Austria: useful travel information


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Useful information on Austria, including all the things to know before leaving for a trip or a holiday in the state of Europe with the capital Vienna.


Austria in a nutshell

  • Capital: Vienna (1,481,301 inhabitants, ref. First half of 2001)
  • Area in sq km: 83457
  • Population: 8,201,336 (first half of 2001)
  • Religion: mainly Catholic (81%)

Where is it

Austria flag Austria to the north borders Germany and the Czech Republic, to the north-east with the Slovak Republic, to the east with Hungary, to the south-east with Slovenia and to the south with Italy, to the west with Switzerland and the Liechtenstein.

Austria is a predominantly mountainous country, being made up of more than 70% of the territory from the north-eastern side of the Alpine system, while the remaining part is made up of the hills and plains of the Danubian basin, as well as the western end of the Pannonian lowland.


In the northern part of the country dominate the pre-Alpine massifs, formed by sedimentary rocks, mainly dolomitic limestones.

From East to West, the Bavarian and Salzburg Prealps follow one another, and to the east of the Enns valley, the Austrian Prealps proper. The central part is formed by the eastern Alps, with a crystalline appearance, including the Alps of the Otxal, the Zillertal, the Upper and Lower Tauern.

Here are the highest peaks of the place and precisely: Grossglockner (3797 m) and Wildspitze (3774 m). To the south, the southern limestone Prealps rise majestically (Gailtaler Alpen and northern slope of the Carnic Alps).


Hydrography

The only large navigable river in Austria is the Danube, which crosses the entire Austrian territory from West to East for about 345 km, then there are various tributaries including the Inn, Traun and Drava.

Climate

The climate is continental, with distinctly Alpine characteristics in areas with higher altitude.

Rainfall is mainly concentrated in the summer months.


Population

The population density is low in the Alpine regions (Tyrol, Salzburg area and Carinthia), relatively higher in Lower Austria and Upper Austria.

A fifth of the total population is concentrated in the capital Vienna.

Recommended readings
  • Vienna (Austria): what to see in the capital
  • Austria: what to do in the country of the waltz
  • Austria: useful travel information
  • Salzburg (Austria): what to see in the city of Mozart

Time zone

Austria has the same time as Italy in both summer and winter.

Spoken language

The official language is German, but in many regions Italian is understood and spoken. Slovenian, Croatian and Hungarian (border areas) are also understood and spoken.

Economy

Much of the domestic domestic product in Austria comes from industry. Agriculture represents only 18% of cultivated land (potatoes, wheat, barley and rye), due to the prevalent mountainous character of the area.

24% of the territory is covered by grasslands and pastures and 38% by forests. The subsoil resources, represented by iron, oil, lignite and magnesite, have fueled the development of iron and steel, mechanical (machinery, motor vehicles) and chemical (rubber and textile fibers) industries.

When to go

For ski lovers, the most suitable months to go to Austria are the winter months while the rest of the year can be used for the rest.

The two main cities to visit are Vienna and Salzburg both very pleasant at any time of the year.

Requested documents

Since 1 January 2000, citizens from a country belonging to the European Union are no longer subject to customs checks before entering Austria.


However, there may be sporadic cases of individual checks, which is why it is recommended to always keep a valid identity card or passport handy.

Phone

To call from Italy to Austria you must dial 0043 followed by the local area code without the initial 0 and the desired number.

To call from Austria to Italy you must dial 0039 followed by the subscriber number.

Italian mobile phones operate regularly through roaming services through local mobile operators.

Electricity

The electrical network is 220 volt 50Hz

Currency

The official currency of Austria is the euro.


Credit cards are accepted everywhere and cash withdrawals can be made at the ATMs of local banks.

How to get

The possibilities of access to Austria by car are different, in fact the A22 connects Bolzano to Innsbruck, through the Brenner pass, the A23 connects Udine to Villach, through the Tarvisio pass, the state road 49 connects Dobbiaco to Lienz.through the San Candido pass, the state road 52 bis from Tolmezzo leads to Mauthen, through the Monte Croce Carnico pass, the A23, which then becomes provincial 90, leads to Austria through the Pramollo pass, while the Resia Pass joins the Italy to Austria, passing through Merano.

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