One of the most beautiful European countries to visit is Austria. Nestled in the Austrian Alps this tiny country with its mirror lake and breathtaking mountains offer many sights.

I am are sure you will find a holiday in Austria an experience to remember. Austria delivers more travel fun and more travel value than you would expect. It is a small country, compact, easy to get to know, delightful to see. There is spectacular scenery around every corner: vineyards, ancient castles and venerable abbeys overlooking the Danube, wooded hills rising out of lush farmland, lakes dotted with sailboats and ringed by soaring mountains, Alpine peaks and their icy world of glaciers reaching for the sky.

The towns are as varied as the countryside around them: historic cities where archatectural masterpieces from three or four centuries face one another across narrow lanes of sweeping squares, market towns that have barely changed since the Middle Ages, mountain villages with neat little houses and flowers overflowing from wooden balconies.

You encounter history with every step. Austria has more castles and palaces open to visitors than any comparable area in Europe. Great museums and tiny country churches habour the most significant art treasures from many periods and styles. Guides will point out to you the places where the Romans, Charlemagne, Emperor Maximilian, the Turks, the Swedes in the Thirty Years War, Empress Maria Theresa, Napoleon, Emperor Franz Josef influenced the corse of history.

Cultural activity in Austria never ceases. The regular events are spectacular enough: opera, concerts and theatre, the performances of the Spanish Riding School, Sunday mass sung by the Vienna Boys Choir in Vienna, the opera and concert season in other Austrian cities, Palace Concerts and the Marionette Theatre in Salzburg. The special events are renowned world-wide: the Mozart Festival in Salzburg in late January, the annual Dance Fesitval in Vienna, the Vienna Festival the Bregenz Festival, the Salzburg Festival. And there are summer operetta festivals at Baden, Bad Ischl and Mörbisch, summer music Weeks and a Festival of Classical Music in Vienna, Palace Concerts in Innsbruck.

Thinking of an active sports holiday? Austria has it - swimming, sailing, water skiing; snow skiing year-round; horseback riding, tennis, golf; mountain climbing, white water canoeing, glider flying; hunting and fishing, skeet shooting and archery. Hundreds of miles of hiking paths, fitness trails all over. And saunas and massage to loosen up after a vigorous day.

Enjoy life the leisurely way: at pastry shops, in coffee houses, in beer gardens, in wine taverns. Savour the superb Austrian food which makes every meal a pleasure itself. And relax with the friendly Austrians who genuinely like foreign visitors. Shop for outstanding handcrafted items or native dresses, jackets and hats.

MATTSEE

The picturesque town of Mattsee, with its beautiful lake, lies 505 m above sea-level in the hilly landscape at the foothills of the Alps.

Collegiate Abbey (Kollegiatsstift): This former Benedictine abbey was founded in 770. Abbey and Parish Church The early Gothic basilica was renovated in baroque style with elaborate stucco work on the ceiling dating back to approx. 1700. The choir stalls were constructed in 1649 and there are beautiful carvings from the Guggenbichler School.

Ruins of Mattsee Castle Local history museum, beautiful panoramic view. Bajuwaren Open Air Exhibition With reconstructed farmstead from the 7th C.

Watersports enthusiasts find that Mattsee is an ideal venue due to the good winds and the warm water of the lakes in the Trumer region.

Other highlights:

There's no shortage of entertainment in Mattsee:

Lakeside parties and parties in the woods, barbecue evenings, concerts at the lakeside and in the town square, chess and card-playing evenings, pubs, cafes, discos, trips on horse-drawn carriages and excursions, a new programme of activities for guests printed weekly!

OBERTRUM

This very attractive holiday resort overlooks Lake Obertrum and lies 511 m above sea level at the foothills of the Salzburg Alps.

The Local History Museum

Here, you have the opportunity to admire the various Austrian national costumes and to look around a weaving mill.

Kaiserbuche (Emperor's Beech Tree) on the Haunsberg (mountain)

This tree was planted over two hundred years ago to commemorate Emperor Joseph II's visit to the town. It's well worth taking a walk up the mountain because there is such magnificent scenery.

Forest Information Trail to the Huberberg (mountain)

There are 14 different kinds of trees along this trail (2 km long).

The good wind conditions and the warm water are just two of the reasons why Lake Obertrum is particularly popular with watersports enthusiasts. Cycling, biking, fishing, hiking, tennis, sailing and swimming.

Other highlights:

There's no lack of entertainment in Obertrum: Parties at the lake and in the woods, barbecue evenings, concerts at the lake and in the town square, chess and card playing evenings, trips in horse-drawn carriages and excursions, a program of activities for guests updated weekly!