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There are nine provinces in Austria:
Tourist Information
In Austria, the main Austrian Tourist Board details are:
The Austrian National Tourist Office Vienna
Margaretenstr. 1
A-1040 Wien
Phone: +43 (0)1 588 66-0
Fax: +43 (0)1 588 66-20
There are Tourist Information Offices in most resorts.
Airports (Flughafen)
There are several airports serving Austria:
- Innsbruck (Austria) for resorts in the west. Charter and some scheduled flights.
- Salzburg (Austria) for resorts in the centre and west. Charter and some scheduled flights.
- Munich (Germany) for resorts in the west.
- Friedrichshafen (Germany) for resorts in the west (Vorarlberg province)
- Zurich (Switzerland) for resorts in the west (Vorarlberg province).
- Graz (Austria) for resorts in the east.
- Linz (Austria) for resorts in the east.
- Vienna (Austria) for resorts in the east. Scheduled and charter flights.
Rail Stations
Most trains are run by Austrian Railways. For train and bus timetables, click here ÖBB (English).
Buses
There are lots of bus companies in Austria. They co-operate to provide bus services which integrate with the trains. For bus and train timetables and other information, click here ÖBB (English). You will find Postbus in most places, and in Tirol buses also operate as VVT (Verkehrsverbund Tirol) - also has train information.
Cable Cars / Chair Lifts
Most resorts have one or more cable cars or chair lifts. They normally do not operate in Spring (April - early June) or Autumn (Mid September - October). See Resorts for details.
Walking / Hiking in Austria
The walking / hiking in Austria varies from short walks round lakes to strenuous hikes above 2000m staying in mountain huts. See Resorts for details.
- There are a number of long distance walks across Austria and adjoining countries:
- 01 Nordalpenweg (North Alpine Way) 1000km
- 02 Zentralalpinweg (Central Alpine Way) 1100km
- 03 Südalpenweg (South Alpine Way) 500km
- 04 Voralpinweg 1000km
- 05 Nord-Süd-Weitwanderweg 700km (Atlantic, Alps, Adriatic)
Obergurgl
- 06 Mariazellerwege 1100km
- 07 Ostösterreichischer Grenzlandweg (East Austrian Borderland) 700 km
- 08 Eisenwurzenweg 600km
- 09 Salzsteigweg 470km
- 10 Rupertiweg 640km
Austrian Maps and Guide Books
A good map of Austria is useful for finding you way round on the trains, buses or roads.
For walking / hiking maps there are several map companies that make suitable maps:
Kompass, mayr and freytag & berndt offer ranges with scales of 1:25000 to 1:50000 depending on the resorts and surrounding areas. The Alpenvereinkarten range from the Austrian Alpine Club (Oesterreichischer Alpenverein [OeAV]) or the Deutscher Alpenverein are more detailed but only cover part of Austria. The BEV ÖK maps are similar to the Alpenvereinkarten maps but covers the whole country.
Some maps have co-ordination systems marked (Long & Lat; UTM) or include booklets with GPS information.
For use with a PC / GPS receiver, Digital Maps allow you to plan your walks on your PC and upload the track to your GPS receiver. You can also download track from your GPS receiver and view them in 3D on your PC.
See Books & Maps for general information, and Resorts for details of maps suitable for the resort.
Austrian Public Holidays
These are the main public holidays in Austria.
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Holiday
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2010
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2011
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New Year's Day - Neujahr
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Fri, 1 January
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Sat, 1 January
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Epiphany - Heilige drei Könige
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Wed, 6 January
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Thur, 6 January
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Easter Friday - Karfreitag
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Fri, 2 April
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Fri, 22 April
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Easter Day - Ostersonntag
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Sun, 4 April
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Sun, 24 April
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Easter Monday - Ostermontag
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Mon, 5 April
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Mon, 25 April
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Labour - May Day - Tag der Arbeit
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Sat, 1 May
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Sun, 1 May
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Ascension Day - Christi Himmelfahrt
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Thur, 13 May
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Thur, 2 June
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Whit Sunday - Pfingstsonntag
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Sun, 23 May
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Sun, 11 June
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Whit Monday - Pfingstmontag
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Mon, 24 May
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Mon, 12 June
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Corpus Christi Day - Fronleichnam
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Thur, 3 June
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Thur, 23 June
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Assumption Day - Mariä Himmelfahrt
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Sun, 15 August
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Mon, 15 August
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National Day - Nationalfeiertag
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Tues, 26 October
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Wed, 26 October
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All Saints' Day - Allerheiligen
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Mon, 1 November
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Tues, 1 November
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Immaculate Conception - Mariä Empfängis
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Wed, 8 December
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Thur, 8 December
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Christmas Day - Weihnachten
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Sat, 25 December
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Sun, 25 Decembe
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St. Stephen's Day - Stephanstag
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Sun, 26 December
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Mon, 26 December
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Emergencies Phone Numbers
The Europe wide emergency number is 112. In Austria you can also use the number 144. For mountain rescue the number is 140.
Shops
In general, shops are open Monday - Friday 09:00 to 18:00, closing for lunch. Food shops and supermarkets stay open on some weekdays until 19:30 and Saturdays until 17:00. In tourist areas some shops may also open in the evenings and Sundays.
Electricity
Two pin continental plugs are needed on electrical items. Following “European Voltage Harmonisation”, the nominal voltage is 230 volts at 50 Hz. (It used to 220 V but products marked 220V, 230V or 240V should work correctly). You may need a travel connector adapter.
If you have any 110V items that cannot be set to 220V, you will need a travel voltage converter.
Bike Hire
Sports shops in resorts hire Mountain Bikes and City Bikes. Some train stations also hire them and it is possible to return them to another station, click here ÖBB (English).
Excursions
Local coach companies offer a range of excursions.
European Union
Austria is a member of the European Union (EU).
Currency and Credit / Debit Cards
The currency used in Austria is the euro (EUR) and eurocent.
Credit and debit cards are not as widely accepted as in the UK. Check that the shop or restaurant takes them before you buy.
Most resorts have Automated Teller Machines inside the bank branch or outside that will take Visa, Mastercard or Eurocard.
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