iapetus

I will be spending next week in Graz, Austria. Never having been or having heard very much about Austria's second-largest city, I thought I would see what I can learn about it on FT.

Does anyone know of any fun things to do in Graz? I will have a free day on Monday. In addition to climbing up the Schloßberg, what other interesting things are there to do? What about places to dine? I'm particular to restaurants where I can eat at a bar ... it's just what I like to do when I'm alone. Anything information that would make my week more interesting would be most welcome!

And one more practical question: will there be any problem in getting a taxi from the airport to the Hauptplatz at ~9:00pm on a Sunday? I wouldn't think so, but ...

iapetus

Not wanting this to remain forever a one-post thread, I thought that I would turn this into something of a trip report. Maybe future FTers traveling to Graz, Austria, might benefit. I’ll start with a brief description of the town as I understand it (which is nothing you probably couldn’t find on Wikipedia) and give summaries of various aspects of my trip in subsequent posts.


Many people with whom I have spoken about my trip had never heard of Graz, which is why I wasn’t terribly surprised that I got no initial responses in this thread. . Despite this, it is Austria’s second-largest city with a current population of ~300,000 souls and the capital of the province of Styria (Steiermark in German, which I think sounds much, much cooler ). Graz is located in the foothills south of the Alps. It is in a valley threaded by the river Mur, which flows south into Slovenia. It wasn't hard to see why people would want to settle here.

The town’s main square (Hauptplatz in German) is located on the right bank of the Mur (as you face downstream). The center of town is dominated by the Schloßberg, a hill on which currently sits the Uhrturn (clock tower) and which used to be the location of a fortress protecting the town. (When Napoleon’s forces laid siege to Graz in 1809, they were unable to take the fortress, despite a 3:1 troop advantage. But the French had it dismantled anyway after taking Vienna.) The top of the Schloßberg is basically now a park which can be accessed by stairs, an elevator or a funicular (which I didn’t actually see). In addition to seeing the Uhrturm up close or just relaxing, the Schloßberg is worth visiting for the view of the valley alone. And with a couple of open-air restaurants, you don’t even have to do it without a proper glass of wine.

The left bank of the Mur is home to Graz’ Kunsthaus (Modern Art Museum), which, largely owing to its organically-shaped roof that stands out starkly against the baroque rooftops that surround it, is easily visible from the top of the Schloßberg. The town’s main train station, the Hauptbahnhof, is also on this side of the river. From the Hauptbahnhof, one can get to Vienna in just over 2.5 hours. As you can tell from the amount that I have to stay, I spent most of my time on the right bank.

Finally, a brief description of the layout of Graz would be incomplete without a reference to the Murinsel, an artificial island (well, floating platform) that was built in the middle of the river in 2003 and which was designed by an artist from New York City. It can be reached from walkways that extend to both banks of the river there. There is a small restaurant which has some outdoor seating, but it was closed when I visited.


Oh, yeah, Graz is also the former home to a former governor of California and is where said former governor got into bodybuilding.

iapetus

I can only report on one hotel — the Erzherzog Johann Palais Hotel (in English) — as this is the only one at which I stayed. One of the nicest (I believe) hotels in Graz, it is just ~20 meters from the north end of the Hauptplatz. It is a four-star hotel that served as a palace in the 18th century.

My room at the Erzherzog was perhaps the largest I’ve ever enjoyed in Europe. (I think it was 45 square meters.) And the shower stall, which didn’t have any curtains or doors, was roughly the size of my bathroom at home (which kinda obviates the need to isolate the shower). And the room featured a large poster bed with a velvet canopy. (If you want to see pictures of the room, look for the Wanda Sacher Masoch-Zimmer under the 'Themed Rooms'.)

The lobby and interior spaces of the hotel were brightly lit, owing to the large, glass canopy which covers the center of the space. Apparently, the structure used to have an open-air court in the center, which has been converted to an atrium with the addition of the canopy. The resulting open ambience was very warm and welcoming. The hotel houses a cafe, which is where the breakfast buffet is held. Breakfast was good, but perhaps not quite worth the €15.50 I was charged. The hotel also has a bar — the Ernst Fuchs bar — which is run by a very friendly bartender. It’s small, and the prices were a little on the steep side, particularly for Graz, but it was a nice, convenient option before heading up to bed. I believe that there are several other amenities, such as a salon, of which I did not partake.

There were only two somewhat negative aspects to my stay. There was a funny smell emanating from the bathroom sink, which I believe was the fault of a previous guest. The hotel did try to clean it up and added an automatic room freshener when I mentioned it. But I think the pipes needed to be cleaned. That said, I do think that this was a one-off issue. And it wouldn’t keep me from staying there again. The other issue had to do with noise. If you’re easily bothered by noise (I am not), you definitely don’t want to stay in one of the rooms that faces the street (Sackstraße) below. A couple of trams run right below the room and, despite the double windows, can be heard rumbling past. (I would just roll over and fall back asleep when they woke me up.). Ask for a room away from the street if this would be a problem for you.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my stay at the Erzherzog Johann Palais hotel. And despite the couple of inconveniences I encountered, I would definitely recommend it, and I would happily stay there again on my next visit to Graz!

iapetus

While in Graz, I had the pleasure of dining at six establishments. Most of them provided classic fare for the region. They are listed below.
Of the six, die Herzl was definitely my favorite. Perhaps this was because I found it on my own or that I was really hungry when I stopped by (I had just arrived from Los Angeles, California). Either way, it was a nice welcome to the Mark (Steiermark, that is!). My meal was well prepared, and the accompanying sauce really tied it all together nicely. (I enjoyed the Hauspfandl.) After that, Eckstein served the meal I enjoyed the most. In addition to an intriguing combination (octopus + pork), they have a nice wine selection. Glöckl Bräu stands out as they make some of their own beer (I'm fairly certain).

In summary, while I would recommend any of the above (well, go to Molly Malone’s really if you’re just craving a hamburger -- I went at the advice of my hotel receptionist), I felt that die Herzl and Eckstein were the best of the lot I tried. Guten Appetit!

iapetus

As I am wont to do, I also partook in Graz’ nightlife. Given the proximity of my hotel to it, most of my bar sampling was done in the vicinity of the Färbergasse. Some of the places I visited were (note that I also dined at some of these places):Of course, these are just a sampling of some of the places in central Graz. There will be many more to try the next time fate lands me in the Steiermark. Prost!

iapetus

One of my first concerns upon arriving was finding a way into central Graz from the airport. Recall that I was scheduled to arrive late (~9:00pm) on a Sunday evening. However, that concern turned out to be baseless. My suitcase was the first one off the belt (), and there were plenty of cabs curbside when I left the terminal. After a brief ~€20 taxi ride, I was at the front of my hotel.

The meeting I was in Graz to attend was a little ways out of the center of town; so I had occasion to use the tram (or Bim) every day. Instead of paying the €2.20 for each ride, I bought a Wochenkarte, which is a ticket valid for a full week, at just €14.20. A ticket valid for three days would have been €12. The tram was convenient and ran frequently. After a particular hour, it switches to a night schedule (which I never actually used).

The only other thing I should note is the ticket inspector. In Graz (at least on this day), they use officers who wear plain clothes to look for tickets. My supposition is that this is not to elicit suspicion until they ask for your ticket. However, when I encountered one, I did not realize what was going on. The inspector flashed her badge, which I didn't look at very closely. By the time I realized what was happening, she'd already found a couple of fare evaders and didn't appear interested in me. But I waved my Wochenkarte as she exited the tram with the presumed guilty party. I don't think she noticed.

Getting back to the airport was similar to my arrival. The hotel called for a taxi which got me there for ~€20 and in about as many minutes. The cool thing about the airport -- something of which I failed to take advantage -- was the pre-security observation deck. Not far from the security checkpoint is a staircase that leads directly to an observation deck from which you can see the entire airfield. I missed this, but got to watch people enjoying the deck as I sat in the lounge. In this age of tight airport security, I was quite surprised to see this, particularly as one doesn't even have to go through security to get to the deck. I'd definitely like to get back up there the next time I fly through GRZ!

sophiesophie

Thanks for your updates! I had never heard of Graz myself until I read this post. I hope to travel around Europe later this year and think a stop in Austria would be on the list. Graz sounds like a nice area.