In slightly more practical terms, it can be useful to know that, in Vienna, the high season starts in April and ends at the end of October, while in other tourist locations, especially in the mountains, the winter season peaks during the Christmas holidays, Easter holidays, and in the months of February and March.
Summer sees high demand for bookings (and higher prices) in July and August. That said, it is important to emphasize that there are countless reasons for a vacation or a short stay in Austria. For example, the famous and sparkling New Year’s Concert in Vienna, by the Wiener Philharmoniker Orchestra at the Musikverein, with music selected from the vast Strauss repertoire (tickets must be requested months in advance) or the dazzling Tyrolean Carnival of Imst in February.
Spring and Summer in Austria
The spring appointments with classical music in Vienna: the Osterklang is one of the first, during the Easter period, offering both operas and concerts; followed by the Festwochen (May-June), Jazz Fest Wien (end of June), KlangBogen (July-August).
The most folkloric Tyrolean peasant festival is held every first weekend of May in the Zillertal: it is the Gauder Fest of Zell, during which traditions 500 years old come alive again. The men, dressed in traditional leather trousers and boiled wool jackets, compete in wrestling and skill tests; strength contests between rams and a market of local products are also on the program; on this occasion, the Gauderbeer, a very high-strength beer, is also produced.
July and August see two unmissable cultural events: the Bregenz Music Festival on Lake Constance and the very famous one in Salzburg, whose program ranges from classical operas to avant-garde performances.
Autumn and Christmas in Austria
Contemporary art in all its expressions animates the Styrian Autumn in Graz and the wonderful Christmas Markets in Vienna, Innsbruck, Graz and Salzburg (but there are a thousand others, there is no city or village that gives them up) invite you to end the year in style, among lights, aromas, and traditions of a unique land.
