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.

St Pölten

The medieval town became a city of architecture from later periods with an unusual towered town hall, although the Baroque cathedral Dompfarre St Pölten retains some Romanesque memories for today's visitors.

Apart from the striking Rathausplatz, there are two Baroque squares, Riemerplatz and Herrenplatz, and a Franciscan church and monastery built in the 18th century. Two unconventional Art Nouveau sights are the renovated former synagogue and the Olbrich-Haus or Stöhr-Haus, distinguished by a facade relief. Only about 40 minutes by train from Vienna, St Pölten makes a good day excursion.