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.

Hotels, hostels & more

Accommodation is a big business for Austrians because of the relative strength of tourism in the economy. Affordable stays in Austria are possible with planning. Using a combination of budget hotels, hotels garnis, pensions, private rooms and online deals, Raven Guides stayed in Austria in 2023 at an average nightly single rate of €76. Of 30 nights, five did not include breakfast and five involved shared toilet and shower facilities.

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Hotels

Austrian hotels are not among the least expensive in Europe, but they are among the best. there are more than 11,000 hotels, almost as many as the lowest estimate for Germany, where the population is nine times Austria’s. Accommodation is taxed at a reduced VAT rate.

Expect costs to start about €60 a single, though the average rate is in the €80-100 range.

Affordable Austrian hotels

The B&B Hotels chain has nine Austrian hotels on the modern, bright-and-basic model. Four are in or near Vienna, two each are in Graz and Salzburg and one is in Villach. Charges start about €60 for singles, about €65 for doubles, €100 for family rooms. Breakfast charge is €10.50 (€4 for children). Not all hotels are central but parking is generally ample and free. Member discounts are available at a subscription charge.

Ibis hotels have often centrally located properties with parking access and offer three levels of comfort and service. The accent is on modular simplicity rather than character. There are 20 Ibis Austrian hotels, nine in the Vienna area, some offering single-room rates from about €50 (at strict no-cancellation terms, with breakfast extra). When not included in rates, breakfast comes at a charge (commonly €10-12). Young children stay free with parents (apart from the breakfast charge) but no more than two adults (aged 12 or over) may use one room. The Ibis brand comes under the wider Accor group.

Expanding fast, the Motel One big-city hotels now total nine in Austria. They take the bright, modern look to a mid-price range, with single/double rates starting about €80/112. Breakfast typically costs about €16.

Also expanding is the Harry’s Home Hotel group, with eight Austrian hotel locations including Vienna, Innsbruck, Linz and near Graz. The booking concept allows the guest some flexibility to order services – such as room cleaning and size, apartments or size of breakfast – and pay accordingly. Advance basic bookings in Vienna start at €75/100 a single/double.

Hotels garnis & pensions

A hotel garni is a small hotel offering breakfast only. A pension offers a room, usually with breakfast, though further meals might be offered. Sometimes the term hotel pension is used for establishments with more than about 10 rooms. Service is limited. Often the lodgings will use an adapted or redeveloped private home.

A hotel garni offers accommodation, breakfast, drinks, perhaps snacks but looks like a hotel. The term is common in France and German-speaking countries, comes from the French and literally means "an inn provided (with guest facilities)". Hotels garnis generally offer single rooms including breakfast in the €60-80 range. Families can sometimes stay for €80-120 a night. Some of the more successful enterprises have managed to expand further without losing their two or 2½-star status. Older-style buildings are the norm, sometimes quaint, but others have been renovated and modernised.

At pensions, expect private rooms on the terms offered. Half-pension (Halbpension) is sometimes available, that is, one meal in addition to breakfast. But do not take the use of the term pension as a guarantee of breakfast.

Parking tends to be limited or non-existent. Some of these establishments now offer internet or WLAN access. It’s best to ask what is included when booking or when choosing at the tourist office.

Guesthouses

A Gasthof is an inn that usually comprises a tavern or restaurant with guest rooms and breakfast. Also called a Gästehaus, or sometimes Landhaus when away from towns) can have the function of an inn or tavern (Gaststätte or Wirtshaus) while offering rooms and breakfast. They can be very traditional in style and atmosphere, with landscapes or folk paintings and local cuisine. They tend to charge lower rates than hotels, but the name can sometimes conceal a more up-market establishment with full restaurant service. Check before booking.

Some establishments describe themselves as B&Bs, but never assume the breakfast is included in the headline price. Check websites (where available) carefully or inquire. Many accept cash payment only or charge fees of the order of €5-6 for payments by credit card.

Budget private rooms

These can be even less expensive than a pension but can still offer breakfast. It’s easiest to check on the choices at the Zimmervermittlung – some houses only accept guests this way – but signs to look for are 'Zimmer', 'Zimmer frei' or 'Fremdenzimmer'. To search online for private rooms in dozens of location, look at the Pension.de Austria page. Beds for about €20 are common and rates as little as €11 a night are posted. Sometimes cleaning fees and minimum stays, which can be for four nights to a week, apply. It is important to sort using closest results. Similar listings are available at Monteurzimmer.de and Deinzimmer.de.

Apartments & self-catering

Apartments (Ferienwohnungen, colloquially FeWo) for families and groups with full facilities including a kitchen can be had for rates similar to two or three-star hotels. Apartments can be cost-effective for couples or families even for a few days, though usually the rate per day is cheaper over longer periods.

The commonly levied post-stay cleaning fee (Endreinigung), typically about €30 per apartment, is important to factor into overall cost, especially over short stays.

From 2024, Vienna will tighten rules on Airbnb to restrict the rental duration per year to 90 days per property. This is likely to affect rates.

Generally apartments would be booked by the week or month. But some, labelled Apartmenthotels, are part of hotel establishments and still offer breakfast.

Hostels

The national non-profit hostel organisation Österreichischer Jugendherbergsverband is affiliated with Hostelling International and has more than 60 member or partner hostels.

HI or ÖJHV member travellers save 10% on bookings. ÖJHV annual membership is free for guests 15 or under, costs €15 for ages 16 to 26 and €25 for guests aged 27 or over. For families with children up to 15, memberships are available for €25. Memberships apply from October to the end of December on the year or membership.

A range of dormitory beds or single, double and family rooms is available, depending on the hostel. Some are set up as ski hostels.

The ÖJHV Vienna national service centre is at Zelinkagasse 12, where memberships are available.

Private hostels: This is a grey area of classification, but most Austrian properties offer a mix of single, double and multibed rooms with private or shared facilities. General articles and a listed count of more than 90 hostels are at the Hostelz comparison portal Austria page, although the hostel status of some properties seems questionable. For Vienna there are 30 listings, Salzburg 11, Innsbruck seven and Graz two. The A&O Hostels group has Vienna and Salzburg hostels, a Wombat’s Hostel is in Vienna, Meininger Hotels has two properties in Vienna as well as Innsbruck and Salzburg sites, and St Christopher’s Inns has a Vienna site.

Camping & caravan parks

This accommodation category offers among the cheapest nightly rates, depending on facilities and site ratings. Two useful sites provide a good overview of Austria. Camping.info lists more than 320 Austrian sites with single guest rates in the €8-44 range. ACSI Eurocampings has a similar number.

Farm accommodation

A Bauernhof might offer farmstays, even during winter. The most popular areas are Tyrol, Kärnten, Vorarlberg and Salzburger Land because of their varied landscapes. To survey some options, visit the Farm Holidays in Austria website.

Mountain accommodation

Chalets, apartments and huts are the preference for hikers and winter sports fans.

For mountain resorts search the Bergfex.com accommodation page listings, Interhome.com or Iglu Ski’s Austria page.

Making bookings

Bookings are described by day of arrival (Anreise, Ankunft) and departure (Abreise) – hence the morning after the last night’s stay should be included. Expect to provide a credit or debit card number when booking direct online, by email or by phone. Cancellation (Stornierung) of bookings is often possible at 24 hours’ notice, but check terms – special deals tend to have restrictive cancellation rules or demand part or full payment.

Note that the terms double and twin are often used interchangeably. To book a double bed, be specific. The term Zweibettzimmer means two single beds, though they might be placed together.

Visit accommodation booking websites for cheap deals but check terms and conditions carefully before booking. Cancellations or changes to bookings might forfeit any deposit or incur a fee. Major chains have their own central booking websites for which varying rates and associated conditions – such as no-cancellation discounts – might apply.

Three strong booking principles are:

Book early
Compare booking site rates with hotels’ own sites where possible
Check differences between weekday and weekend rates

Last-minute bookings might be cheap as well, but the practice will likely turn out to be expensive.

Accommodation taxes

Accommodation rates shown should include 10% in value-added tax (Mehrwertsteuer). But local city taxes (Ortstaxe), paid per adult guest, per night, are also common in Austria and sometimes have to be paid separately (occasionally requested in cash). In Vienna the city tax is 3.2% (on the rate minus VAT and cost of breakfast). In Salzburg it is €1.75 per night, but many smaller destinations such as spas will set a levy (Kurtaxe). Bad Ischl charges a fixed €3.50 per night.