Velden (Austria)

Velden is one of Austria’s premier summer resorts. Whilst rich Austrians head for the slopes of St Anton or Schladming in Winter, they all make a beeline to Velden in summer. Velden is a beautiful resort, set on the shores of the Wörthersee in Carinthia, with a permanent population of approximately 8,000 although the place comes alive in summer, with many of its hotels and b+b’s only open seasonally. It is also a gateway to Italy and ...
...there:

Velden is very easy to reach, with good road, air and rail connections. From Vienna the journey takes about 4 hours, being more or less all motorway, and there are also motorways leading from Villach and Italy (the A10 – Tauernautobahn) and from Ljubljana (A11 Karawankenautobahn). The airport at Klagenfurt (25km from Velden) now has a lot more flights, including a route from Gatwick, and there are also airports in Graz ... more

Velden is one of Austria’s premier summer resorts. Whilst rich Austrians head for the slopes of St Anton or Schladming in Winter, they all make a beeline to Velden in summer. Velden is a beautiful resort, set on the shores of the Wörthersee in Carinthia, with a permanent population of approximately 8,000 although the place comes alive in summer, with many of its hotels and b+b’s only open seasonally. It is also a gateway to Italy and Slovenia, being just 50 km from the Italian border (Tarvisio) and 30 km from the Slovenian border (Jesenice), the other side of the Karawanken mountains.

Getting there:

Velden is very easy to reach, with good road, air and rail connections. From Vienna the journey takes about 4 hours, being more or less all motorway, and there are also motorways leading from Villach and Italy (the A10 – Tauernautobahn) and from Ljubljana (A11 Karawankenautobahn). The airport at Klagenfurt (25km from Velden) now has a lot more flights, including a route from Gatwick, and there are also airports in Graz and Ljubljana within 100 miles radius of Velden. The train station is on the mainline from Vienna to Villach, with Villach being a destination for trains to Salzburg/Munich, Italy, Slovenia and Hungary, and trains stop regularly. From the station to the lakeside it is no more than 5 minutes walk. The train takes about 4½ hours from Vienna to Velden, and is usually direct, or at most a single change, the journey being well worth doing.

What to do there:

Velden’s location, on the shore of the Wörthersee makes it a great place for watersports and there is a wide range of activities, from sailing, with small sailing boats for hire (take your driver’s licence along, as you need one apparently to hire one), and there are also motorboats. There are also various bathing areas, and the water is pleasantly warm. In high summer the water temperature reaches 25-26 degrees Celsius, thanks to the fact that the lake is surrounded by mountains on all sides really, and therefore the wind does not cool the lake temperature, and also because the water doesn’t flow into a river, or come down from a mountain source, and Velden is a very sunny place. Many of the hotels have swimming pools, and they are usually solar heated and are great if you have had a long day.

In the evening there are a lot of very lively bars, and the town turns into a party town for the young, whilst the older tourists are tucked up with a book and some cocoa. One of the high points for wannabe Austrian high society members is the casino, which is part of the Austria Casino group, which is down by the lake and which is once of Austria’s finest casinos. The entrance is free, although you do have to dress up smartly, with a collar and tie the order of the day. There is a restaurant, which is slightly pricey, as well as a bar, and there is no obligation to play at any of the tables.

One of the busiest bars in Velden is the Monkey Circus, which is a Tex-Mex bar, with a reputation for wild partying and cocktails, with the Monroe Lounge (named after Marilyn, rather than the shock-absorber manufacturer!) pumping out music into the small hours. Unlike most nightspots in Austria, the music is actually pretty good, and they refrain from the cheese that dominates a lot of venues. There is a tented extension, which allows you to drink outside in the evening, and the atmosphere is pretty friendly and not too boisterous, even when the GTI crowd swarm in. There is no real dress code, although being slightly smart is recommended, as the bouncers are not known for their magnanimity in letting people if they feel they are not dressed quite right, and they would rather let women in. A lot of the surrounding villages have rustic restaurants, offering hearty meals at reasonable prices, with the accent on quality AND quantity, and there is often a wide selection of very reasonable wines. The local beers, such as Hirter and Villacher are both very quaffable, and if you want something to drink after a hard day’s sport, then a Radler (similar to a shandy but with Fanta instead of lemonade) is a good bet. If you are doing sport, then suntan lotion is recommended as Velden is very sunny, and also the air is quite thin, as Velden is several hundred metres above sea-level. I had the pleasure of umpiring a cricket match at one of two dedicated cricket grounds in Austria, in Latschach, 5 km from Velden and would have to say that it is one of the most picturesque grounds I have ever been to, with snow-capped mountains and forests surrounding the ground, which is usually bathed in sunshine.

If you come off season, February and March is a very good time to come, as it will be warm, and there is plenty of snow on the mountains. The Shorve Tuesday event in Villach is well worth going to (Austria goes mad!) and it is also a great base for a daytrip to the Carneval in Venice, with an easy train ride, or bus trips available. At any rate, Klagenfurt and Villach are worth a visit, Velden being nearly equidistant between the two cities. For the sporty, Velden has great tennis and golfing facilities, which are often available for a reduced price if you stay in Velden, and in Faak am See, there are a lot of sporting facilities, it being the favoured choice for school Sports trips, and the whole area is great for walking.

What to avoid:

The last weekend in May sees the usually tranquil resort turn filled with a heaving throng of petrol-heads, as there is a Golf GTI rally with hordes of people gathering to show off their GTIs, a lot coming from Germany or Italy, and they are all boy-racers. The roads become very congested, the peace is shattered by pumping bass from car sound systems, and the town descends into chaos, with prices hiked up and rooms hard to get. The rally has become such a fixture that it is known about all over Austria. The roads are congested often between 8am and 8pm, and if you are a nervous driver, then this is a definite reason to avoid Velden. They ruin the atmosphere, screeching around the place and shattering the peace, and leaving lots of burnt tyre rubber all over the roads. Prices do get hiked up slightly for the duration of the event, but eating and drinking out is still very affordable, although the queues at supermarkets are quite bad, and you would be well advised to buy petrol elsewhere, as there is filling station gridlock.

Velden is well worth going to, and for using as a base. I have been for several weekends, and would recommend the town, especially if you want to do an active holiday, and it makes a very good base, given its proximity to the Slovenian and Italian borders for people wanting to see a bit more of Europe. The town is clean, Carinthians are welcoming and helpful, and the hospitality is very good, with plenty of places to eat out affordably.

For information on Velden, the following sites are useful:

www.velden.co.at - only in German
www.kaernten.at - part of tiscover.com
www.monkeycircus.at
 

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