Linz
From World travel guide
Linz is the third largest city in Austria with some 200,000 inhabitants. Linz is on the Danube (Donau) river. Tourist slogan of the city is "In Linz beginnt's" ("It starts in Linz").
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Understand
Linz was an industrial city (steel, chemical) and therefore heavily bombed during WWII. While industry is still of importance Linz is slowly diversifying to services and tourism. Today the city gets usually most attention from the media because of the the annual Ars Electronica Festival, an international festival for electronic art. Part of it is also the "Klangwolke", a big cultural Open Air with modern and traditional music and light show, held mostly in September. In 2009, Linz will be (one) European Capital of Culture.
Get in
By plane
There is an international airport in Hoersching, some 20km (13m) west of Linz with a daily Ryanair connection to London. The airport has online departure and arrival schedules.
By train
Linz is also a major train hub. There are excellent train connections to Vienna, Salzburg and Germany. The Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) has a timetable with online ticket purchasing (printer needed).
By car
Also freeways connect Linz well with Vienna, Salzburg, and Munich via the Autobahn A1; the Muehlviertel via Autobahn A7, and the south of Austria (Graz (Styria), Klagenfurt (Carinthia)) via the Autobahn A9. There are plans to extend a freeway north to the Czech Republic, however, work is not expected to start until 2009. The best way to drive north is currently the Bundesstrasse B125.
By boat
There is regular passenger boat service on the Danube from and to Vienna and Passau, Germany. A list of Austrian passenger services on the Danube can be found at this shipping portal.
Get around
There is good public transport via buses and tramway. There is a map of the streetcar (red) and bus lines available, as well as an online time table. A one day ticket is € 3,00.
See
- Historic center
- Ars Electronica Center - AEC, Hauptstrasse 2, +43.732.7272.0 (email: center.bs@aec.at). W-Th 9AM-5PM, F 9AM-9PM, Sa-Su 10AM-6PM. The working headquarters is devoted to the juncture of art, technology, and society. It features the Museum of the Future, with art and technology displays year-round, as well as special events. € 6 (€ 3 students, seniors). www.aec.at
- Main Square
- New Cathedral
- Old Cathedral
- Castle: easy walking access (less than 5 minutes) from the Main Square
- Lentos. Ernst-Koref-Promenade 1 (opposite the AEC on the Linz side of the Danube). Museum of modern art. http://www.lentos.at/
Do
- Hike around on Froschberg
- Enjoy beer tents and amusement park rides at the Urfahranermarkt (available for a week twice annually in Spring and Autumn)
- See an opera at the Bruckner building
- Catch a play at the theater
- Stroll down the major shopping street Landstrasse
- Catch a boat on the Danube down to Vienna or upstream to Bavaria
- Visit the beautiful Christmas market in mid December.
Cinemas
- Moviemento and City cinemas. Show movies away from mainstream. Sometimes much better than mainstream movies and in original language with subtitles. http://www.moviemento.at
Modern and young
The Posthof shows modern music, dance and comedy performances. It's near the port.
Stadtwerkstatt near to the AEC and KAPU are popular meeting points for young people with an alternative lifestyle. There are often gigs of unknown bands.
The Phoenix Theater shows modern plays also suitable for teenagers.
Eat
Favorite foods: Linzer Torte (Linz Cake) a sweet and delicious desert. Original at Patisserie "Jindrak" near the regional Government building.
Vegetarians
- Mangold: self service, Hauptplatz 3, Mo to Fr from 11am to 20pm. Sa 10am to 4pm. Sunday closed. Cheaper after 6pm. Pay by weight.
- P'AA. Nice restaurant and lounge in the Altstadt. Mo to Sa from 11am to 2.30pm and 5.30pm to 12pm. Address: Altstadt 28, Tel. +43(732)77646, http://www.paa.cx/
- Gelbe Krokodil near to the Moviemento Cinema.
Party
Meet the hippest people of Europe in the hotspots Remembar and Beluga
Drink
Great local beer and warm "Glühwein" (hot, spiced (mulled) wine) in the winter.
Irish Pubs
- Kitty Kiernan's, Hessenplatz 19, Mo-Th 11am to 2am, Fr 11am to 4am, Sa and Su 2pm to 4am. Great burgers.
- The Irish Pub, Hauptplatz 15
Sleep
Get out
Linz is a good stepping-off point for a trip into the Southern Bohemia region of the Czech Republic. Trains go to Ceske Budejovice and on to Prague.
To the south you can go by train or car to the wonderful region Salzkammergut with picturesque lakes and mountains. Some nice towns are Gmunden, Bad Ischl, Hallstatt, Bad Aussee, and many more. To the west is Salzburg, to the east Vienna.
External links
- http://www.linz.at/ - the official city portal
- http://www.aec.at/ - Ars Electronica Center (AEC), museum of electronic art
- http://www.lentos.at/ - Lentos, museum of modern art
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