Austria
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Looking down on Kaprun and Grossglockner, |
One of the greatest places for walking in Europe must be the small country of Austria, mostly lying within the Alps but extending to lower-lying country around the capital, Vienna.
It has some of the best facilities for walkers - the Alpine huts for a meal or sleep on a high-level trek, the excellent hiking trails with clear waymarkers, and detailed walking maps. For those who struggle to climb up to routes through the green alps there are cable cars and chair lifts. And the hotels and guest houses give a warm welcome to walkers.
The peaks aren't as high as in neighbouring Switzerland but there is plenty of grand scenery, particularly in the Tyrol and Carinthia. Towns such as Innsbruck and Klagenfurt offer easier walking through attractive streets whilst Salzburg is a delight with its hilltop castle and scenery captured in "The Sound of Music". Nearby Salzkammergut has small lakes surrounded by high peaks, and salt mines to explore underground.
Surprisingly we don't yet have any Walking Stories contributed to the site from Austria. However there was this unusual story in the Guardian on 2 August 2008 by Tim Moore about llama trekking in the Tyrol! With a multinational group he followed a section of the Eagle Way through spectacular scenery in variable weather.
If you've got a walking story from Austria, why not share it here?
Stories
(To order the stories by name, date, country or type click on the appropriate heading)
| Story | Country | Walk Type | Date |
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