Carinthia region in Austria
 

My husband and I love Austria and have been several times to various regions. This time we are looking for an area we haven't yet visited and I stumbled upon the Carinthia area while watching a television show called Alps From Above. What really got me was the Hochosterwitz castle.

This trip wouldn't be for awhile so I'm not really looking for specific suggestions but more along the lines of general information on what the area is like and the landscape. I've tried doing searches on the Fodors forum for various towns in the region but something must be wrong with the search field because nothing is coming up...I have a hard time believing nobody has ever written about Klagenfurt!

So can someone tell me how the region compares to, say, the Salzkammergut in terms of the landscape? I know that Klagenfurt isn't nestled in the mountains like Hallstatt, but is the region mountainous with beautiful vistas? Klagenfurt looks lovely but we typically pretty cute/pretty smaller villages for a base where we would probably stay for about a week. Are there any small town recommendations? Can one stay in this area for a week and keep busy (we would probably visit during May or October)?

Thanks!
Tracy

I know I've posted about Carinthia/Hochosterwitz on occasion, bur I wasn't able to find much just now by searching here either...

I have relatives in Carinthia, so have been there a number of times-I think it's a wonderful place to spend a week. There are not nearly as many tourists, I don't think many Americans find their way there. There are a number of small towns along the north shore of the Woerthersee with wonderful mountain views.

Near Hochosterwitz, which is glorious...there are some Roman ruins(name slipping my head) we found fascinating...I could go on, but I think I'm done for tonight!

I'll add more info tomorrow if it still sound interesting.

~Liz

Elberko, thank you for responding! Glad to know its not just me having issues with the search engine here. I'm definitely interested in more non-touristy areas, so that makes the area even more appealing. And husband and I love ruins so that sounds great!

We've been to Lake Bled and Ljubljana, although that was back in 06, but we loved Slovenia and like the idea of being able to daytrip there fairly easily from Carinthia.

Tracy

A couple of suggestions, Wikipedia has a description of the area and review the Michelin green guide for Austria. While it does not specifically cover the region per se, it does review many of the towns and sites in the area.

My wife and I spent time there several years ago and found it to be wonderful. We especially enjoyed the Cathedral at Gurk.

The Rough Guide for Austria has a pretty good section on this area, too. The current version is from 2008, so hopefully an update is coming soon.

~Liz