldiers in the 1700s and 1800s. More than 29,000 weapons of all kinds are on display here (cold steel, arms on poles and fire-arms, arquebuses, pistols, muskets, etc.).
SCHLOSSBERG
A visit to Graz is not complete without having been to the Schlossberg, the green hill overlooking Graz from about 120 meters.
For your way up the hill I recommend to use the old Schlossbergbahn (a funicular). You might have difficulty to find the entrance, it is hidden in a row of terraced houses alongside the Mur river, in Franz Sackstrasse.
The Schlossberg offers a number of gardens and terraces with magnificent views over the Mur valley and Graz, and there is also a belltower and the most famous clocktower (Uhrturm) which you will find on every postcard of Graz.
The Uhrturm (clock tower) has large dials on all four sides. And the strange thing with those dials is that they are wrong, and you might be confused when you look at it. The long hand points to the hour and the short hand points to the minute!
EGGENBERG
Schloss Eggenberg (situated within Graz, about 4 km from the centre to the west) is one of the finest palaces that you can see in the whole area. It was built to the current style between 1625 and 1635 by Italian architects, as home of the Eggenberg family.
In total there are four buildings, with an arcaded court in the middle. When we were there, we have seen a lot of peacocks in the gardens surrounding the palace.
Inside, you should visit the Baroque Apartments (Prunkräume) on the second floor, still in the original decoration of the 18th century, baroque style, a lot of stucco and fine paintings as well as some of the original furniture.
There are two museums as well, a Collection of Antiquities and a Hunting Museum.
AUSTRIAN OPEN AIR MUSEUM
If you have got some more time, I recommend that you visit the Austrian Open Air Museum, the first of its kind worldwide. It was opened in the 1960s, but enlarged since then. The museum is situated about 15 km outside Graz, direction Bruck/Mur.
It is a two hours walk up into the forest, and there have been rebuilt more than 50 rural homes and their dependencies from the different regions of Austria. You can also see a historic shop, some farms, a church and a school. A sawmill, smits and mills complete the picture of the formar rural community in Austria.
PIBER
If you like horses, then this is certainly for you. The world famous Stud Farm of Piber, where the white horses (Lippizaner) are trained before they come to the Spanish Riding School in Vienna.
It is located west of Graz, close to Köflach, about half an hour drive. Piber is open to the public from Easter to the end of October, guided tours are available at 9 am and 2 pm every day.
We have seen about 35 horses that were born a few months ago. They did not yet have the typical white colour of the Lippizaners, this will take until they get 4 - 7 years old.
This year, they had implemented special precautions because of Foot and Mouth in some parts of Europe. We had to pass desinfection mats (by foot and with our car).
A visit to the stables and a walk in the fields nearby is great.
SUMMARY
Graz is a very nice city, which is normally not the first choice for tourists that come to Austria (Vienna and Salzburg attract much more tourists), but I think that Graz has a lot to offer, too.
This is even more true if you like the hilly scenery, the many parks, gardens, forests, historic buildings, museums, and just to spend some time to relax and enjoy life.
Advantages: Small yet lively, a variety of things to do and a great place to be based Disadvantages: none
Graz is Austria?s second city, with around 260,000 population, as well as 100,000 students which boost the population in term time. For a second city, that is not exactly massive, but nevertheless Graz has a certain je ne sais quoi. Having lived in Vienna for four and a half years, I have often headed down to Graz and have friends there, to revisit the city I first discovered in 1997-8 when I lived in Judenburg.
Getting there: Graz is 2:30 direct by train (fahrplan.oebb.at has an online timetable) from Vienna (leaving from the Südbahnhof), with hourly trains, although every second hour you have to change in Brück an der Mur. The journey itself, over the Semmering pass, in particular the stretch between Semmering and Gloggnitz is well worth it. Unfortunately, when the Semmering tunnel is completed, some of this breathtaking journey ...
Morgenhund 23.01.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Graz (Austria)
Advantages: People wear traditional dress, lots to see and do, very pretty Disadvantages: Steep cobbled streets, smoking allowed in public places
For the benefit of anyone who still doesn't know, my partner and I bought a little flat in Maribor in Slovenia at the end of last year. Over our last few visits we have been furnishing the flat and given the abundance of retail parks in the area you might be forgiven for thinking that this would be easy. The trouble is that although there are lots of retail parks in Slovenia they all have the same limited stores and so people tend to head over the border to shop. Depending on where they live, this might be to Italy (very stylish and very pricey), Hungary (cheap but not so stylish), Croatia (so-so, good quality but not much choice) or Austria (reasonable prices, good quality and lots of choice).
People in Maribor tend to go to Austria and head for Graz, just fifty or so kilometres away. There's even a song that goes something like ...
fizzytom 10.04.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Graz (Austria)
Advantages: Diversity Disadvantages: You might find Austrians a bit stand offish
were part of the Hapsburg dual monarchy, forming Austrohungary. The border area of Burgenland still has a certain imperial charm, and the border areas of Hungary still maintain an Austrian feel.
Styria, in the south of the country is a very diverse province. From the vineyards in the East, to the lakes and valleys of the North and West, as well as ski resorts like Haus and Schladming, it offers everything for the tourist. Graz, Austria's second city is pretty and a great gateway to explore the bordering countries.
Finally there is Carinthia, parts of which were formerly part of Slovenia, and which also border Italy. There are lakes and valley here to, and plenty of opportunities for outdoor pursuits. Velden and the Wörthersee, whilst Shrove Tuesday in Villach is something to be seen.
The Viennese can be bolshy and unfriendly, but ...
Morgenhund 16.11.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of General: Austria
![Vista Point Graz Austria [DVD] [NTSC]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/83341386.jpg "Vista Point Graz Austria [DVD] [NTSC]")
