Things to do in The Danube Valley
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Niu
Asian fusion cuisine is served in Zen-style minimalist surrounds at Niu. The aromatic yellow porcini mushroom curry and palate-awakening chilli-mango salad come recommended.
reviewed
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p’aa
p’aa serves up vegan and organic dishes, from feisty curries to pumpkin schnitzel, in a trendy lounge setting with low seating and mellow music.
reviewed
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Stift Göttweig
Founded in 1083, the abbey you see today is mostly baroque due to restoration after a devastating fire in the early 18th century. Aside from the grand view back across the Danube Valley from its garden terrace and restaurant, the abbey’s highlights include the Imperial Staircase with a heavenly ceiling fresco painted by Paul Troger in 1739, and the over-the-top baroque interior of the Stiftskirche (which has a Kremser Schmidt work in the crypt). Fully guided tours take in the abbey’s Imperial Wing, church and summer vestry; shorter tours explore either the Imperial Wing or the church and vestry.
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Egon Schiele Museum
The Egon Schiele Museum, housed in a former jail near the Danube, vividly presents the story of the life of the Tulln-born artist. It contains 100 of his paintings and sketches, and a mock-up of the cell he was briefly imprisoned in (he was jailed in Neulengbach, however). He fell foul of the law in 1912 when 125 of his erotic drawings were seized; some were of pubescent girls, and Schiele was also in trouble for allowing children to view his explicit works. Schiele fans should also plan a visit to Vienna’s Leopold Museum.
reviewed
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Stift Melk
Lying in the lee of its imposing monastery-fortress, <strong>Melk</strong> (35km from Krems) is home to one of the Danube’s most popular attractions, <strong>Stift Melk</strong>. This was once the residence of the Babenberg family. Benedictine monks transformed it into a monastery in 1089 and today its elegant rooms are complemented by a mineral collection in the museum.
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Lentos Kunstmuseum
The gleaming Lentos Kunstmuseum stops you dead in your tracks. Defined by razor-sharp lines, this glass-and-steel landmark was designed by Zurich architects Weber & Hofer, who decided to leave a large gap in the base of its rectangular shape. The gallery showcases a world-class collection of contemporary art, including works by Warhol, Schiele, Klimt and Kokoschka, which is complemented by rotating exhibitions.
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Pfarrkirche St Veit
This baroque parish church was resurrected from earlier Gothic and Romanesque forms. Its colourful frescoes are by Martin Johann Schmidt, an 18th-century local artist who was also known as Kremser Schmidt and occupied a house from 1756 near the Linzer Tor in Stein.
reviewed
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Filmbar Im Kesselhaus
This sleek student restaurant and bar is the hub of eating and drinking activity on the university campus. Beyond that, it also shows art-house films usually related to the theme of shows in its associated exhibition space (www.filmgalerie.at). If the vegetarian offerings, salads, pasta and meats don’t get you up here, then the lively indoor and outdoor bar or the cinematic aspect might.
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Ars Electronica Center
On the opposite side of the Danube is the Ars Electronica Center, where virtually anything is possible –from diving to the depths of the Danube to flying high above Linz. This temple of interactive wizardry is devoted to the evolving world of technology (the lift projects graphics and a remote-controlled robotic arm tends to the entrance-hall flower garden).
reviewed
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Schloss Grafenegg
A castle with the look and feel of an ornate Tudor mansion set in English woods. Built in a revivalist (neogothic) style by Leopold Ernst in the mid-19th century it is now a venue for exhibitions and concerts, but you can explore the interior, which includes a chapel and decadent state rooms, weighed down with plenty of wood, period furniture, carpets and fireplaces.
reviewed
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Alter Dom (13)
Nip down Domgasse to admire the 17th-century Alter Dom (13), where Anton Bruckner served as church organist. Step inside to admire the interior – the architectural equivalent of a wedding cake, with its theatrical pink marble altar and lavish white stuccowork. Bearing left on Domgasse brings you back to the Hauptplatz.
reviewed
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Landesgalerie
Housed in a sumptuous 19th-century building, the Landesgalerie exhibits 20th-century paintings, photography and installations that bear some relation to Upper Austria. Alongside masterpieces by Dürer and Kokoschka, you’ll find a peerless collection of fantastical works by the Austrian expressionist Alfred Kubin.
reviewed
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Mörwald Kloster Und
Mörwald is the most central of a crop of restaurants run by Toni Mörwald outside Vienna. It offers exquisite delights ranging from roast pigeon breast to beef, poultry and fish dishes with French angles. A lovely yard and an impressive wine selection round off one of the best restaurants in the Wachau.
reviewed
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Minoritenkirche
Alongside the tourist office, the rococo Minorite church from 1739 is decorated with magnificent ceiling frescoes dedicated to St Johannes Nepomuk.
reviewed
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2Rad Wegl
The town and its tourist office are well set up for cyclists as the Danube cycle-way cuts between the river on the town’s northern border; to encourage green tourism, the city provides six free city bicycles, which you can pick up just off Hauptplatz from 2Rad Wegl
reviewed
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Pöstlingbergbahn
It’s a gentle hike to the top or a precipitous 15-minute ride aboard the narrow-gauge Pöstlingbergbahn. This gondola features in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s steepest mountain railway – quite some feat for such a low-lying city!
reviewed
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Grottenbahn
At the summit of Pöstlingberg is the turn-of-the-century Grottenbahn, where families – and anyone that loves a bit of cult kitsch – can board the dragon train to trundle past gnomes, glittering stalactites and scenes from Grimms’ fairytales.
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Museum im Minoritenkloster
This city-promoted museum space features some excellent changing exhibitions based around mostly Austrian artists. Recent ones have included Schiele, Wilhelm Kaufmann and in 2011 the Klosterneuburg artist Karl Paschek. It adjoins the Minorite church.
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Donaupark
Next to Lentos on the southern bank of the Danube is the Donaupark, the city’s green escape vault. Modern sculptures rise above the bushes in the well-tended gardens, which are a magnet to walkers, joggers, skaters, picnickers and city workers seeking fresh air in summer.
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Alte Welt
Opening onto an inner courtyard, Alte Welt is a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde: by day it serves hearty fare such as crispy roast pork and potato gnocchi, while by night it becomes a haunt for students, artists and musicians (the cellar hosts jam sessions, live jazz and plays).
reviewed
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Botanischer Garten
These peaceful botanical gardens, south of the centre, nurture 10,000 species, from native alpine plants to orchids, rhododendrons, tropical palms and one of Europe’s largest cacti collections.
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k.u.k. Hofbäckerei
Fritz Rath pours passion into creating the best Linzer Torte in the city’s oldest café (first mentioned in 1371). Whiffs of sugar and butter permeate the wood-panelled café, crammed with Sissi portraits and Habsburg curios.
reviewed
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Jell
Occupying a gorgeous stone house, Jell is hard to beat for a rustic atmosphere and fine wine from its own vineyard. Its friendly staff also adds to a great regional experience; located just east of Pfarrkirche St Veit.
reviewed
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Linz-Genesis
Opposite the Dreifaltigkeitssäule in the Hauptplatz is the Altes Rathaus (3) housing Linz-Genesis, unravelling the city’s history and celebrating famous sons such as Johannes Kepler and Anton Bruckner.
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Dreifaltigkeitssäule
Admire the pastel-coloured baroque houses framing the Hauptplatz square and its centrepiece, the Dreifaltigkeitssäule, a striking 20m pillar of Salzburg marble carved in 1723 to commemorate the town's deliverance from war, fire and plague.
reviewed