Graz, Austria questions
Jan 24th, 2008, 05:54 AM
#1
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Graz, Austria questions
Hoping to learn from some of you who have been to Graz on what was appealing, comfortable, fun or great about Graz.
So far, I have noted one great tip on the "Lovin" winebar from Btilke (definitely going there).
I hope to get more on sightseeing highlights, hotels, restaurants,& nightlife. We are 3 couples in our 40's travelling together from Vienna and the wine country. Our travel interests: Austrian culture, history, food & nightlife (music).
So far, I have noted one great tip on the "Lovin" winebar from Btilke (definitely going there).
I hope to get more on sightseeing highlights, hotels, restaurants,& nightlife. We are 3 couples in our 40's travelling together from Vienna and the wine country. Our travel interests: Austrian culture, history, food & nightlife (music).
Jan 25th, 2008, 03:17 AM
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Thanks for the Zeughaus tip Hopscotch. Do you have any further comments/personal opinion about Graz? Would you recommend an overnight or two? What about Graz that appeal or disappoint you?
Jan 25th, 2008, 04:16 AM
#4
My recent trip report, including Graz, is at http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=35096856
I didn't make it to the nearby open-air museum, or the Schloss Eggenberg on the outskirts, both of which sound worth seeing. I highly recommend the town - plenty of parks and pretty old houses. Have a coffee in the cafe on the man-made island, and eat lunch at the deli in the town center.
I didn't make it to the nearby open-air museum, or the Schloss Eggenberg on the outskirts, both of which sound worth seeing. I highly recommend the town - plenty of parks and pretty old houses. Have a coffee in the cafe on the man-made island, and eat lunch at the deli in the town center.
Jan 25th, 2008, 08:37 AM
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My husband is from Graz - so I go there a lot.
Nightlife- I can't really help with....we're in our 30's but whenever we go it's more family oriented - so no clubbing! The rest I can help with though.
The hotels in Graz aren't fantastic on the whole (ie no real 5 star or higher end 4 star) - but I can recommend 2....
the Erzerzog johann - they have some nice suites - not too expensive and secondly the Schloßberghotel is nice - and they both have good service and character.
Food
For traditional food - I like the Landhaus Keller - more later
Nightlife- I can't really help with....we're in our 30's but whenever we go it's more family oriented - so no clubbing! The rest I can help with though.
The hotels in Graz aren't fantastic on the whole (ie no real 5 star or higher end 4 star) - but I can recommend 2....
the Erzerzog johann - they have some nice suites - not too expensive and secondly the Schloßberghotel is nice - and they both have good service and character.
Food
For traditional food - I like the Landhaus Keller - more later
Jan 26th, 2008, 05:30 AM
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Southern Styria has its own wine route and we were glad to have explored a small part of it.
http://www.suedsteirischeweinstrasse.at/
Perhaps, after sampling a variety of local wines at Lovin (www.lovin.at), you could build in a visit to the wineries you most enjoyed (if they're open to the public). The staff at Lovin may be able to help you decide which ones are worth visiting. FYI, Lovin is not in the heart of the old town...you take the #6 tram to the Neue Technik stop. A place we wanted to try but didn't get to was Iohan.
http://cms.graztourismus.at/cms/beit...01400/1394635/
Another easy daytrip option is Barnbach, where there is a famous church (St. Barbara) designed by Hundertwasser.
http://www2.iicm.tugraz.at/edmedia_100Water.Chronik
About 50 kilometres from Graz along the B70, as I recall.
The Freilichtmuseum in Stubing is excellent (www.freilichtmuseum.at). We love open air museums and thought this one was almost as good as the one near Detmold in Germany's Teutoburger Wald.
And we also really enjoyed hiking on the trails near Piber, ending the afternoon with a visit to the Lipizzaner farm there.
In Graz itself, we liked poking around the old town. We bought a day pass for the local mass transit at the tourist office along Herrengasse, but if your arriving by train, you can probably pick one up somewhere in the train station.
The Landeszeughas, as mentioned above, is among the highlights of a visit to Graz. Definitely worth including.
If it's a sunny day, stop for a bit in the Island on the Mur, a structure built for Graz's stint at European Capital of Culture in 2003.
The Schlossberg didn't impress us as much as we hoped it would when we were there last year...but much of it was covered in scaffolding and fences. Perhaps it's more appealing now.
http://www.suedsteirischeweinstrasse.at/
Perhaps, after sampling a variety of local wines at Lovin (www.lovin.at), you could build in a visit to the wineries you most enjoyed (if they're open to the public). The staff at Lovin may be able to help you decide which ones are worth visiting. FYI, Lovin is not in the heart of the old town...you take the #6 tram to the Neue Technik stop. A place we wanted to try but didn't get to was Iohan.
http://cms.graztourismus.at/cms/beit...01400/1394635/
Another easy daytrip option is Barnbach, where there is a famous church (St. Barbara) designed by Hundertwasser.
http://www2.iicm.tugraz.at/edmedia_100Water.Chronik
About 50 kilometres from Graz along the B70, as I recall.
The Freilichtmuseum in Stubing is excellent (www.freilichtmuseum.at). We love open air museums and thought this one was almost as good as the one near Detmold in Germany's Teutoburger Wald.
And we also really enjoyed hiking on the trails near Piber, ending the afternoon with a visit to the Lipizzaner farm there.
In Graz itself, we liked poking around the old town. We bought a day pass for the local mass transit at the tourist office along Herrengasse, but if your arriving by train, you can probably pick one up somewhere in the train station.
The Landeszeughas, as mentioned above, is among the highlights of a visit to Graz. Definitely worth including.
If it's a sunny day, stop for a bit in the Island on the Mur, a structure built for Graz's stint at European Capital of Culture in 2003.
The Schlossberg didn't impress us as much as we hoped it would when we were there last year...but much of it was covered in scaffolding and fences. Perhaps it's more appealing now.
Jan 26th, 2008, 06:59 AM
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Graz is one of the most beautiful cities in Austria. We visited there in 2006 and we loved it. I wrote a trip report and gave details of what we did each day. We spent 3 days in Graz.
The report is here if you want to go through it (Swaying on the Rhythm of the Danube):
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34857818
In Graz you could visit Landesmuseum Joanneum and the Eggenberg Palace, of which they say it's the most beautiful in Styria.
The report is here if you want to go through it (Swaying on the Rhythm of the Danube):
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34857818
In Graz you could visit Landesmuseum Joanneum and the Eggenberg Palace, of which they say it's the most beautiful in Styria.
Jan 26th, 2008, 07:34 AM
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Graz still is a hidden gem, compared with Vienna or Salzburg.
They have a lovely preserved city with almost italian flair. There you find the landscape next to the center, as Schlossberg rises there.
Appealing: The panorama from Schlossberg.
Comfortable: Sitting in inns and coffeehouses.
Fun: To walk around in the city and discover it by yourself. To find bookstores and antiquarian bookstores (Stempfergasse is good for this).
Great: To discover Graz itself, no need to go elsewhere, they have got it all there.
Graz is not only the capital of Styria, but also a center of industry. It is also an university town, you can even study jazz music there. In addition, it is the center of Austrian literature.
Styria is known as Austrias´s green country for its forests and agriculture. The hinterland provides Graz with excellent food as vegetables, meat, game, poultry, wine, beer, liquor. There are outdoor markets, not the size as the famed Vienna Naschmarkt, but also nice to see. Try some Styrian roast chicken, try some Schilcher (a kind of rose wine grown in Styria). If you prefer beer, Gösser is a good one. Have a lettuce salad with Kernöl, an oil made from pumpkin seed, looking like black motor oil, but with an excellent taste ressembling to nut and excellent for your health. After your meal, some clear fruit liqor as Obstler or Williams might be fine. Brettljausn is a snack with sausage, cold meat and minced bacon (verhackert) to be eaten with bread and some straigt shot afterwards.
There is a Dorotheum (pawnshop, auction house, antiques seller) there, the main is one in Vienna, both of them are worth a visit.
They have a lovely preserved city with almost italian flair. There you find the landscape next to the center, as Schlossberg rises there.
Appealing: The panorama from Schlossberg.
Comfortable: Sitting in inns and coffeehouses.
Fun: To walk around in the city and discover it by yourself. To find bookstores and antiquarian bookstores (Stempfergasse is good for this).
Great: To discover Graz itself, no need to go elsewhere, they have got it all there.
Graz is not only the capital of Styria, but also a center of industry. It is also an university town, you can even study jazz music there. In addition, it is the center of Austrian literature.
Styria is known as Austrias´s green country for its forests and agriculture. The hinterland provides Graz with excellent food as vegetables, meat, game, poultry, wine, beer, liquor. There are outdoor markets, not the size as the famed Vienna Naschmarkt, but also nice to see. Try some Styrian roast chicken, try some Schilcher (a kind of rose wine grown in Styria). If you prefer beer, Gösser is a good one. Have a lettuce salad with Kernöl, an oil made from pumpkin seed, looking like black motor oil, but with an excellent taste ressembling to nut and excellent for your health. After your meal, some clear fruit liqor as Obstler or Williams might be fine. Brettljausn is a snack with sausage, cold meat and minced bacon (verhackert) to be eaten with bread and some straigt shot afterwards.
There is a Dorotheum (pawnshop, auction house, antiques seller) there, the main is one in Vienna, both of them are worth a visit.
Jan 27th, 2008, 06:51 PM
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We were in Graz in 2003, and personally, I could not get enough of an exhibit at Schloss Eggenberg on different artistic, historic and academic perspectives on "the Tower of Babel". Less tyhan 2 years after 9/11/01 we were struck by a portion of the exhibit devoted to how many societies and cultures had been drawn to building "ever taller and taller buildings" - - and how various "forces" (from "the hand of god" to the 19 hijackers) had knocked them down, time after time.
But that exhibit was not permanent. I wonder if there is anything of comparable quality scheduled for the castle this year.
Best wishes,
Rex
But that exhibit was not permanent. I wonder if there is anything of comparable quality scheduled for the castle this year.
Best wishes,
Rex
Jan 27th, 2008, 06:54 PM
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Oh... and p.s.
...you may actually be able to plan cheaper air travel for your trip overall, if you would find it appealing to fly via London (Stansted) coming or going (works best, if you overnight in England - - which we actually wanted to do).
Ryanair offers (sometimes) very cheap fares to/from Graz, and the Graz airport is delightfully small and user-friendly.
...you may actually be able to plan cheaper air travel for your trip overall, if you would find it appealing to fly via London (Stansted) coming or going (works best, if you overnight in England - - which we actually wanted to do).
Ryanair offers (sometimes) very cheap fares to/from Graz, and the Graz airport is delightfully small and user-friendly.
