22 Te Travel Guide Worldwide Travel


Promotional Content • Saturday 3rd May 2025


A well-earned break with a stunning panoramic view at Gosausee in the Salzkammergut


Discover and admire Upper Austria T


he perfect starting point for exploring Upper Austria is its capital, Linz. Te vibrant


cultural centre of the province, Linz sits on the banks of the Danube, the great river of Central Europe. Designated as one of 26 UNESCO Creative Cities of Media Arts, Linz knows how to surprise — it’s a city with a great industrial tradition and at the same time offers a high quality of life and has generous green spaces. Tere’s a museum that looks to the future — the Ars Electronica Centre — which playfully explores the impact of


technological change on


our society, as well as Mural Harbour, Europe’s largest open-air graffiti gallery, which can only be reached by boat. Tere’s also the Musiktheater am Volksgarten, one of Europe’s most modern opera houses, designed by UK architect Terry Pawson.


Just a few hours to happiness Get off the plane at Linz Airport and you can experience the whole of Austria’s scenic diversity in just one day. Upper Austria is like looking at the entire Alpine republic through a


magnifying glass. Where to go first? You could head to the Danube Valley, which winds like a broad ribbon through the province from west to east. Natural wonders such as the Schlögener Loop — where the river changes direction twice — alter- nate with historic towns. Te small, picturesque shipping town of Grein, meanwhile, is home to the oldest civic theatre in the German-speaking world. From the Danube to the north,


the landscape rises to the highlands of the Mühlviertel. Hilly meadows and forests are ideal for walking and cycling — either with or without an e-bike. Granite boulders, weathered and bizarrely stacked into erratic blocks, are the fascinating remnants of a mountain range many millions of years old. In the south, the landscape rises


from the fertile plains of the Alpine foothills to the mountains of the Limestone Alps. Here, the world-fa- mous lakes of the Salzkammergut lie like crystal-clear jewels in a breathtaking mountain setting. Te Salzkammergut takes its name from


the salt, the ‘white gold’ that’s been mined


from the mountains here


for around 7,000 years. Tis unique landscape is a paradise for sports and leisure: cycling along the lakes to picturesque villages and towns, mountain biking and hiking in a beau- tiful alpine landscape, sailing, surfing and watersports on the lakes — it’s no wonder Emperor Franz Joseph I once spent his summers in the picturesque town of Bad Ischl. Celebrities of the arts and the aristocracy soon followed his lead. Te 9,825ft Dachstein, the highest mountain in Upper Austria, towers above this unique landscape. Te rugged mountains that rise up


around Upper Austria’s only national park, the Kalkalpen National Park in south-eastern Upper Austria, have a very different character. Lynx roam through the unspoilt primeval forests of centuries-old beech trees, while eagles circle above the rugged peaks. In between are green Alpine pastures that make for rewarding destinations after an enjoyable hike. Tis is the perfect region for the likes of moun- tain sports enthusiasts, nature-lovers and adventurers.


Towns with history Historic towns invite you to stop off along the way, and each has its own character and history: there’s Steyr, with its stunning old town nestled between the Enns and Steyr rivers; Freistadt in the Mühlviertel with its medieval city walls; Schärding am Inn is known for its colourful baroque townhouses; the 2,000-year-old Roman city of Wels; or glamorous Gmunden, with its magnificent lake- side promenade and views of Salzkammergut Mountains.


Linz by night, with the brightly lit Ars Electronica Center glowing by the river.


Upper Austria Tourist Information +43 732 221 022 upperaustria.com/holidays


Upper Austria is Austria’s fourth-largest state. As if under a magnifying glass, everything the Alpine republic has to offer is concentrated in a radius of just one day’s travel, allowing visitors to enjoy a voyage of discovery through this relatively unknown part of Central Europe


Cooling off in the crystal-clear Langbathsee on a hot summer day


the


View of the dramatic river bend of the Danube at viewing point “Schlögener Donaublick”


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48