One of the most wonderful places to visit during the holiday season in Europe is Austria! With festive traditions that go back centuries the entire country decorates and celebrates for an entire month before Christmas. We decided to spend the holidays in Austria with Ang’s parents and had a great time eating and drinking our way around the country taking in all the festivities of Christmas!

Vienna

Without a doubt one of the cities that celebrates Christmas the most is Vienna! The entire city is decorated for the holidays and especially comes alive at night with sparkling lights, Christmas trees, and displays around every corner.

Christmas Markets

During the holidays Vienna’s prettiest squares transform into magical Christmas markets. There are 12 Christmas markets in Vienna more than almost any city in Europe. Also the very first Christmas market originated in Vienna in 1298! The most well-known and largest Christkindlmarkt is in front of the Town Hall in Rathausplatz. The whole area turns into a fairytale land and is covered in thousands of twinkling lights.

Make sure to grab a mug and sip on hot mulled wine as you stroll through the markets. This warm concoction of wine and spices is one of our favorite Christmas treats and it helps keep you warm while you enjoy the evening outside at the markets.

At the Christkindlmarkt there are over 100 booths selling Christmas decorations, arts, crafts, toys, clothing, ornaments, and more!

The food at the Christmas market stalls is delicious! There are roasted chestnuts, sweet rolls, pretzel, sausages, cheese spatzle, and more! Make sure to come hungry.

Some of the other Christmas markets we loved in the city were at Maria-Theresien-Platz, Karlsplatz, Stephansplatz, Spittelberg, Am Hof, & Belvedere Palace.

Figlmüller

Bäckerstraße 6, 1010 Wien, Austria

Known as the "Home of the Schnitzel", Figlmüller has been serving their famous schnitzel since 1905! Schnitzle is a popular Viennese dish that traditionally made of thinly pounded, breaded and fried veal that is garnished with a lemon wedge and usually accompanied by a potato salad. This is definitely one of the best schnitzles you can get in Vienna!

Melker Stiftskeller

Schottengasse 3, 1010 Wien, Austria

One of our favorite Austrian dishes is schweinshaxe or crispy pork knuckle. It’s hard to find this dish in the US and we always seek it out when we are in Europe. Melker Stiftskeller is a small restaurant tucked into a celler in the old town of Vienna that specializes in schweinshaxe and so we knew we had to come! They roast the pork knuckle for 16hrs and it’s perfectly crispy and comes with a side of cabbage and bread dumplings. If you have never had schweinshaxe this is the place to try it!

Café Central

Herrengasse 14, 1010 Wien, Austria

This traditional Viennese cafe opened in 1876 and has been a meeting place of many famous Austrian intellectuals. Walking through the doors of this cozy cafe makes you feel like you are stepping back in time. Architecturally the tall vaulted ceilings and design make it one of the most beautiful cafes in Vienna. The the in-house patisserie creates delicious sweet treats. Make sure to try the apple strudel! Some of the best we had on our trip.

Zattl Pub

Schottengasse 2, 1010 Wien, Austria

Right across the street from Melker Stiftskeller is a fun pub perfect a pint of beer after dinner. What is unique about Zattl is that they serve freshly tanked unpasteurized Pilsner Urquell on tap. This beer is hard to find like and only served in very select pubs around the world. We were super excited to try it and sipped a few pints while chatting in this cozy pub.

Salzburg

The next stop in Austria we visited was Salzburg! This charming old town has cobblestones streets, winding alleyways, a stunning cathedral, a castle on a hill, and tons of history.

Rick Steves Self Guided Town Walk

When we first arrive to new cities we like to go on a walking tour of some sort to get our barrings and a brief history of the place so we know more about it during our stay. In Europe we love doing Rick Steves’ self-guided walking tours. They are free and all you have to do is download the app on your phone and use personal headphones. His walking tour of Salzburg is great! It’s fun, informational and easy to follow. You will learn about the cities history while walking to specific points around the town. He will tell you all about Salzburg’s most famous resident, Motzart. You will also learn how Salzburgs ingenious ancient water wheel system cleaned the city so thoroughly that the city never suffered from plague! You can find the link to the Salzburg Town walk HERE.

Take the elevator to the top of Mönchsberg

For the best view of Salzburg take the elevator to the top of Mönchsberg. The elevator is called the Mönchsberg Lift . On the top of the hill there is a viewing terrace where you can see the entire span Salzburg’s Old Town, and Hohensalzburg Fortress on the hill in the distance. There is a restaurant on the top which is a great place to eat or grab a local beer.

Christmas Markets

The Salzburg Christmas located at the foot of the Hohensalzburg fortress and around the venerable Cathedral of Salzburg is in one of the most stunning locations. The little Christmas huts covered in Christmas lights all sell delicious food, mulled wine, crafts, toys, and more. Grab a glass of mulled wine, listen to carolers and walk around this magical Christmas market in one of the most beautiful cities in Austria.

Drink beer at the Augustiner Bräu

Augustinere Brau was founded in the 1600s by monks who started to brew their own beer. Now it is one of the biggest beer halls in Austria with five halls and spacious beer garden. They only serve one type of beer here and is served in 1/2 liter or liter stone mugs. This is as traditional as beer halls get in Austria and is a great place to try some Austrian food from one of the many vendors. We love the shaved black radish with coarse salt, its a salty bite that goes great with the delicious foamy beer. You can find this beer all throughout Salzburg but visiting the Augustiner Beer hall is a must when visiting the city.

Kitzbühel

We decided to spend Christmas in Kitzbühel and it was the best decision. This fairytale town has cobblestone streets adorned with twinkling lights, horse drawn carriages, cute shops, quaint hotels, and a ski resort with towering mountains in the distance. We loved our time in Kitzbühel and it was the perfect place to spend Christmas as a family.

Hotel Kitzhof

We wanted to spend Christmas someplace special and Hotel Kitzhof blew us away. The hotel was cozy and inviting with a beautiful bar, indoor pool, spa, cabin style rooms, and an insane breakfast buffet. We immediately felt at home when walking into Hotel Kitzhof. The lovely staff helped us with out luggage and took our skis to the ski locker room.

The interior design of the rooms is cozy and warm with modern touches, making you feel like you are staying in an authentic ski chalet. Each day we were surpised with little goodies in our room like homemade eggnog, a small bottle of local gin, sweet treats and wine. It really made us feel special and no detail was overlooked.

Each day after hitting the slopes we spent a couple hours unwinding in the beautiful spa area. The heated indoor pool was our favorite with giant glass windows with views of the snow capped mountains.

Skiing

One of the main attractions of Kitzbühel is, Kitzski, the ski resort just steps outside of town. It has 140 miles of downhill skiing with varying degrees of runs, 57 lifts, 60 slope side restaurants & hotels. We only spent one day skiing the mountain and wish we would have had more days to explore the different terrain and also all the wonderful mountain huts which are the best place to grab delicious food and a pint of beer while taking in the views.

Explore the Old Town

One of the most alluring parts of Kitzbühel is the charming medieval old town that is nestled between the soaring snowy mountain peaks. The old town is small, only a few cobbled streets. During Christmas the colorful buildings are covered in lights and Christmas trees can be found around every corner. You will hear the clatter of horse drawn carriages as you meander around the town looking at all the adorable shops and restaurants. It truly is a magical place to spend Christmas.