Austrian food and café towns off the beaten path.
Less-touristed food and café towns in Austria, for travelers seeking fewer crowds but all the beauty.
Judenburg
Photogenic compact town on the Mur river in Styria's mountain terrain, Judenburg carries a medieval trading history visible in the burgher houses and churche…
Frohnleiten
A compact Styrian town where pastel-fronted historic buildings and a prominent church rise directly above a broad river, backed by forested hills and served…
Kufstein
Kufstein Fortress, first mentioned in the 13th century, dominates this photogenic Tyrolean town on the River Inn, flanked by the Brandenberg Alps and the Kai…
Mondsee
A modest lakeside town in Upper Austria's Salzkammergut region, Mondsee is best known for the medieval Mondsee Abbey, whose church served as the wedding loca…
Mayrhofen
This well-known ski resort in Austria's Zillertal, Mayrhofen sits in the Ziller river valley in Tyrol and serves as the main base for alpine skiing across th…
Imst
Heritage-dense modest town on the River Inn in western Tyrol, Imst sits close to the mountains with scenic viewpoints in the surrounding area and a café and…
Wattens
Wattens, a little market town in Tyrol's Innsbruck-Land district, is best known as the home of Swarovski, the Austrian crystal glass company.
Lienz
A heritage-dense medieval town in East Tyrol, Austria, Lienz sits at the confluence of the Isel and Drau rivers with a well-preserved historic centre, an unu…
Zell am See
Sitting directly on the shores of a deep alpine lake in the Austrian state of Salzburg, Zell am See pairs year-round mountain sports — anchored by the Zell a…
Riegersburg
This small Austrian village in the wine country of southeastern Styria, set among hills with scenic viewpoints and a café scene that punches above its size.
Rattenberg
Austria's smallest city sits on the Inn River in Tyrol, and its compact historic centre — dense with listed buildings, churches, and cafés — punches well abo…
Landeck
Small Tyrolean city at the confluence of mountain rivers in Austria's Upper Inn Valley, Landeck sits at the gateway to one of the country's most tourism-inte…
St. Gilgen
This lakeside village on Lake Wolfgang in Austria's Salzkammergut region draws visitors with mountain views, a strong café and restaurant scene for its size,…
Zell am Ziller
A little Tyrolean village in Austria's Zillertal with a notably dense café and restaurant scene for its size, several churches, and a strong visual profile a…
Korneuburg
This heritage-dense tiny town on the Danube a short distance northwest of Vienna, Korneuburg pairs a colourful main square — dominated by a neo-Gothic town h…
Ellmau
This year-round resort village in the Wilder Kaiser mountains of Tyrol, Ellmau sits within the Ski Welt skiing area and offers hiking, mountain biking, and c…
Gmunden
Lakeside town in Upper Austria's Salzkammergut region, Gmunden sits on the northern shore of the Traunsee with mountain views, a walkable centre dense with l…
Fulpmes
Small market town in Austria's Stubaital valley, Fulpmes has served as the iron-working centre of the valley for generations and sits at the base of the Schl…
Wörgl
Known internationally for the "Miracle of Wörgl" — a 1930s local currency experiment credited with reviving the town's economy during the Great Depression —…
Schwaz
A heritage-dense little town in Tyrol's lower Inn valley, Schwaz was Austria's second-largest city after Vienna during the Middle Ages, when silver mining dr…
Garsten
This small Upper Austrian market village on the water is best known for the former Garsten Abbey, a heritage landmark that now serves as a prison — an unusua…
Spittal an der Drau
A modest Carinthian town in western Austria where several alpine valleys converge — the Drau, Lieser, and Möll among them — Spittal an der Drau has a café an…
Telfs
This Tyrolean market town just west of Innsbruck sits close to the mountains with a walkable centre of cafés, restaurants, and historic churches.
Radstadt
A heritage-dense modest town in Austria's Salzburg state, Radstadt sits close to the mountains and carries an unusual concentration of cafés, restaurants, an…
Knittelfeld
A small Styrian town on the Mur river with a café and restaurant scene that is unusually rich for its size, Knittelfeld also carries a place in Austrian poli…
Schladming
Well-equipped winter sports town in Styria's Enns valley, Schladming has twice hosted the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships — in 1982 and 2013 — and also he…
Absam
This little Austrian town in Tyrol with an unusual concentration of churches for its size, Absam is a pilgrimage stop on the Camino de Santiago (Jakobsweg) w…
Serfaus
A Tyrolean ski village in northwest Austria, Serfaus is part of the Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis ski region formed in 1999 and sits on a sunny terrace above the Inn Va…
Kaprun
A little Austrian town in the Salzburg province that pairs year-round glacier skiing on the Kitzsteinhorn — whose summit viewing platform sits high above 3,0…
Feldkirchen in Kärnten
Tiny Carinthian town in mountain terrain with vineyards nearby and water close at hand, Feldkirchen in Kärnten has an unusually lively café and restaurant sc…
Oberalm
A compact market town in the Hallein district of Salzburg state, Oberalm sits on the water with scenic surrounds, a concentration of listed historic building…
Kapfenberg
This steel town on the Mürz River in Styria, Kapfenberg has been shaped by iron and steel production since the 15th century, when proximity to the Styrian Er…
Ehrwald
At the foot of the Zugspitze — Germany's highest peak — this modest Tyrolean village in Austria's Reutte district draws outdoor visitors across all seasons,…
Hohenems
Home to the Schubertiade, a music festival dedicated to Franz Schubert that has made this Vorarlberg town internationally known, Hohenems also holds a 16th-c…
Neunkirchen
A walkable central square anchored by a Baroque plague column, ornate sgraffito-decorated facades, and a town-hall tower gives this Lower Austrian district c…
Hartberg
A little Styrian town in southeastern Austria with a café and restaurant scene that would suit a town twice its size, Hartberg sits in wine country with scen…
Emmersdorf an der Donau
This pocket-sized Danube-side village in Lower Austria's Melk district sits within a UNESCO World Heritage landscape, with a concentration of listed historic…
Gleisdorf
This compact Styrian town east of Graz where a baroque parish church anchors a walkable town square, surrounded by vineyard country and within easy reach of…
St. Pölten
Capital of Lower Austria since 1986, St.
Weiz
This compact Styrian town spread across a green valley floor, backed by forested hills, with vineyard country close by and a solid café and restaurant scene…
Voitsberg
A tiny Styrian town in Austria with a good café and restaurant scene for its size, Voitsberg sits on the Tregistbach river in a former mining area of western…
Stockerau
The largest town in Austria's Weinviertel region, Stockerau carries a walkable centre with cafés, restaurants, and a heritage-dense streetscape, alongside th…
Bad Gleichenberg
Spa village in the rolling hill country of southeastern Styria, Austria, Bad Gleichenberg sits in wine-growing terrain with a café and restaurant scene that…
Bad Radkersburg
This heritage-dense spa town in the southeast of Austria's Styria region, Bad Radkersburg sits on the water with a streetscape thick with listed buildings an…
Mistelbach
Small town in the wine country of northeastern Lower Austria, Mistelbach sits on the River Zaya a short drive from Vienna and serves as the district capital…
Leibnitz, Styria
A tiny town in Styria, southern Austria, set between the Mur and Sulm rivers in wine-growing country, with vineyards in the surrounding hills and scenic view…
Neusiedl am See
Sitting on the northern shore of Lake Neusiedl in Austria's Burgenland province, this compact town offers direct access to one of Central Europe's most disti…
Feldbach
A tiny town in the Raab river valley in southeastern Styria, Feldbach has a café and restaurant scene that punches above its size, alongside a notable concen…
Lustenau
This Rhine-side town in Austria's westernmost state of Vorarlberg, Lustenau sits on the river that forms the border with Switzerland and offers a walkable ce…
Traiskirchen
A modest town in Lower Austria's Thermenlinie wine region, a short drive south of Vienna, Traiskirchen has a café and restaurant scene that is unusually rich…
Bruck an der Leitha
Compact Austrian town where a heritage-dense riverside streetscape meets vineyard country, with a genuine café and restaurant scene and easy reach of the wid…
Sankt Johann in Tirol
A modest Austrian Alpine town with a lively café and restaurant scene, easy access to upland country, and proximity to UNESCO-recognized heritage in the wide…