From Vienna's coffee houses to Alpine lakes

In Austria the day often begins in a coffee house and ends in a concert hall. From the imperial capital Vienna to the lake villages at the foot of the Alps, the country waits to be discovered slowly, through its elegant architecture, its music and its pastries.

Vienna: palaces, opera and coffee houses

The historic centre of Vienna became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001, and Schönbrunn, the summer palace of the Habsburgs, together with its gardens, in 1996. The opera house, museums and palaces line the Ringstrasse.

Viennese coffee house culture is listed in Austria's inventory of intangible cultural heritage. Marble tables, newspapers and being able to sit for hours over a single coffee are part of that culture. Every 1 January, the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Concert is watched around the world.

Salzburg: Mozart's city

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg in 1756; the house where he was born is now a museum. With its baroque churches, hilltop fortress and the banks of the Salzach, the historic centre of Salzburg has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996.

Every summer the city hosts the Salzburg Festival, one of the world's most prestigious classical music and theatre festivals.

Hallstatt and the Wachau Valley

With its colourful houses leaning against the lakeshore, Hallstatt is the best-known village of the Salzkammergut. The Hallstatt-Dachstein / Salzkammergut cultural landscape became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997; salt mining in the area goes back thousands of years.

The Wachau Valley, where the Danube flows between Melk and Krems, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000 for its vineyards, apricot orchards, abbeys and castles. Melk Abbey is a baroque masterpiece looking down on the river.

The table: schnitzel, strudel and Sachertorte

Wiener Schnitzel, veal pounded thin and breaded, is the best-known dish of Austrian cuisine. Apfelstrudel, thin pastry with apple and cinnamon, and Sachertorte, chocolate cake with apricot jam, fill the windows of the coffee houses.

Ordering coffee in Vienna is a language of its own: the Melange, with milk foam, is among the favourites. In the mountain villages, cheesy noodles called Käsespätzle and hearty Alpine dishes take centre stage.

Good to know

• In coffee houses it is traditional to serve a glass of water with your coffee.
• Train connections between Vienna, Salzburg and the Alpine regions are easy.
• It's worth booking concert and opera tickets in advance.