Graz (Austria)

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 will no longer happen - although the journey time will be cut by nearly half an hour. By car it is also very straight forward – direct motorway on the A2 from Vienna to Graz. For those coming from elsewhere, Graz has an airport, Thalerhof, with EasyJet flying there frequently, and there are also a number of other airlines flying to Graz from around Europe (www.flughafen-graz.at/front/index.php?L​ANGUAGE=english). The airport is about 15 km south of the city, but there is a regular shuttle service into the city centre.

What to see and do: Graz has benefited greatly for being declared European City of Culture in 2003 – there have been some great new architectural projects as a result. As a result the Uhrturm (Clock tower) on the Schlossberg has been usurped of its iconic status – the clock used to appear on practically everything Graz related, but now the US$47m Kunsthaus, on the banks of the River Mur, which runs through Graz, and has been nicknamed “The Friendly Alien” has stolen its mantle.

The Uhrturm: The Uhrturm is perched up on the Schlossberg (which is 120 metres or so above the city centre) and there are views over the city of Graz and a café up by it. The gardens on the Schlossberg are very pleasant and the trip on the funicular railway (Schloßbergbahn) up the side of the Schlossberg is well worth doing – the funicular was renovated in 2004 – I went on it three days after it reopened – with brand new trains. The views on a clear day are well worth it – it is a high panorama and stands majestically over Graz. For the way down, the Kriegssteig is a staircase which zig-zags down the side of the Schlossberg and is certainly better going down than going up.

The River Mur: The Mur flows down through Graz and down to Slovenia, forming the border with Slovenia for quite a stretch. Another project for 2003 was a manmade island (the Murinsel – or Island on the Mur) and bridge across the Mur, which has a stage and seating, although I fear it is not often used for performances. There is also a bar there, although this has also been closed for a while. At night the blue lighting on the island makes it quite a sight to see - and it is well worth a look at (there are some pictures of it with this review). When crossing the Mur I would certainly recommend crossing the Mur via the Murinsel. It is a very futuristic building, and by night it looks incredible.

Kunsthaus Graz: Not far away from the Murinsel, and close to the Annenstrasse – one of Graz’s main shopping streets, which leads from the station to the city centre is the Kunsthaus Graz. When I travelled down to Slovenia a couple of weeks later after seeing it, I had a chat to two Scottish architecture students who were going to Graz just to get some photos of the building – before jumping on a train straight back. However, architecture aside the building is well worth a look – www.kunsthausgraz.at has a list of current and forthcoming exhibitions – which tend towards contemporary and modern art. Entrance is EUR 6 (about GBP 4.50) and there are a large number of exhibitions - with most also having information available in English. It is open from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10am to 6pm, with late opening until 8pm on Thursdays.

Schloss Eggenburg: A spectacular palace, about 3 miles out of town dating from around 1625. There are a number of state rooms open to the public, with baroque and rococo design.–The splendour of Eggenburg shows that on occasions the lily really is gilded - there is a certain amount of overkill on display here. Well worth the detour.

The city centre: The Annenstrasse is Graz’s main shopping street and leads from the station in towards the city centre. The Hauptplatz and Herrengasse area has a lot of old buildings, a selection of small museums and plenty of restaurants and bars. One museum which friends recommended, but which I have not yet got to, was the Zeughaus - which is a museum of armour and weaponry from the 18th and 19th centuries – but then again it is a case of whatever floats your boat.

The Opera House: Graz has an opera house, which whilst not of the exalted heights of the opera house in Vienna is nevertheless well worth going to – the tickets are general also not as exorbitant as in Vienna either. Most productions are in German or the original language, but a must for all opera fans. www.buehnen-graz.com/opernhaus/index.htm contains information about the programme, although the site is exclusively in German.

The Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium: In the South of the city, and home to GAK Graz (hier regiert die G.A.K!) and Sturm Graz. Tickets are pretty cheap, apart from Champions League tickets – if either side qualifies. Manchester United, Rangers and Livingston have all played here. The stadium is small and compact, regularly hosts international matches, and is worth a trip to for a big match, although Austrian league football is woeful.

Public Transport: Graz has a public transport network of trams and buses, which run reliably and there are night buses through the night along several major routes. Because the public transport functions so well, you don’t really need a car in the centre of Graz, and given the fiendishly complicated one way system – we ended driving down the tram tracks towards a tram after missing a no entry sign – public transport is quite a good option, particularly as city centre parking can be a bit of a problem.

Nightlife: There are a large number of pubs and clubs in Graz and I am sure that in term-time the place is throbbing – when I was last there in early August the town was very quiet, as the students were away. From my young and reckless days I remember spending many long nights in the NachtSchicht - out towards the edge of town - what a meat market!!! I understand that it is still around although it is also known as WoN (World of Nightlife) – www.won.at is its website. For a more refined evening I can also recommend the Casino in Graz - I walked out with an extra month's pay after two lucky spins of the roulette wheel, and which is one of Austria Casino’s finest casinos - see graz.casinos.at for further information.
Accommodation: There are a large number of hotels and guesthouses in Graz, with Graz Tourism offering online bookings, a service which I have taken advantage of and which worked perfectly well when booking a hotel for my parents and me - the prices are reasonable, and there are hotels to suit all budgets, although most of the cheaper hotels are found a little way from the centre of town, but usually with a good public transport connection.

Near to Graz: If you have a car and are going to use Graz as a base, then you have a lot more freedom. If you want to break your journey on the way down from Vienna, I would recommend a short stop in Hartberg – a pretty small town. Near Graz there is a winegrowing region - the Weinstrasse - which is well worth a look. I went to Kitzeck, which has the highest vines in Austria - when the clouds lifted the views were spectacular. There are some great wines available and as Austrian wines have a bad image due to the antifreeze scare of the 1980s you can pick up some real bargains if you know what you are looking for. Down towards the Slovenian border there are some great wine taverns and some very pretty little towns which are worth taking a look at. Of course you can also head on into Slovenia - Ljubljana is only 2 hours away, and Maribor is quite a pleasant place to break your journey if you decide to head on to Ljubljana.

For further tourist information I would recommend visiting www.graztourism.at – it has up-to-date information on many of the attractions in Graz (in English too!) All in all an overlooked destination by many, but one which I would certainly recommend.