This European heartland combines a wide variety of landscapes, climatic conditions and flora. Austria's landscapes range from the peaks of the Alps to hill country and plains. The foothills of the Alps and the Carpathians, the Vienna Basin and the Austrian segment of the Pannonian Plain in the East are the principal areas of settlement and economic activity. Austria's highest mountain is the Grossglockner (3,797 meters/12,530 feet). Its longest river is the Danube, which flows through Austria for a length of some 350 kilometers (220 miles).

country highlights
Linz
The Danube River port city of Linz is one of Austria's most bustling industrial cities. The Danube, which flows through the city, serves as a dividing line between the modern city and its old soul. On the south bank, Old Town remains a popular tourist destination, with castles, churches and early buildings fanning out from the central Hauptplatz, Austria's largest Medieval town square.

Graz
The second largest city in Austria, the Styrian capital of Graz lies in Eastern Austria, an area sometimes overlooked by tourists doing the Vienna-Salzburg circuit. Yet Graz is a city rich in history and dense in delights, renowned for its gloriously quaint Glockenspiel and its brilliantly Baroque Eggenberg Castle, as well as for its three universities.

St Anton and the Alps
The Arlberg region comprises several linked resorts and is considered to have some of the best skiing in Austria. St Anton is the largest and least elitist of these resorts. St Anton has good, medium-to-advanced runs as well as nursery slopes on Gampen and Kapall. The resort went down in skiing history as the place where Hannes Schneider pioneered the 'Arlberg method' in the early 20th century. St Anton is on the main railway route from Bregenz to Innsbruck.Set at an elevation of 1640m, the Eisriesenwelt Caves are the largest accessible ice caves in the world. They comprise more than 40km of explored passageways and 30,000 cubic m of ice.

Grossglockner Road
For a fantastic 50km mountain tour, load up the car and head for the Grossglockner Road, Austria's No1 panorama drama. The road was built between 1930 and offers dramatic views of numerous mountain peaks, including the mighty Grossglockner which looms across the vast tongue of the Pasterze Glacier and looks every centimeter of its 3797m.

What is the local currency?
The Euro.

Are a passport, visa, or vaccinations necessary?
Citizens of the United States and Canada in possession of a valid US or Canadian passport, are not required to obtain a visa for Austria for a period of up to three months if traveling as a tourist.

In case that a stay of more than three but less than six months is intended, a visa is required. If you are a resident of the U.S. but do not hold U.S. citizenship, a visa may be required.

Visitors from the U.S./Canada do not need inoculations.

How do you get there from here?
Austria has 6 international airports, including Vienna, Graz, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Linz and Salzburg. There is no departure tax in Austria. Austria's central European location makes it easy to get to, whether by air, rail or automobile. It may be cheaper to fly to Munich, Germany and take a train to Salzburg.

What is the weather like?
Austria is an Alpine country located in roughly the same latitude as the U.S. states of Main or Washington State, which means you can experience all four seasons in their full glory.

The climate is moderate and generally agreeable. Temperatures depend largely on altitude, with averages 3M-: F lower for each additional 1,000 feet of elevation. The long-term average maximum and minimum temperatures for Salzburg (1,427 feet) are good examples: 35/22 in January, 58/39 in April, 75/55 in July, 57/40 in October. Summer days can be hot (even reaching 100 F for brief periods), summer evenings are usually cool. Precipitation is quite evenly distributed over the entire year, but May, September and the first half of October tend to be the driest, April and November the wettest periods. From June through August, rain usually comes in the form of thunderstorms. The winter snow cover lasts from late December through March in the valleys, from November through May at about 6,000 feet, and becomes permanent above about 8,500 feet.

Will my electrical gadgets work?
Electric current in Austria is 220 volts AC at 50 Cycles per second. Plugs are round in Austria and, as we all know, you can't fit a square peg into a round hole. To operate small appliances, laptop computers or other electronic gadgets, you will need a multi-adapter. Check with a large electronics store in your area. Electric clocks, record players and tape recorders will not work properly even on converters because they use the 60 Cycle American/Canadian standard.

What is the best way to phone home?
A call to U.S./Canada made from a private or a public phone at the post office costs AS 18 (approx. $1.80) per minute. It may be worth your while to buy a green Telephone-Wertkarte for AS 50 (approx. $5.00) or the gold one for AS 100 (approx.$10.00) at a post office and make your calls from a card-operated pay phone. Collect and credit card calls are possible from Austria; for such calls only, there are special overseas operators who can be reached by dialing 09 nationwide.

It is also smart to obtain an overseas phone card (they are usually free-of-charge) from your long distance carrier, such as MCI, ATT or Sprint. MCI's Worldphone Program, for example, lets you phone the US/Canada from Austria or any other European countries at greatly reduced rates from what you would pay from the regular hotel charge. The long distance carrier will give you a special number to call when placing your call.

What major holidays are there in Austria?
New Year's Day January 1 Epiphany January 6 Easter Monday March 31 Labor Day May 1 Ascension Day May 8 Whit Monday May 19 Corpus Christi Day May 29 Feast of the Assumption August 15 National Holiday (Flag day) October 26 All Saints Day November 1 Feast of the Immaculate Conception December 8 Christmas Day December 25 St. Stephen's Day December 26.