Austria, any great drives,sights or village /towns?

A couple years ago, on a whim my husband and I took a day trip from Bled (Slovenia) to Klagenfurt, Austria via car. We knew virtually nothing of Klagenfurt but discovered a beautiful area (with a rather large lake nearby) and a very pleasant town. We found the local TI, gathered up some maps, and had a wonderful day. I'd go back in a minute, and would like to put it on your radar for consideration!

Hi JS, I'd suggest visiting Zell am See and a drive over the Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse to Heiligenblut. Zell am See (charming old town with a gorgeous lakeside setting) is at the northern end of the Grossglockner and the very picturesque village of Heiligenblut is at the southern end of the Grossglockner........www.worldisround.com/articles/324599/index.html............www.worldisround.com/articles/355540/index.html.........www.worldisround.com/articles/338868/index.html..............www.grossglockner.at..........Paul

I second Klagenfurt, I went to Werfen (has a nice castle) Aggstein and Germunden are pleasent. Germunden is on a lake.

I agree, the southern area around Klagenfurt is surprisingly lovely, with a number of lakes-Millstattersee, Worthersee, among others. I was there several years ago and loved it.

Thanks to all for mentioning Klagenfort & the Worthersee area. In 2007, we took the train from Vienna to Venice and went through that area. We were amazed by how beautiful it looked from the train and have it on our list of places to visit. Don't see it mentioned much in travel books/TV shows, so it was good to hear something about it. Maybe Rick will stop by some day.

If you can, rent a car. The roads are excellent. We spent three weeks driving around Austria (my friend is Austrian and wanted to show us his homeland) and it was such a great trip. Take time to visit the Saltzkammergut area with its lakes and lovely little towns surrounding them, and the alps (we went to the "Top of Tirol" for a view across the alps (great). But also get over to Eastern Austria. You will be surprised how un-Austrian it looks with vineyards and rolling hills instead of mountains. Little towns there like Rust, a cute little town, and Morbisch (where you can take a boat over to Hungry for the day), as well as pretty little Eisenstadt with its lovely Schloss Esterhazy and a home Hyden lived in for 12 years. There are a lot of castles all over Austria; fun to visit. Get a good book in addition to Ricke Steves', like the DK Eyewitness Travel Guides and read up and select the places you'd like to visit. Get a map and mark it up and route your way around Austria. You will have a wonderful time. So, to answer your question, I'd say definitely yes.

Salzburg and the surrounding area. My husband and I are in Munich Germany for a week and just went to Salzburg yesterday for the day. It was beautiful! We wish we had more time to explore the countryside. Go to the fortress on the top of the city and ate lunch at the cafe...the views are amaking.

I'll give another vote for the Salzkammergut. Hallstatt gets a lot of press, but the rest of the region is just breathtaking, too. We liked St. Wolfgang and St. Gilgen. It's a big vacation area for Germans and Austrians.

Austria is my favorite country in Europe! Around the Salzburg area the untersberg cable car ride is fun!On the way down the car was late because condors were flying near the cables. After we started down they came back and were flying in circles near us! Also the birds of prey show in Werfen is oustanding!If you want an eagle flying right over your head stand about 10 feet in front of the girl as she recieves the birds from other girls on the walls of the castle. And werfen has the largest ice cave in the world with awesome views of the alps and hohenwerfen castle.Have fun and take pictures.