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.

Petronell-Carnuntum

Here is a surprising memory of the Roman empire in Austria. One of the largest settlements, Carnuntum, was in today's small Danube town, along with a legionary fort and a port set up by the emperor Marcus Aurelius in the 2nd century.

Today extensive excavations have produced an archaeology park, a memorial hall with grave monuments, and an open-air museum with reconstructions. A probable triumphal arch known as the Heidentor is partly reconstructed west of today's town, along with a  gladiator training arena and an amphitheatre.