Austria

Austria is an alpine country to its core — roughly two-thirds of it lies within the Alps — rising to the glaciated 3,798-m Grossglockner, its highest peak, above the country's largest glacier. Beyond the high mountains lie the mirror-like lakes of the Salzkammergut, the vineyards of the Wachau along the Danube, and forested foothills dotted with baroque villages.

With six national parks, an immense network of marked trails and mountain huts, and a culture that practically invented modern alpine skiing and mountaineering, Austria is one of Europe's premier outdoor nations in every season.

Hike and climb the Tyrolean and Hohe Tauern Alps, ski the legendary slopes of the Arlberg, Kitzbühel, and Ötztal, swim and sail the clear Salzkammergut lakes, and cycle the Danube path through the Wachau. Via ferratas, glacier tours, and hut-to-hut treks abound in the high country.

Summer (June–September) is prime for hiking, the lakes, and high alpine huts; autumn brings golden larches and harvest in the wine country. Winter is world-class for skiing and snowboarding from December to April, while spring is lovely in the valleys and Danube region.

Alpine ibex, chamois, marmots, golden eagles, and reintroduced bearded vultures inhabit the Hohe Tauern, while the lakes and wetlands of Lake Neusiedl host herons, egrets, and migrating birds on the Pannonian plain. Forests of spruce, larch, and pine clothe the slopes.

The Austrian Alps are built of folded limestone (the Northern Limestone Alps) and crystalline rock (the High Tauern), carved by glaciers into sharp peaks, U-shaped valleys, and the lakes of the Salzkammergut. The Grossglockner crowns the country's largest remaining glacier, the Pasterze.

Austria was the heart of the Habsburg Empire that ruled much of Europe for centuries, and its mountains and cities — Salzburg, Vienna, Innsbruck — are steeped in that imperial and musical heritage. The modern republic was re-established as a neutral state in 1955.

Austrian culture fuses alpine tradition with imperial refinement — mountain huts serving hearty Tyrolean fare, brass-band and yodeling folk traditions, coffeehouse and classical-music heritage, and a national passion for skiing that runs from village children to Olympic champions.

Book mountain huts and popular ski resorts ahead, and use the excellent rail and post-bus network to reach valleys car-free. Hike hut-to-hut in summer, ski the Arlberg or Ötztal in winter, and pair the lakes and Danube wine country with the high Alps.