Austria


Hallstatt, Salzkammergut

Lush, flower-filled meadows, wooden houses adorned with colourful window-boxes, the gentle clang of cowbells…Summer in the Alpine regions of Austria has the ability to refresh and delight, and we have sought out corners where the traditional way of life - age-old crafts, farming practices, superstitions and religious ceremonies - continues.

A paradise for walkers

Austria is one of Europe’s most mountainous countries. Our chosen regions offer beautiful scenery of vivid green valleys dotted with small villages and framed by jagged peaks that reach into the sky. The Tyrol, in particular, is a real paradise for walkers - well-waymarked footpaths, along which are scattered friendly walkers’ restaurants, criss-cross the valleys, while others lead up the slopes and over dramatic mountain passes. In Salzkammergut, scenic paths invite you on easy strolls alongside lakes, through idyllic valleys and across meadows. To walk through the splendid scenery of these three regions is to delight the senses - views as far as the eye can see, the heady scent of pine in the forests, glorious displays of flowers that light up the meadows, delicious wild strawberries growing at the side of paths, and the clang of distant cowbells.

Genuine hospitality


Ridge walking above Zell am See

The Austrians, and especially the Tyroleans, are renowned for their genuine hospitality. Theirs is a long tradition - the Tyrol has, over the centuries, been a crossroads for travellers heading across Europe and through the Alps. You will find a warm welcome at our hotels, and more than a touch of the famous Gemütlichkeit (cosiness and hospitality). The standards of hospitality are matched in the cuisine, too. National dishes include Wiener Schnitzel (veal or pork cutlet fried in breadcrumbs), while in our chosen regions dumplings feature in many dishes - try Tiroler Knödeln or the gnocchi-like Spaetzle - as do mountain cheeses, game, and fish from the mountain streams and lakes. Austrians have a famously sweet tooth, and, with delights such as apple strudel and Kaiserschmarr’n (chopped pancake) on the menu, it is often hard to resist dessert. Austrian wines, a jealously guarded secret and as such rarely found outside the country, are delicious, and meals are best finished off with a glass of delicately flavoured fruit schnapps.

Our walking holidays

> Lakes & Mountains of Salzkammergut (grade 1-2)

> The Leutasch Valley, Tyrol (grade 2)

> Lake Achensee & its Mountains (grade 2 discovery walk)

> Austria's Alpine Heartland, Salzburgerland (grade 2-3)

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