Graz is Austria’s second-largest city and by far the least internationally crowded, a UNESCO World Heritage old town built around a forested rock (the Schlossberg) at the city’s center. The Styrian culinary tradition, built on pumpkin seed oil, fresh horseradish, and outstanding regional produce, is distinct from anything in Vienna or Salzburg. The Landeszeughaus armory holds the largest baroque-period weapon collection in the world, fully intact. The 2003 Kunsthaus by Peter Cook and Colin Fournier marks the city’s contemporary cultural ambition. About 2 hours 30 minutes from Vienna by train. Two to three days is the right length.
city
Graz
Graz is Austria's second-largest city and the least internationally known of the three, which is the main reason to go. The Schlossberg, the forested rock at the center of the city with its clock tower and funicular, shapes the urban geography in a way no other Austrian city has.