Upper Austria Between Nature, Culture and Panoramas

The Freizeit-Ticket OÖ is a day network pass for all regional public transport in Upper Austria and is valid on trains, buses and trams. Since 2014, Linz has held the title of UNESCO City of Media Arts and is therefore part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.

Other towns and districts in Upper Austria: Grieskirchen, Rohrbach, Urfahr-Umgebung, Freistadt, Perg, Kirchdorf An Der Krems, Steyr-Land, Gmunden District and Vöcklabruck.

Trails and nature in Kalkalpen National Park

Kalkalpen National Park covers an area of almost 21,000 hectares in southeastern Upper Austria. The Buchensteig Wilderness Trail in Kalkalpen National Park is just under ten kilometres long and follows old woodcutter paths. The Luchs Trail long-distance hiking trail connects Upper Austria, Styria and Lower Austria and is 200 kilometres long; the route comprises eleven challenging stages and 10,000 metres of elevation gain.

Panoramas and caves in the Salzkammergut

The SchafbergBahn has been travelling from St. Wolfgang to Mount Schafberg since 1893, covering 1,190 metres of elevation gain over 5.85 kilometres in around 35 minutes to reach the summit of Schafberg. In clear weather, it offers a 360-degree panoramic view over the lakes of the Salzkammergut and the Alpine foothills, including Wolfgangsee, Irrsee, Mondsee, Fuschlsee and Chiemsee.

The Feuerkogel plateau lies at an altitude of 1,600 metres and offers many hiking opportunities, two viewing platforms and, in clear weather, a 360-degree panoramic view of the Dachstein and the lake region. At Feuerkogel, the Karst and Sinkhole Adventure Trail features a mountain pine labyrinth.

There are three cave systems in the Salzkammergut near Obertraun; the Giant Ice Cave and the Mammoth Cave are located near the middle station of the Dachstein-Krippenstein cable car. The Dachstein Giant Ice Cave contains impressive cave glaciers, icebergs and ice chapels.

Culture between Linz, the Danube and the Salzkammergut

The Ars Electronica Festival takes place annually and brings artists, researchers and scientists to Linz for lectures, workshops, exhibitions and symposia. At the Kids’ Research Laboratory of the Ars Electronica Center, children aged 4 to 8 can tinker, make music, draw, program and experiment.

The Hallstatt-Dachstein/Salzkammergut cultural landscape has undergone continuous development over 2,500 years, which from the beginning was closely connected above all with the economic history of salt mining. The remains of the pile dwellings at Lake Attersee and Lake Mondsee are part of the UNESCO World Heritage site Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps.

The history of the Danube Limes can be experienced, for example, by bicycle on the Danube Cycle Path or on foot along the Danube Trail. Cultural highlights in Upper Austria include the small fort at Oberranna, the fort at Schlögen, the Schlossberg fortifications in Linz and the remains of the Lauriacum legionary camp in Enns.

At the Schwarz Jew’s Harp and Accordion Experience World, visitors can learn what is important in the production of jew’s harps and how the jew’s harp has changed over time. Hartheim Castle is located in the vicinity of Upper Austria. Dietach Castle is located in the vicinity of Upper Austria.

For the higher-level travel overview: Austria.