Uncover Your Austria

Together with the Austrian National Tourist Office, the Sidetracked team has picked out some of the most beautiful summer destinations across Austria, whether they are family adventures or long-distance hikes, gnarly mountain bike trails or gentle lakeside routes on an E-bike.

Each village and valley, city and town have a unique character. Some are high mountain villages located at the crossroads of hiking trails and some are in the pastures abundant with wildlife. Some areas provide incredible, fresh food for the region and others specialise in family adventures. In our guide, we’ll take you across Austria, introduce you to some of the best places to visit whatever your passion. Cyclists should start with Alpine Trails, an article and film by Chris Davies, while walkers should read Ian Finch’s evocative Mountain Sunrise. Or perhaps, dive into Uncover your Austria magazine for an overview of each region. Either way, we’re convinced you’ll uncover your Austria.

From an aeroplane window, it is the peaks of the Alps that dominate the views from all side of the plane, a seemingly endless jumble of mountains. Vorarlberg, at Austria’s westernmost point, rises up from the Rhein Valley to towering summits, with the Eastern Alps continuing through Tirol. Further east into Austria towards Vienna, the high peaks begin again to tame, but never completely. Austria is a dramatic landscape, and for outdoor enthusiasts at least, this is a playground full of promise.

Each one of our team has returned from Austria wide-eyed and enthused by the possibility of returning to experience something new. Mountain bikers, while thrilled by the trails, have hinted the next time they come it will be at a slower pace to experience the landscape more. Hikers want to return to the grand cities to add some of context to the country. Each of us found a completely different Austria, and each of us wants to return to find another one. This is a land of great possibility.