The most beautiful cities in Austria

Welcome to one of Europe’s most beautiful countries. Austria’s landscapes, regions and townscapes provide almost the full range of European variety in the centre of the continent. Austria is often associated, rightly, with winter sports, but there is so much more on offer. Its alpine areas are rugged and picturesque, but that’s far from being the whole story.

Gmunden

The Salzkammergut's gateway town on Traunsee is in a rare landscape surrounded by peaks and preserves historical town buildings as well as two castles, one a late Gothic structure sited on an island in the lake. The surprise is the postcard Renaissance town hall with Baroque facade decoration.

Walkers love the local hill paths and Gmunden is also the ideal base for lake cruises. The peak Grünberg can be reached by cable car and provides a superb panorama over the town and lake, but the much higher summit of Traunstein is a favourite challenge for climbers.