Make a holiday apartment in Austria your home away from home

Austria is a country of diverse attractions and one that unfortunately doesn’t receive the praise due it as a tourist destination. This Central European nation is richly endowed in terms of flora and fauna despite the fact that it is landlocked. Its mountainous Alpine terrain provide optimal conditions for many animal and plant species to thrive. Austria rivals most any other country in the Old Continent in terms of heritage and boasts a long, eventful past, reminders of which are seen throughout the nation’s cities. Holiday homes in Austria provide conducive places of retreat that suit the needs of different kinds of travellers visiting in different times of the year. Winter tourists can take advantage of the ski chalets conveniently located close to popular pistes. HomeAway provides summer visitors with beautifully furnished holiday apartments in Austria from which they can set off on day-long hikes, exploring the rich green countryside.

Things to do

-Nature: Austria is famous for its divine mountain scenery with lofty snow-capped peaks piercing into layers of clouds. The Central Eastern Alps, Northern Limestone Alps and Southern Limestone Alps are all at least partially found within Austria. These mighty mountains descend into beautiful green valleys. Summer visitors will have all this splendour at their disposal to hike in or bike around. The cycle routes in this country are renowned for the magnificent scenery cyclists are treated to along the way.

-Winter sports: A good number of the tourists who flock ski chalets in Austria in winter are there to take advantage of the delicious Alpine slopes found there. Between December and March people from all over Europe and beyond arrive to ski and snowboard to their heart’s delight. Those into cross-country skiing will also have kilometres of excellent terrain to indulge. Some holidaymakers however are simply there for the après-ski fun, and who can blame them.

-Cultural events: Austria and opera are inseparable and most visitors come to this patch of mountainous land in the heart of Europe to hear the amazing performances belted out in halls in Salzburg and Vienna. During the Salzburg festival held every summer visitors can have their fill of classical music while rubbing shoulders with enthusiasts from around the world. For traditional accordion-driven folk music one can visit countryside pubs.

-Monuments: Among the fascinating ancient buildings that speak of Austria’s illustrious past, the Burg Riegersberg is one of the best preserved. It is open to the public though it is owned by the ruling family in Liechtenstein. Hofburg Innsbruk is another of the country’s most important historical buildings. It was occupied by elite members of Austrian society such as the Empress Maria Theresa.

-Museums: Art lovers will be well taken care of and should not hesitate to book their Austria holiday apartments and chalets. Along the Walk of Modern Art they will get feast their eyes on contemporary artworks by leading artists displayed outdoors.

Weather in Austria

The climate in this country, thanks to its altitude, can be described as cool and temperate. With most of the country being in the Alps, the climate is also described as alpine. Winters are therefore unsurprisingly cold with temperatures ranging between -10 and 0°C. Daylight hours can be as little as two in a day at this time of year. But that doesn’t mean the summers don’t get hot. Between July and August temperatures averages of 26°C are usually observed and on the odd day temperatures climb beyond 30°C.

Travel to Austria

Though holidaymakers can jet in through any one of the country’s six airports, most of them end up jetting in through the Vienna Airport, Austria’s biggest and busiest. Tourists heading to Austria holiday homes could also use the Salzburg Airport, the second busiest after Vienna. Those coming from Eastern Europe could come in by bus and those coming from the Czech Republic, Hungary or Germany can use fast trains.