Travel Guide Graz

Styria's capital, the country's second-largest city with 330,000 inhabitants, is the easternmost of Austria's regional capitals. It's a dynamic and pleasant city to live in. The people of Graz feel Styrian before they feel Austrian, and are very much oriented towards nearby Mitteleuropa, Hungary and Slovenia in particular, with which they have more in common than with Tyrol or Vorarlberg. Graz is a city with a very specific character, in several respects. Its Baroque architecture, typical of Central European Habsburg architecture, makes it one of the country's most concentrated and best-preserved old towns. The steep castle hill overlooking the River Mur, which stands in the middle of the city and gives Graz a similarity to other cities with breathtaking panoramic views, such as Grenoble. Modernism, with contemporary architecture that blends perfectly into the urban landscape, such as the Island on the Mur and the Kunsthaus. For its lively student life (40,000 students year-round) and cultural life. All these aspects mean that Graz can truly lay claim to the status of Austria's second-largest city, and not just in terms of demographics. In many respects, the city can claim to be a second Vienna, with its opera house on the Ringstrasse, sumptuous mansions and, above all, its past as an imperial residence. Around the city, the countryside is beautiful and generous with vineyards and local produce. Since 2008, Graz has been known as the "Capital of Culinary Pleasures". In summer, the terraces are packed with people and the air is filled with improvised concerts. More people live outdoors here than in any other Austrian city. The ballet of the streetcars plunges us into an atmosphere reminiscent of Czech films by Forman or Lubitsch.Graz is home to a number of festivals, including the Styriarte classical music festival, attended by renowned musicians and conductors.Weather-wise, the city is generally sunny in early spring, rainy in May and June, and warm in summer. The best time to discover the city is early autumn.