Daily life

Living in Europe | Access to the culture of the host country/language courses | Austria

What should you know to make it easier to get used to life in Austria? In this section you will find information about various aspects of life in Austria such as public transportation, driving licences, entry and re-entry of pets, culture and leisure in Austria's provinces, maps of Austria's main towns and other useful links.

See also our pages on Language Courses and Banking.

Living in Austria

oesterreich.gv.at is your government agency help site on the Internet. It offers you information which is necessary for living and working in Austria.

The official travel portal for Austria: www.austria.info/en

Public Transportation

Airline
National airline company: Austrian

Railway
Austria has a highly developed rail network. Trains in Austria are operated by ÖBB and Westbahn.

National railway company ÖBB
Private train company in Austria Westbahn

Bus
Buses can be used for transport within Austria or for transport to other European countries.

National bus company Postbus
For international bus connections see Eurolines or Flixbus

Public Bikes
In some bigger cities like Vienna, Salzburg or Graz you can hire public bikes for very little money:
Vienna | Salzburg

Boats
You can take a boat on Austria’s biggest river, the Danube to various various sight seeing destinations in UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Wachau.

www.ddsg-blue-danube.at/

The Verkehrsverbund Ost-Region (VOR) Gesellschaft m.b.H. (in German) is a service provider for local public transport in the eastern region of Austria (Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland).

Validity of Foreign Driving Licences

Driving Licences

Validity Period of Foreign Driving Licences in Austria

* From an EU or EEA state: for an unlimited period (EEA or EU driving licences are recognized in Austria, and may be converted at any time on a voluntary basis.)

* From a non-EU or non-EEA state:

In case of establishing a residence in Austria: six months starting from establishment of the residence, if the owner has reached the age of 18

Without residence in Austria: up to twelve months starting from the entry in the county, if the owner has reached the age of 18

Here you will find FAQs concering Brexit with regard to driving licenses and registration of a vehicle in Austria.

Please note: If the foreign driving licence is not written in German, it is only valid in combination with an international driving licence or a translation.

Important: Foreign drivers who commit three recordable offences (Vormerkdelikte; in German only) will be banned from driving in Austria.

Further information:

Conversion of a Foreign Driving Licence (in German only)

System for Recording Driving Offences (Demerit Points System; in German only)

Additional information can be found at oesterreich.gv.at

Entry and re-entry of pets to Austria

You find further information on the website of the Ministry for Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection:

From third countries

Movement of pet dogs, cats or ferrets between Member states of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland

Movement of other pets between Member states of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland

Culture and Leisure in Austria's Provinces

Lower Austria

Lower Austria is the largest federal state with an area of 19,186.27 km². It surrounds the Austrian capital Vienna and borders the Czech Republic and Slovakia. With 414 km, the country has the second longest external border of all Austrian provinces.

Travel guide for Lower Austria
Official website of the province of Lower Austria (in German)

Google Things to do https://cutt.ly/PaLqUvv

Upper Austria

Upper Austria is an Austrian state with the state capital Linz. It is the fourth largest in terms of area with 11,982 square kilometres and the third largest in Austria with 1.47 million inhabitants. It borders on Germany, Czech Republic.

Travel guide for Upper Austria
Official website of the province of Upper Austria (in German)

Upper Austria, Google Things to do: https://cutt.ly/FgMQEKk

Styria

Styria is one of the nine provinces of the Republic of Austria. Its capital is Graz. It is the second-largest province in terms of area, the fourth largest in Austria in terms of population and it borders on the Republic of Slovenia.

Travel guide for Styria (in German)
Official website of the province of Styria (in German)

Styria, Google Things to do: https://cutt.ly/vaLw9x6

Salzburg

The state of Salzburg covers an area of 7,156.03 km². The state capital is the city of Salzburg. It borders on Germany/Bavaria and to a small extent to Italy/South Tyrol.

The official travel guides to Salzburg: https://www.salzburg.info/en | https://www.salzburgerland.com/en/
Official website of the province of Salzburg (in German)

Salzburg, Google Things to do: https://cutt.ly/maLeScq

Carinthia

Carinthia is the southernmost state of the Republic of Austria. The state capital is Klagenfurt am Wörthersee. Carinthia borders to Italy and Slovenia in the south.

The official travel guide to Carinthia
Official website of the province of Carinthia

Carinthia, Google Things to do: https://cutt.ly/DaLrx41

Tyrol

With an area of 12,640.17 square kilometers, Tyrol is the third largest country in Austria. It borders to Germany/Bavaria in the north, Switzerland in the southwest, and Italy in the south. ´

The official travel guide to Tyrol
Official website of the province of Tyrol

Tyrol, Google Things to do: https://cutt.ly/0aLrJta

Vorarlberg

Vorarlberg has an area of 2,601.48 km². It borders to Germany, Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein.

The official travel guide to Vorarlberg
Official website of the province of Vorarlberg (in German)

Vorarlberg, Google Things to do: https://cutt.ly/QaLtU7g

Burgenland

Burgenland is the easternmost and least populous state of Austria. The state capital is Eisenstadt.

Burgenland borders in the north on Slovakia, in the east on Hungary, in the south on Slovenia, and in the west on the Austrian federal states of Styria and Lower Austria.

www.burgenland.at (in German)
www.austria.info/de/reiseziele/bundeslaender/burgenland (in German)

Vienna

The following pages offer an overview of sights, music and shows, shopping and dining opportunities as well as information on hotels and travel in Vienna:

Vienna Tourism

City of Vienna

The public transport system in Vienna is particularly well developed and enables you to get from one point to another quickly. The Wiener Linien is running most of the public transportation system in the city of Vienna.