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Austria
Austria Travel Guide and Archives
Austria Travel Guide
This Austria travel guide covers the country of Austria, the home of sausages, the Sound of Music, and seriously creepy puppets. It’s nestled right there in the middle of Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Italy, Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.
Clearly, it likes to be the center of attention. But take one look at Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a native Salzburgian (?) and you would’ve already known that. *hair flip*
Austria’s main cities are Vienna (the capital, locally known as Wien), Salzburg (the capital of Sound of Music worship), Innsbruck, and Hallstatt (that sexy, water-adjacent fairy tale village you keep seeing on Pinterest).
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Austria travel basics
What currency is used in Austria?
Austria uses euros (Check out xe.com for the most up-to-date currency conversion–they have a mobile app too!)
What time zone is Austria in?
Austria is in the time zone GMT+1. This means the entire country of Austria is six hours ahead of the Eastern time zone.
What are Austria’s visa/passport requirements?
If you’re planning to spend less than 90 days in Austria/the Schengen area, you can get by using just your U.S. passport–no Visa required. (Except for all those sausages you’re planning on buying, ba-dum-tshh!)
However, your passport must be valid for at least 6 months from the date you leave the Schengen area.
What language do they speak in Austria?
German is the primary language spoken in Austria.
Where to stay in Austria
Regardless of where in Austria you’ll be visiting, there will be hotels and hostels ready and willing to put you up. I’m more of a hotel-stayer personally but those Alpine hostels are pretty damn charming too.
For booking accommodation in Austria, I recommend reading hotel reviews on Tripadvisor, then booking your room through Booking.com (my favorite booking site).
And don’t forget, there’s always vacation rentals. Check out listings in Austria here!
Austria packing essentials
Austria is a pretty straightforward travel destination and you should be able to find almost anything you need in an emergency. For everything else, be sure to pack these:
– Austria guidebook: I prefer Fodor’s, but you can also find one from Lonely Planet and Rick Steves. I also adore these culture-centered guidebooks from Culture Smart!
– The Sound of Music: obviously you’ve got to watch this before your trip to Salzburg.
– Travel insurance. Unfortunately, things can and do go wrong when you travel. World Nomads offers coverage for more than 150 activities as well as emergency medical, lost luggage, trip cancellation and more.
