Linz Mini Guide
Although Linz is an industrial city which doesn’t rival other Austrian cities for beauty it is culturally very advanced. In fact Linz was the European capital of culture for 2009 (jointly with
Vilnius) thanks to some of the innovative events it has been putting on over the years. These include an electronic art show, and the Sound Cloud (Klangwolke) which is a spectacular open air light show held in Donau Park in September.
A good time to visit Linz and see festivities is during the summer in July when hundreds of street performers including acrobats, mimes and clowns put on the Pflasterspektakel in Danube Park. Other festivals are the Linz festival, the Bruckner festival and the Urfahraner Jahrmarkt – Austria’s oldest public festival.
With the university students of Linz also putting on a number of events throughout the year, Linz is an incredibly lively and fun city to visit. There are some splendid parts of Linz to walk around and see such as the main neo-Gothic cathedral which is Austria’s largest church. Indeed Linz is known as a city of churches and you can see many intricately built religious edifices there in a number of architectural styles.
Don’t forget to stop by Linz’s main landmark, known as the Pilgrimage Basilica on the Postlinberg. And take a trip to the Linz zoo and the botanical gardens to enjoy Austria’s wonderful fresh air. There are also plenty of museums to take shelter in if the weather is unpleasant and the exhibitions are sure to keep you entertained for hours.
Linz was built on the banks of the Danube River and its airport is called the Blue Danube International Airport of Linz. Picking up your Rhino rental car there will save you a small fortune (in the long run) on a taxi journey as the airport is half an hour outside the city and it costs about 30 euros for the journey.
Having a rental car means that you can get to other parts of Austria with ease as the A1 autobahn connects Linz with the other major cities of Vienna,
Salzburg and
Graz. It also means that you can head into the Alps Mountains to go skiing if you wish, and generally have the freedom to explore at your own leisure. You can also drive to neighbouring
Germany with ease and there are plans afoot to extend the motorway to the
Czech Republic too.