Graz and Surroundings

Heading to Graz we made a stop in Wolfsberg. Once we arrived in the capital of Styria the first problem is parking, there are spaces, but all with parking meters. The centre of the city is the Hauptplatz, surrounded by fine buildings, as is the characteristic Herrenstrasse, the street with the city's trendiest shops. In Graz it is a must to go up the Uhrturm, the Clock Tower, from which you enjoy a spectacular view of the whole city; the climb is very easy even along the paths that go up towards the top of the Schlossberg, but you can also take the funicular. The architecture of the Museum of Modern Art is somewhat questionable. The colourful trams crisscross the city, where there is also a large pedestrian area. We stayed a little outside the city, in Gratkorn, at the hotel of the same name, € 82,00 for a very spacious double room with a generous breakfast.

Nearby, definitely worth seeing is the Freilichtmuseum in Stubing (open-air house museum), where old Austrian farms are reconstructed and where you spend a couple of hours browsing the interiors of houses from the past. There are similar museums in Carinthia too. On the way back towards Graz, the Stift Rein abbey is also worth a visit. The jewel of Graz is then the Eggenberg castle, just outside the city, with interiors to admire including the Planetarium room and the majestic park that surrounds it.