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| Description |
The Alps are Europe's major
range of mountains, spanning from the Mediterranean coast of
France via Switzerland, N Italy and Austria to Slovenia. A considerable
part of Austria is part of this mountain range, accordingly
hiking, skiing, snowboarding and cross-country skiing rate high
among Austria's favourite pastimes.
Clean air, spectacular sights, lakes and glaciers and well-tended
trails and hikes contribute to the Alps allure and attract numerous
tourists and visitors.
The Alps flora and fauna is unique as well: edelweiss, Austria's
national flower, and gentian ('Enzian') might be rare, but they
have shaped the worlds image of Austria and the Alps. Chamois,
marmots and ibexes are well adapted to the alpine habitat. |
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Mt Grossglockner is Austria's
highest peak featuring a spectacular glacier ('Pasterze') and
a 50 km long panoramic road, which is easily accessible in summertime
and offers some of the most spectacular views in Austria. National
park 'Hohe Tauern' was established to protect the fragile ecosystem
of the most fantastic areas around Mt Grossglockner.
Eisriesenwelten are the largest accessible ice caves world wide.
Its frozen waterfalls and elaborate ice formations can be admired
on guided tours taking you into a fascinating world for 75 minutes.
Its caves and passages adorned with frozen stalagmites and other
ice formations are named after Norse mythology.
The enormous caves are located in the proximity of Werfen in
easy distance from Salzburg. |
| Wintersports |
Skiing is one of the most popular
sports in Austria and in Austrian history. An Austrian citizen
with no skiing ambitions cannot be considered a true Austrian.
Austrian professional skiers rank top of the world and Innsbruck
was not host for the Olympic Winter Games twice in 1964 and
1974 for no reason.
Many different skiing resorts in the alps are well known throughout
the world and attract many tourists from about everywhere. Because
the austrian alps are inhabited very frequent, there was no
reason to build up new and unnatural skiing resorts but existing
towns shifted to skiing tourism. To keep the local atmosphere
for all foreigners, the small valleys were adapted very modestly
to modern mass tourism, still offering high tech equipped lifts
and tracks and accommodations for the small briefcase to luxury.
The skiing areas are organized very well, offering all sorts
of transportation and many valleys connect to each other. It is not unknown to start skiing in one valley in
the morning an end up in a total different one at the end of
the day. Some areas offer so many lifts and tracks, that even
after a week you have not seen them all. Another very important
fact is the snowboarding friendly environment, allowing boarders
the use of all lifts and tracks. Many areas play host to big
international skiing and snowboarding competitions and Innsbruck
is considered to be the "snowboarding capital" of
Europe.
Nowadays skiing holidays are not limited to skiing anymore.
More and more skiing resorts also offer a exciting nightlife,
parties and other fun stuff. Towns like Kitzbühel are meeting
points for the high society and kind of a party space. A very
positiv experience for tourists is also the very friendly climate
and the anticipating inhabitants. |
| Climate |
A considerable part of Austria
is covered with mountains. High peaks alternate with frequent
and deep-cut valleys, due to this weather conditions are not
easily predicted and depend strongly on altitude and location.
Ask locals and always take adequate clothing when going for
a hike. In autumn and spring, certain Alpine valleys are subject
to a warm and dry wind called foehn.
The Tyrol's capital Innsbruck is famous for its foehn winds
which can prematurely trigger of summer and cause inhabitants
and tourist to walk around in T-shirts instead of coats. Foehn
winds also keep fog at bay. |
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| Local
Time |
1 hour ahead of Greenwich Medium
Time (+1 GMT)
Careful, Austria observes Daylight Saving Time from March to
October |
| Health |
| Generally, no particular vaccinations
are needed for visiting Austria but do take a first-aid kit.
Medical care is expensive, get health insurance especially if
you plan to stay longer. |
| Customs
& Duty Free |
Allowances
& Restrictions
- Gifts/souvenirs...no duty free allowance
- Cameras...1 video or 1 still plus reasonable
film
- Agriculture items...refer to consulate
- Currency...no restrictions
Travelers over 17 years of
age arriving with duty-free goods:
- Tobacco...200 cigarettes or 100 cigarillos
or 50 cigars or 250 grams of tobacco
- Alcohol...2 litres of wine or 2 litres
of champagne or fortified wine or spirits up to 22%; 1 litre
of spirits
- Perfume...1 bottle of eau de cologne
(up to 250ml); 60ml of perfume
- Other goods...up to asch300 (asch 1000
for austrian residents)
Tavelers arriving from EU
countries with duty-paid goods:
- Tobacco...800 cigarettes or 400 cigarillos
or 200 cigars or 1000 grams of tobacco
- Alcohol...90 litres of wine (including
60 litres of sparkling wine); 10 litres of spirits; 20 litres
of intermediate products (such as fortified wine); 110 litres
of beer
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| Passport
& Visa |
Important
You can apply for a visa from the
country of your residence only. It is absolutely impossible
to extend a visa in Austria.
Visa C:
Schengen travel visa for a short stay (up to 3 months).
Documents required:
- Complete application form/s
- Current passport photo
- Valid passport
- Return ticket or booking confirmation
- Letter of invitation if necessary
- Confirmation of salary, pension or other
income, work confirmation from employer or trade register
statement/trading license
- Proof of sufficient financial means
(bank statement, credit cards or similar)
- An accident and hospital insurance covering
the whole duration of the stay
For University/High school students: original and copy of
a student card, confirmation from your University + translation
into German
- For school students: confirmation from
your school + translation into German
For all minors travelling alone: agreement declaration from
parents entitling care
For any further information regarding
visa matters please contact the Austrian Embassy or Consulate
in your country. They will inform you about the current regulations.
For the list of Austrian consulates please check the homepage
of the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. |
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