Things to do in Graz
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Graz
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Spring shoulder season, markets and cafe gardens reopen, best in late April and May with Designmonat.
Hot summer, 28 to 33 degrees, festive and food season peaks, best month is June, some restaurants close in August.
Autumn is best overall and busiest, harvest, Sturm wine and Buschenschanken at their peak, best September to early October.
Advent is the winter reason to come, 14 plus markets and lights across the Old Town, December weekends fill hotels.
Cold and fog prone and quiet, good for museums, opera and the lowest prices, with gorge and wine road diminished.
What's on
- Designmonat Graz May
A month of design exhibitions and parties across Lend.
- Styriarte late June-July
Early music flagship festival taking over the Opera, Eggenberg and other venues.
- Grazathlon June
Obstacle race filling part of the summer events calendar.
- La Strada late July-early Aug
Street art festival in high summer.
- Long Table of Graz one night in August
700 to 750 diners at one banquet table in the Old Town, tickets sell out far ahead.
- Aufsteirern Usually a weekend in mid September
Old Town fills with folk music, Tracht, food and craft, book hotels early.
- steirischer herbst late Sept-mid-Oct
Avant garde festival, the counterpoint to Aufsteirern.
- Mountainfilm Graz 17-21 Nov 2026
40th edition mountain film festival closing the autumn season.
- Opernredoute late Jan/Feb
The grand opera ball, the winter social highlight.
Best things to do in Graz
Schlossberg
Wooded hill above the Old Town with the Uhrturm clock tower, bastions and the best panorama over Graz red roofs.
Altstadt von Graz
UNESCO Old Town loop of Hauptplatz, Herrengasse, Sporgasse, courtyards, cathedral and the Double Spiral Staircase.
Schloss Eggenberg
Styria grandest Baroque palace, built on an astronomical plan, with state rooms and 28 hectares of grounds.
Landeszeughaus
The world largest historic armoury, some 32,000 pieces racked in the original 1640s building on Herrengasse.
Kunsthaus Graz
The blue Friendly Alien arts building on the Mur, worth it for the architecture even when a show misses.
Schlossbergrutsche
The highest underground slide in the world, 175 metres inside the Schlossberg in about 40 seconds in the dark.
Märchenbahn Graz
Fairy tale railway through the tunnels under the Schlossberg, the gentler partner to the slide for younger children.
Kaiser-Josef-Markt
Larger of Graz two daily farmers markets, behind the Opera, for pumpkin seed oil, ham, cheese and cider.
Where to stay in Graz
Innere Stadt / Old Town
first trip, short stays, food trips
Everything central is within a 15 minute walk and the streets are the sight, though parking is garages only.
Lend
design, nightlife and repeat visitors
Five minutes over the bridge from Hauptplatz, younger in feel, with river hotels looking back at the Old Town.
Geidorf / St. Leonhard / Jakomini inner edge
longer stays, quiet and local life
Leafy residential streets near the Opera, park and market, still a short walk or tram ride to Hauptplatz.
Think twice about
- Hauptbahnhof / Annenviertel fringe
Postwar station streets, arterial roads and loitering round the forecourt make it the least attractive base, fine only for a train night.
- Griesplatz / southern Gries and Volksgarten edge
Traffic dominated square, industrial empty streets south after dark, and a local reputation for open drug use round Volksgarten at night.
- Jakominiplatz immediate perimeter
Not a safety issue but a noise one, rooms facing the tram and bus interchange get transport noise from early to late.
- Far southern and eastern suburbs and airport area
Safe and cheap but car dependent and characterless, a false economy for a city break without a car.
Best restaurants in Graz
dreizehn by Gauster
Graz modern fine dining benchmark, inventive tasting menus and a good value set lunch in the Old Town.
Restaurant Schlossberg
Refined Austrian European cooking above the roofs on the Schlossberg, the capacious celebration dinner pick.
Aiola Upstairs
Stylish hilltop design restaurant where the sunset over Graz terrace is the actual product, book for golden hour.
Der Steirer
If you eat one traditional Styrian meal make it this one, tapas style small plates and a great Styrian vinotheque.
Landhauskeller
Contemporary Styrian cooking in a historic vaulted room with a Renaissance courtyard for summer dining.
Genießerei am Markt
Small market restaurant cooking what Kaiser-Josef-Markt is selling that morning, fine dining quality at market prices.
Gerüchteküche
Graz daring vegetarian fine dining address, inventive plant based tasting menus in a tiny chef led room.
EL GAUCHO im Landhaus
The steak splurge in a historic Landhaus vault, dry aged Austrian beef and a wine list built for red meat.
Outdoor things to do in Graz
Schöckl
Graz house mountain at 1,445 metres, reached by cable car or on foot, with panoramic trails, huts and paragliders.
Kletterpark Schöckl
Forest high ropes and climbing park on the Schöckl with multiple courses and a strong safety briefing.
Murradweg
The 475 km Mur Cycle Path through Graz, easy in sections south to swimming lakes or north to Frohnleiten.
Schwarzlsee
The big leisure lake south of Graz for swimming, a wakeboard cable, beach bars and summer concerts.
Thalersee
Quieter, greener swimming lake west of Graz in Thal, paired easily with the golf course beside it.
Bloc House
Large modern bouldering hub in Graz with a cafe attached and a student crowd, a strong rainy day option.
City Adventure Center
Climbing hall in Graz with lead and top rope walls and courses, alongside the Bloc House bouldering scene.
Bärenschützklamm
Styria famous gorge climb on some 164 wooden bridges and ladders above waterfalls, a 4 to 7 hour day out.
Best hotels in Graz
Schlossberghotel - Das Kunsthotel
Graz clear top luxury address, an art hotel in a 1596 house at the foot of the Schlossberg with a rooftop pool.
Palais-Hotel Erzherzog Johann
Baroque palais hotel on Sackstraße with a glass roofed atrium, the traditional grand address in the Old Town.
Parkhotel Graz
Old school grand hotel with garden, indoor pool and spa, and easier parking that suits drivers.
Grand Hôtel Wiesler
Storied 1909 hotel reinvented as a design grand hotel on the Lend riverfront, with Schlossberg views.
Hotel Weitzer
Classic business hotel next to the Wiesler with a rooftop sauna and Der Steirer restaurant downstairs.
Lendhotel
Small modern design boutique hotel in the creative Lend quarter, the repeat visitor choice.
NH Graz City
Reliable chain hotel on an Old Town doorstep position with Schlossberg and City Park views.
Motel One Graz
New, opera adjacent chain hotel, a predictable pick when the independents are full.
Is Graz expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €70 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €120 a person |
| Splurge | €300 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Schlossbergrutsche: a few days ahead
- Oper Graz: weeks ahead
- Zotter Schokoladen Manufaktur: a few days ahead
- Golfclub Murhof: a few days ahead
- dreizehn by Gauster: a few days ahead
- Restaurant Schlossberg: a few days ahead
- Aiola Upstairs: a few days ahead
- Landhauskeller: a few days ahead
- Zotter timed tickets on weekends and holidays, and Gerüchteküche and dreizehn weekend dinners.
- Opera and Styriarte premieres, the Long Table months ahead, and slide slots on sunny weekends.
- Hotels during Designmonat, steirischer herbst, Aufsteirern and Advent weekends fill early.
Is Graz safe?
- Graz is very safe, with pickpockets mainly on crowded trams, at Jakominiplatz and market Saturdays.
- Do not walk Volksgarten alone late at night, use lit main streets.
- No wild swimming in the fast cold Mur in the city, use lakes and pools. Emergency number 112.
Graz travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Hauptplatz food stalls and tourist facing cafes, eat one street back instead.
- Driving in the Old Town, narrow one way lanes and garage prices in a centre designed against cars.
- Pumpkin seed oil at souvenir prices, buy at markets after tasting and check for the PGI seal.
- Day tripping from Vienna, Graz best self is its evenings so stay overnight.
Getting around Graz: public transport and more
- Walk the flat Old Town to Lend to Geidorf triangle, 15 to 20 minutes across.
- Use one Graz Linien ticket for trams and buses, the 24 hour ticket is the visitor sweet spot.
- Cycle the Mur path from the centre, Graz is a real cycling city with extensive lanes.
- Rent a car only for wine road, Riegersburg and thermal days, not for the city.
Who Graz suits
| Solo travellers | Great |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Graz your trip
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