I just checked out the Fodors Travel Tips on Salzburg and they say women don't wear pants in Salzburg. Is this really true? I was in Munich about four years ago and women wore pants there...perhaps this info is out of date?!?

Hi L&E,

Four years ago, they did. Now they don't.









Wear pants if you want to. You won't be arrested.

Really! Amazing. Skirts only then? Are they stylish skirts with tiers and uneven hemlines or just plain old-fashioned skirts?

Well I'm reminded of what our fair Austrian-born governor Schwarzenegger said a while back..."I hate pants. No woman around me is allowed to wear pants." and it's true, you seldom see pictures of Maria in anything but a dress.

You're misreading it. Here's what it says:

Dressing in Austria ranges from conservative to casual, and is somewhat dependent on age. Older people usually dress conservatively, and slacks on women are as rare as colorful sport shirts are on men. Young people tend to be very trendy...

Sounds about like what I remember.

~Liz

So what? I'm sure the fashion police won't be arresting you. I'm sure businesswomen there wear trouser suits, so what if they don't? Who are you kidding that you're a local?

Naturally, everybody wants to feel "appropriately dressed" and I am certain you will be. Look into the mirror...WOW! they'll love you over there, and you'll forget about the attire as soon as you start taking in all that lovely city has to offer.

Have GREAT trip!

Does this apply just to Austria, or Germany as well?

Since I don't know how often you see colorful sport shirts on men, then I don't know how common skirts are on women...the assumption is pretty rarely..

In my experience, it doesn't apply in either case. I have not noticed that people in Germany and Austria dress all that differently than those in other western countries. I have noticed that French, Italian and Spanish women are generally more stylish than others, especially those in cities. Don't worry, you'll be fine.

How ridiculous, I've never heard this before, nor did I observe it when I was in Salzburg. Wear your pants, or whatever you like.

Your subject line definitely stands out!

And what about female tourists in pants getting of a plane/train in Salzburg? The fashion police make them take the pants off?

If this was true...

I was thinking something else, I'll admit.

This is ridiculous. I wore pants in Salzburg and don't recall being pointed out and laughed at. Frankly, Salzburg is quite touristy anyway, so you are usually around more tourists than locals (at least in the main sightseeing areas). Now, I would say Austrian women tend to dress a little more, shall we say conservatively (I'd say kind of dowdy), but I think they wear pants until quite elderly (I know I saw more than just women below age 25 wearing them). At least, that's my recollection.

I remember shopping in the H&M store in Salzburg which has about nothing but sporty type stuff, including pants, because it was so freezing I needed to supplement the clothes I brought. They weren't selling those dirndls at H&M.

I think the dowdy characterization may be the most appropriate - especially concerning pants on women "of a certain age". However, I have seen tons of younger - and even some not so much younger - women wearing pants all over Austria and Germany. (You won;t see a lot of local adult women wearing ratty jeans with holes in the knees though.)

At the risk of sounding excessively flippant, do you really care? I know you are an adult and are undoubtedly capable of making your own choices. I am sure that when you travel, you are not an embarrassment to yourself or others. So just go ahead and use your own judgment and then just forget about it and have fun!!

I am always interested in what other people do..and why...it's so much more engaging than just living in your own world day in and day out. Isn't that why we travel to other countries?!

HI Linda--your last point is no doubt true, but that is not really what I was addressing when I commented on your post. Of course we travel to see new things and to acquaint ourselves with the way other people live in their cultures. I did not mean to come across harshly, and if I did, I apologize. I inferred--perhaps incorrectly--that you were hesitant to wear pants if the women of Salzburg generally do not. I was proposing that you should not let that affect your choice of clothing

I have no trouble conforming to other cultures, even if it means wearing skirts instead of pants. I am not concerned about my "image..." just whatever fits in..when in Rome..

Oh, going to Italy and hoping all the women there are wearing skirts -- the shorter the better.

I am thinking about Italy but I am affraid now...