Culture and Romance in Austria
Romantic Austria
In the Winter nights Vienna echoes to the music of its most famous son, Johann Strauss, with hundreds of Balls taking place in Palaces and elegant ballrooms between New Year's Eve and the end of May. The most famous are the Opera Ball and the Imperial Ball held at the Hofburg Palace, which is a truly memorable way to see in the New Year.
Vienna is a city of unusual grandeur, with numerous grand buildings, palaces, churches and ballrooms, a legacy of its history as the capital of the Habsburg Empire. But it is also a place of cosy Inns and atmospheric coffee houses.
Other popular destinations include Salzburg, a splendid Baroque city and birthplace of Mozart, and Innsbruck, a picturesque city in the Alps. Also in the alps are St Anton, Saalbach and Kitzbuel, which are very popular skiing centres in Winter while in Summer they are taken over by walkers and climbers.
Lifestyle & Culture
Austrians are known as a hard working people who play just as hard! They are friendly and hospitable but value their privacy so not likely to invite strangers into their homes or lives. Crime rates are low and it is a particularly safe country to visit.
Snow is a major commodity here, with tourists and locals alike flocking to the ski resorts of the Alps, where some of the best skiing in the world is available - for all levels of expertise.
Family is important and at weekends you will see many families out together for the day. This may well be the reason why shops tend to close early in the evening, usually about 6pm, and open only for a half-day on Saturday and not at all on Sundays.
Diversity
While Vienna is a cosmopolitan and culturally diverse city, parts of the rest of Austria have a more homogenous population, with those of a different colour or race likely to attract some curiosity at best, hostility at worst.
For the most part though visitors are made welcome whatever their cultural background.
Home of the Waltz
Music is at the heart of Austrian culture and everywhere you will find references to it's famous composers, orchestras and the ever present ballrooms.
Waltzing and formal dance is alive and well in Austria and the annual round of Winter Balls in Vienna still bring in the crowds. If you want to attend one you need to start thinking about tickets up to a year in advance.
The movie The Sound of Music may have brought many tourists, and spawned some fairly dodgy attractions, but it is not very popular in Austria, where there is a general feeling that it gave a very hackneyed impression of Austrian life and culture.
Nightlife
Nightlife has its sedate side, centred around the ubiquitous coffee houses which are found in even the smallest towns But there are also lively pubs (Beisl) and clubs and not only in the cities, there are many lakeside discos and clubs in the tourist areas throughout the country.
In the summer huge outdoor pubs known as Schanigarten are massively popular and often have live music.