Cultured, outdoorsy, friendly and historic Austria is one of the most accessible and diverse countries in Europe for all types of family vacations. Visit in winter and you have gorgeous Vienna covered in ice rinks, markets, museums and kids entertainment. Tyrolean and Alpine skiing is snow-sure, long-season and some of the best value for families. Austria’s also a leader in lake-skating and cross-country skiing. Go in spring and summer for hiking, walking, climbing and touring. Plus don’t miss Danube cruises, parks and gardens, amazing festivals, flower-filled meadows and pretty towns and villages. Austria even does chocolate cake better than anywhere else and pairs it with the world’s best coffee.
Austria’s Alpine region is one of the world’s leading snow-sure ski destinations.
Austrian Tyrol has five glaciers and includes legendary Hintertux where there’s skiing 365 days a year.
Salzburg is Europe’s greatest Baroque city and the entire historic center is a World Heritage site. It’s also home to the world’s oldest Christmas Market and the annual Salzburg International Music Festival in July and August.
2017’s Mercer Quality of Living Survey named Vienna as the world’s best city to live in.
Innsbruck, the capital of Austrian Tyrol, opens lifts on the Stubai Glacier in October for Europe’s longest skiing season.
Austria has the most extensive network of marked walking trails in Europe and leads the world in accessible hiking with 24 wheelchair-approved routes across the country’s Tyrol region.
Apart from the enormous Ferris Wheel in the Prater, Vienna’s skyline is dominated by the graceful spires of gothic St. Stephen’s Cathedral which really says all you need to know about the city. It’s graceful and lovely, elegant beyond reason, packed with famous museums, galleries, monuments and sights and officially one of the best places in the world to live. No surprise that families want to raise kids here and Vienna’s a fantastic city to visit with children.
The capital of Austrian Tyrol is justifiably world famous for skiing. It’s hosted the Winter Olympics twice, owns the Stubai Glacier and has the Bergisel Ski Jump – designed by Zaha Hadid. But even when there’s no snow, this lovely city works for family vacations beautifully with no end of outdoor activities, pretty weather and fun festivals and kids’ events.
Towered over by the immense Hohensalzburg Fortress, Salzburg is one of Europe’s prettiest cities, the birthplace of Mozart, setting for the Sound of Music and near neighbor to Austria’s best family-friendly skiing in SalzburgerLand. It’s also the Baroque capital of the world and the entire historic center is a World Heritage site.
Driving in Austria is one of the country’s great vacation experiences. But if you want to sit back and let someone else do the work, there’s an extensive and very efficient rail network and trains run to even the most remote ski regions. Public transportation in cities is fantastic and most have turn-up-and-join guided tours so you can see plenty on foot too.
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