The Danube Valley
Of the many abbeys in Austria, Stift Melk is the most famous. Possibly Lower Austria's finest, the monastery church dominates the complex with its twin…
Must-see attractions in Lower Austria & Burgenland
Burgenland
Schloss Esterházy, a giant, ochre castle-palace that dominates Esterházyplatz, is by far Eisenstadt’s most compelling attraction. Dating from the 14th…
Krems an der Donau
From one side it looks like a squashed cube, from the other as though it's about to topple over – welcome to the latest addition to Krems' Kunstmeile: a…
Krems an der Donau
Part of Krems' Kunsthalle network, this contemporary white cube is named after the artist Adolf Frohner and is housed in the former Minorite monastery. It…
Lower Austria
Located inside the former Frauenbad (Women’s Bathhouse) near the tram terminus, this interesting museum showcases the work of its namesake Arnulf Rainer,…
Krems an der Donau
Founded in 1083, the abbey was devastated by fire in the early 18th century and so sports an impressive baroque interior. It's still a working monastery…
Lower Austria
Nationalpark Donau-Auen is a thin strip of natural flood plain on either side of the Danube, running from Vienna to the Slovak border. Established as a…
Burgenland
Straddling a dolomite spur some 20km southwest of Eisenstadt, Burg Forchtenstein is one of Burgenland’s most imposing castles with a grand view from its…
The Danube Valley
If you're intent on tasting the best of what the Wachau has to offer, it's a good idea to do a broad range of vineyards, from the innovative family-run…
The Danube Valley
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 presents around 100…
Krems an der Donau
Reached by a covered stairway (Piaristenstiege) from Pfarrplatz, Krems' most impressive church has a wonderful webbed Gothic ceiling and huge, austerely…
Krems an der Donau
One of the main attractions on Krems' Kunstmeile, the Kunsthalle has a program of changing exhibitions. These might be mid-19th-century landscapes or hard…
Lower Austria
This Benedictine abbey can trace its foundations back to 1144. The library, which has ceiling frescos by Paul Troger, and the crypt, with frescos by…
The Danube Valley
Kuenringerburg, the castle high on the hill above the town, is where Richard the Lionheart was incarcerated from 1192 to 1193. His crime was insulting…
The Danube Valley
Built from the ruins of a 13th-century medieval castle and tinkered with for 700 years, Artstetten castle gained fame and glory after passing into the…
Lower Austria
This cathedral runs an architectural gamut from the Romanesque (it dates from the late 13th century) to the Gothic and beyond to the baroque. The…
Lower Austria
This medieval monastery is one of the country’s most beautiful and is not only the second-oldest Cistercian monastery in the world but the oldest…
Lower Austria
The Kurpark is a magnificent setting for a stroll or as a place to repose on the benches in front of the bandstand, where free concerts are held from May…
Lower Austria
The Rathausplatz is a pretty town square lined with cafes and eye-catching pastel-coloured buildings. It is dominated by the Rathaus (town hall) on its…
The Danube Valley
This palace is famous not only for its stunning architecture but also for the innovative exhibitions it houses, along with its lovely gardens. A wonderful…
Burgenland
Lockenhaus is famous for its castle, or more accurately, for its former resident Elizabeth Bäthory. Better known as the ‘Blood Countess’, she has gone…
Krems an der Donau
Known as the ‘Cathedral of the Wachau’, the large baroque parish church boasts colourful frescos by Martin Johann Schmidt, an 18th-century local artist…
Österreichisches Jüdisches Museum
Burgenland
Situated in the former Judengasse – a street where Eisenstadt’s Jewish population lived in the Middle Ages – this museum has a permanent exhibition…
Lower Austria
The open-air museum is the major attraction in Petronell-Carnuntum itself and lies on the site of the old civilian town. It includes ruins of the public…
The Danube Valley
About 6km south of Diendorf is this historicist castle with the look and feel of an ornate Tudor mansion set in English woods, although look a little…
Lower Austria
The town's main piazza is closed off on one side by the Rathaus, which is something of a hybrid of styles. It began life as a Gothic building, was given…
Lower Austria
The Lower Austria State Museum houses an interesting collection on the history, art and environment of the region. A wave made from glass, frozen in…
Lower Austria
This church's claim to fame is as the venue for the very first performance of Mozart's Requiem in 1793. Architecturally, the 14th-century church is fairly…
Burgenland
This unusual, lumpy church, its exterior bedecked in life-size disco-dancing angels and saints, contains the white-marble tomb with Haydn’s remains. It…
The Danube Valley
This interpretive, interactive museum is based in a touching recreation of Egon Schiele's actual birthplace and family home. The son of the local station…
Lower Austria
St Pölten's main synagogue dates from 1912 and has attractive art-nouveau features. The Nazis laid it to waste during the pogroms of 1938 and the building…
Lower Austria
A short drive or train ride from town, Stift Herzogenburg is one of the Danube's baroque gems. You'll need to take a tour (book in advance for an English…
Lower Austria
This abbey, founded in 1202, survived the Turkish invasions of 1683 but after a disastrous fire was largely rebuilt in 1810. It's an impressively vast…
Krems an der Donau
Austria’s sole caricature museum occupies a suitably tongue-in-cheek chunk of purpose-built architecture, its spiky facade tearing the blue Austrian sky…
Burgenland
The arresting Burg Güssing rises dramatically over the river and town. The castle, which is a mix of ruins and ongoing renovations, contains plenty of…
Lower Austria
Jakob Prandtauer was one of the most prominent architects of the baroque era, and the cathedral, his masterpiece of baroque rebuilding in St Pölten, has…
Lower Austria
Schloss Rosenburg is a Renaissance castle 50km north of Krems where the highlights include a large armoury and the grand quarters of the former owners,…
Lower Austria
The City Museum is expertly curated and well worth a visit. Its permanent collection focusing on art nouveau in St Pölten is on the 1st floor, and a…
Burgenland
A pleasant detour can be had at this museum, 5km west of Güssing, exploring the 30-odd buildings and their traditional furniture and fittings, thatched…
Lower Austria
This museum of archaeological finds is the largest of its kind in Austria, having amassed an incredible 3300 Roman treasures in its century-long existence…
