Linz
Introduction
Linz is the capital of Upper Austria and sits on the river Danube, in the far north of the country close to the Czech border. It is one of the larger cities along the Danube, and its position on the water shapes the layout of the centre.
Before you go
Linz sits on the Danube roughly halfway between Salzburg and Vienna, an industrial city of steel and chemical works that lacks the touristic pull of its better-known neighbours but stands as an attractive destination in its own right — and you are far less likely to be trampled by crowds of travellers. The city's name is thought to come from a Celtic word for "bent", after the curve of the river just to its east, and its position on an important Danube crossing shaped its history from Roman border settlement to medieval trading town. Industry arrived in force after Austria's annexation by the Third Reich, when construction began on a gigantic steel mill that turned Linz into an industrial hub and made it a target for heavy bombing in World War II; the raids concentrated on the industrial zones and the main train station, so the historical centre escaped relatively unscathed.
The industrial boom that followed brought prosperity but also severe environmental fallout, earning Linz a reputation as dirty and unappealing — a reputation that persists in some Austrian minds but is now undeserved, thanks to decades of plant modernisation that have left air and water quality as good as, or better than, other big Austrian cities. While the city still cultivates its steel-city image, it has also invested heavily in culture, music and art, with new museums built since the 1990s, an opera house inaugurated in 2013, the annual Ars Electronica Festival that draws international media attention, and the "Klangwolke", a large open-air spectacle of modern and traditional music with a massive light show held each September. One practical note to plan around: nearly all retail stores close on Sundays, except for small shops at the main train station.
Getting there
Linz has its own airport, the Blue Danube Airport in Hörsching, though it handles little international traffic. Austrian Airlines connects it with Vienna and Düsseldorf, Lufthansa with Frankfurt, where you can join a wider global network, and Ryanair flies to London-Stansted. Charter and seasonal flights also serve Mediterranean holiday destinations and the Canary Islands. From the airport, a bus reaches the city in about twenty minutes, and a taxi is another option; alternatively you can take the train to Hörsching and pick up the free shuttle bus to the airport from the railway station. Many travellers instead fly into Vienna International Airport or Munich Airport and continue by train. Direct high-speed trains leave from Vienna airport's terminal, while from Munich you first take a suburban train to Munich Hbf and change there for a long-distance service to Linz. If you fly with Austrian, the train from Vienna airport to Linz is included in your ticket and the connection is guaranteed.
Linz Hauptbahnhof has hourly Railjet Express, Railjet and Westbahn services to Salzburg and Vienna, along with IntercityExpress connections to Passau, Nuremberg and Frankfurt am Main, and onward to major European cities. The station has storage lockers, a Spar grocery store and a tourist information office. Shuttle operators run door-to-door services between Linz and Český Krumlov, taking roughly an hour to an hour and a half. By car, the A1 motorway links the city with Vienna, Salzburg and Munich; the A7 and the B310 regional road lead to the Mühlviertel and the Czech Republic; and the A9 connects to Graz, Klagenfurt and southern Austria, with a further link to Germany via Passau. Regular passenger boats also run along the Danube between Linz and Vienna and Passau.
Getting around
Linz is compact and walkable, and its public transport is good enough that you can rely on trams, buses and your own two feet without much trouble. The network operator is Linz AG, whose website publishes a map of the tram and bus lines plus an online timetable. Buy tickets from the electronic vending machines at each stop, or from tobacco and newspaper shops; one-day tickets and a mini-ticket covering four stops are available, with cheaper fares for children. The Linzer Landstraße, the central shopping street, makes the centre easy to explore on foot.
The Pöstlingbergbahn, a narrow-gauge electric railway, links the city centre with the Pöstlingberg district; a return ticket is sold for adults and children, and the Erlebnisticket combines a return trip with a one-day city ticket. If you plan to see several sights, the Linz Card gives you unlimited public transport through the city plus free or discounted admission to two dozen museums, galleries and tours, and is sold at the Tourist Office and in many hotels, with a reduced price for children, students under 26, and holders of a valid train ticket to Linz. Linz Hauptbahnhof, at Bahnhofplatz, is a practical anchor point, with a ticket office, ticket machines, storage lockers, a Spar grocery store and a tourist information office. Taxis are available, including for airport transfers; the airport bus runs to the city in about 20 minutes, and you can also take the train to Hörsching and the free shuttle bus from the railway station to the airport.
Where to stay
Linz offers a range of places to stay, from budget options to business hotels in the centre. For budget travellers, Motel Pension Rosenhof on Wegscheiderstrasse has good rooms and a nice view, with a bus stop about 100 metres away between St. Isidor and Hart. A more unusual choice is Das Park Hotel in the Rodlpark at Ottensheim, roughly 10 km west of Linz, where you sleep inside completely automated concrete drain tubes; you book through the website, receive a door code, and stay from May through October on an honour system where you contribute as much as you wish to the project. The city also has Ibis Linz City and ibis Styles Linz.
Mid-range hotels include Hotel Mühlviertlerhof on Graben, Austria Trend Hotel Schillerpark, Park Inn by Radisson Linz, Courtyard by Marriott Linz, Arcotel Nike, Spitz Hotel on Fiedlerstrasse, Austria Classic Hotel Wolfinger on Hauptplatz, and Hotel zum schwarzen Bären on Herrenstraße. For a splurge, Hotel Am Domplatz on Domplatz is a business hotel right in the city centre with modern, well-furbished rooms. Steigenberger Linz on Am Winterhafen sits directly on the Danube and close to the A7/E55 Autobahn, well located in the industrial area of the city, with spacious rooms and a good breakfast.
Food & drink
< p>Linz has its own signature sweet: the Linzer Torte, a fruit-filled torte topped with a lattice of dough. You can find it at Jindrak, a pastry shop in the city centre. Beyond that, eating here depends on your budget and taste. The Altstadt largely shuts down on Sunday nights, so be prepared to search farther afield in the adjoining districts for an open restaurant. Luncheonettes scattered around town cover a lot of ground, from Chinese food, kebab and pizza to Austrian snacks: Bratwürstel with Sauerkraut, Leberkäse, Bosner or Bosna (a hot dog with fried sausage and a curry-ketchup-onion sauce), and Käsekrainer, a sausage interlaid with cheese. < p>For budget meals in the centre, Leberkäse Pepi on Rathausgasse serves the namesake in more varieties than you will find in supermarkets, with a second location at the central train station; Big Joe Falafel on Graben does falafel sandwiches; Gösserkeller on Pfarrgasse plates classic Austrian dishes such as Beuschel, roast pork and schnitzel; Don on Graben is a sushi restaurant that also serves Chinese food in large portions; Linzer Heuriger on Lederergasse offers rustic home cooking with a guest garden under a large chestnut tree; Wokman on Graben covers Japanese and Chinese; and Schadzi Cafe on Mozartstraße focuses on vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free dishes with oriental-influenced breakfasts and a green garden in the backyard. In the mid-range, the Gelbes Krokodil near the Moviemento Cinema has special vegetarian plates, Stadtbräu Josef sits on Landstraße, Alte Welt on Hauptplatz serves a changing menu from Austrian to Mediterranean in an old-inn setting, and Klosterhof on Landstraße pairs traditional Austrian cuisine with a big beer garden. For drinks, local beers include Zipfer, Gösser and Kaiser, and Upper Austria's "national drink" is Most, a still cider. In winter, warm Glühwein is common. Note that smoking is still widespread in Austrian bars and pubs.What to see and do
Start in the old town, which sits directly at the foot of the castle. Its lanes carry a strong sense of the past, and the splendid town residences and chapter houses reward a closer look, as do the inner courtyards tucked discreetly behind arched gates. The spacious baroque main square, with its lively bustle, is never far away. In the centre of that square stands the Trinity Column, a 20-m-high baroque column of white marble completed in 1723 and flanked by the patron saints Sebastian, Florian and Carlo Borromeo.
Linz is also a city of churches. The New Cathedral, a neo-Gothic building with a 134-m tower and room for 20,000 worshippers, is notable for its stained glass, including the Linz Window with scenes from the city's history, and for a large nativity scene in the crypt church at Christmas. The Old Cathedral is a single-nave baroque church with lateral chapels, galleries and stucco work, where Anton Bruckner served as organist. High above the roofs, the pilgrimage basilica on the Pöstlingberg is the city's landmark and offers a fine view over Linz and towards the Alps. St Martin's Church is regarded as the oldest original church still standing in Austria, with Roman stone inscriptions and a furnace inside. Among monuments, Linz Castle is first documented in 799 and now houses the Schlossmuseum, with art from the Middle Ages to the present day, historical weapons, musical instruments, coins and folklore. The Bishop's Residence is the city's most important secular baroque building. For museums, the Lentos Museum of Art, with its striking glass façade lit at night in alternating colours, holds a large modern collection including works by Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka. The Ars Electronica Center explores the creative potential of new technology through hands-on and child-friendly exhibits, while the Provincial Gallery and the Nordico Museum of the City of Linz cover modern and contemporary art and regional history.
When to go
Linz has an oceanic climate, with warm summers and quite cold winters. Summer is the most comfortable time for walking the old town and the Danube banks, but it is also the year's busiest tourist season, bringing the highest prices and the biggest crowds. Winters are quite cold, so pack for low temperatures if you visit then. In return, winter is the quietest season for tourism, with fewer crowds and lower prices.Festivals & events
Linz keeps a busy calendar of festivals and events through the year. In April, the city hosts the Crossing Europe film festival. The Linz cultural summer follows in June, and in July the Pflasterspektakel takes over the streets.
Three days in Linz
Day one: Start in Linz itself, the capital of Upper Austria, and get your bearings along the Danube. The city's story runs from its Celtic and Roman roots through its years as an industrial centre to the period of the Third Reich and World War II, and you can trace that arc on foot before the afternoon slips away. If your visit falls in September, check whether the Ars Electronica Festival or Klangwolke is on, as both fill the city with visitors.
Day two: Use Linz as your base for the day and let the river set the pace. Sundays can be quieter, so plan around that if you want to spend the day wandering rather than depending on everything being open. In the evening, settle in for a meal and an early night, since the next day starts with a transfer.
Day three: Head onward to Salzburg or Vienna, both straightforward by rail from Linz. If you are flying in or out instead, Blue Danube Airport at Hörsching is served by Austrian Airlines from Düsseldorf, Lufthansa from Frankfurt, and Ryanair from London Stansted, with charter flights to Mediterranean and Canary Islands destinations. Many travellers also connect through Vienna International Airport or Munich Airport, the latter with direct trains from Munich Hbf.