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Dolomites, La Vita to Vienna

In early July following travels to Budapest, Prague and Salzburg we'll be spending four nights in the Dolomites. We will leave from there on Friday and plan to arrive in Vienna on Sunday evening, returning our car and flying home early Mon day. I am looking at Graz to spend Friday and Saturday nights, sightseeing in the city on Saturday. Any other suggestions of a good, or better place on the way back to break up the drive and see interesting sights? Is Graz worth spending a day visiting? Thanks for the help!

Posted by
868 posts

Graz is one of Austrias most interesting cities . I actually like Graz more than Salzburg for example. You can easily spend a full day, or more, in the city. The old town is very pleasant (and a World Heritage Site!), the (worlds largest) armory is a must, Eggenberg Palace is a gem (and a World Heritage too), the Calvary very impressive.
Sadly the city is badly covered in most guides. Maybe open the German Wiki page in Chrome, which automatically translates the page:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altstadt_von_Graz#Grazer_Altstadt

Or just have a look at some of the pics:
Armory
Eggenberg Palace
Calvary
Mariatrost Basilica (interior!)

On your way to Vienna you also pass many other sites, like Hochosterwitz castle, Riegersburg castle or Rein Abbey.

Posted by
31 posts

Thank you Martin! Your reply is incredibly helpful!!! I really appreciate your information. I know we will enjoy Graz. I'm looking forward to it! And we'll plan enough time to visit some of the sights on the way to Vienna. Thanks again!!!

Posted by
14482 posts

Hi,

Yes, absolutely Graz is worthy of your time. In 2011 I took a day trip r/t from Vienna to Graz, realised once I got there I should have set aside a night or two visiting the city, an interesting province capital (for me it was the architecture) and a very good walking city.

Posted by
31 posts

Thanks Fred. Good to know! I appreciate you taking the time to answer my question. I'm really looking forward to my trip. Only three weeks now until we leave.

Posted by
14482 posts

Hi,

You're welcome. From the train station you can, of course, take a bus into town, or just walk down Keplerstraße as you exit the station. It is a lively, busy station, lots of travellers, back packers, etc. I was just there in Vienna the first week in May, had planned on another day's trip to Graz but opted for Wiener Neustadt (one stop prior to Graz) instead. Wiener Neustadt was interesting for a day's trip but Graz much more so. What they say about Graz is "klein aber fein." (small but really nice)