The charming and romantic Graz

For anyone planning a car trip to Vienna, it's almost indispensable to plan a stop in Graz (preferably including an overnight stay), a beautiful city of about 230,000 inhabitants, of ancient Roman origins, once capital of Lower Austria and now capital of Styria, European Capital of Culture for 2003, pleasantly crossed by the river Mur and with an old town so beautiful and significant that Unesco has classified it as a World Heritage Site.

A city that from the Habsburg period has preserved not only buildings, monuments and historic sites but above all a restful, old-world atmosphere that you can breathe (and, I'd venture, almost "touch") especially when strolling in the main square (the Hauptplatz) and in the splendid old town. It's considered the most romantic of Austrian cities and, as has rarely happened to me, I find myself in complete agreement with that description.

Although it has more than 230,000 inhabitants, Graz presents itself as peaceful, without suffocating traffic, convenient to get around, free of particular noise and with an urban layout that, even in the more recently expanded outskirts, alternates residential buildings with parks and gardens that make it particularly pleasant to visit. A worthy capital for a region like Styria, three-quarters of which is covered by woods, meadows, vineyards, pastures and forests.

The best way to visit the city is to use public transport. The service is very good, allows you to easily reach every point of the city, and the frequency of the services is so high that in practice there are almost no waiting times. Seeing, then, all the bicycles whizzing around Graz, it's almost natural to think of renting one and getting around on that. I think that with a little care it's possible to reach any point of the city by public transport, but if for other needs or for convenience you opted for a taxi, the service is very good and the fares reasonable.

Obviously the most interesting part of Graz is the old town, which extends largely along the river Mur and where the most interesting places to see are found: - The Cathedral, built in 1438 on the initiative of Frederick III, in Gothic style - The Town Hall in the Hauptplatz - The Burg, that is, the building currently housing the Regional Government of Styria - The Landhaus, a splendid Renaissance-style building with a wonderful main courtyard with three tiers of arcades, designed by an Italian architect in the 1500s, currently the seat of the Regional Council - The Opera House, with a very beautiful facade, built at the end of the 1800s - The garden and castle of Eggenberg, built in the 1600s and with the special feature of having 365 windows, as many as the days of the year

A separate mention deserves the Schlossberg, one of the most interesting places in Graz. It's a fortress on a green little hill in the centre of the city, reachable by a staircase or more comfortably by a lift or the funicular, and from which you get a splendid 360° view over the city itself and the surrounding area. Also interesting is the Clock Tower, built in 1382 and considered the symbol of Graz.

If you have time, there are also numerous museums worth visiting, among which I think it appropriate to point out the most curious or interesting: - The Botanical Garden, whose greenhouses are considered true examples of contemporary architecture - The City Museum (Stadtmuseum) at Palais Khuenberg in Sackstrasse, which presents the history of the city (admission 5.00 euros) - The Styrian Armoury (Landeszeughaus), where from the end of the 1600s weapons and armour to be used in case of war were kept. A place housing about 30,000 suits of armour, and whose special feature is that it has been left exactly as it was at the time, without being turned into a proper museum (admission 4.50 euros)

There are also other curious museums, but often the shortage of time doesn't allow you to visit them, such as the Tram Museum, the Aviation Museum, the Art Gallery, the Institute of Archaeology, the Provincial Museum (Landesmuseum), the Diocesan Museum and the Doll Gallery. For the record there's also the Arnold Schwarzenegger Museum, dedicated to the actor and current governor of California, who was born right in Graz, and which illustrates his film career

But even simply strolling around Graz is very pleasant and interesting. In Carillon Square (Glockenspielplatz), three times a day, there's the spectacle of two figures that come out of the tower and dance to the sound of a little tune. Very picturesque is the fruit and vegetable market in Kaiser Josef Platz. Of notable architecture is the Luegg House at the corner between the Hauptplatz and the Sporgasse, one of the most beautiful shopping streets, together with the Sackstrasse (famous for its antique shops and the beautiful baroque Palais Attems) and the Hofgasse (where you also find the Hofbakerei Edegger-Tax, a bakery and pastry shop that supplied the imperial household as far back as the end of the 1500s).

The cuisine of this region offers a couple of typical dishes worth tasting: fried chicken and boiled meat served with a very tasty sauce made with kren (horseradish). For the rest, the usual dishes of Austrian cuisine, first and foremost the classic wiener schnitzel (breaded cutlet) and the ever-present goulash, which you can enjoy in one of the many restaurants in the city. Restaurants of every kind and for every budget, but united by a common denominator: good service, good food and a reasonable price (many restaurants also offer a fixed-price menu).

On this occasion too we stayed in Graz. Indeed, setting off from Milan to reach Vienna, Graz is the ideal point for a stop, being 680 kilometres from Milan and 200 from Vienna. As on other occasions we booked at the Romantik Parkhotel (Leonhardstrasse 8, telephone 00 43 316 3630), an excellent four-star hotel, in a particularly quiet central area, equipped with every comfort (gym, pool, sauna), an excellent gourmet restaurant, spacious and tastefully furnished rooms, at the price of 140.00 euros per night for a double, breakfast buffet included. The first time we chose this hotel because it was included in the "Austria for Italy" programme (that is, hotels where Italian is spoken), and subsequently because we've always been very happy there.

In conclusion I consider Graz a very pleasant city and deserving of being visited at a certain leisurely pace. A city not only of history but also an important industrial centre and a university city, which has developed in a pleasant way while safeguarding those characteristics of a green city that had made it famous.

Graz lies along the motorway that leads from the Italian border at Tarvisio to Vienna, and you reach it after passing the towns of Villach and Klagenfurt. From Italy there are also air links from the airports of Milan, Florence and Rome Ciampino to that of Graz, a few kilometres from the city and connected by a regular bus service.