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GRAZ

Does Graz offer the best quality of life among Austria’s cities?

Austria's Vienna and Salzburg usually get most of the attention of foreigners, but the country's second-largest city Graz has a lot of charm and many fans. Are you one of them?

Published: 12 April 2024 14:57 CEST
The Austrian city of Graz. Photo by Daniel J. Schwarz on Unsplash
The Austrian city of Graz. Photo by Daniel J. Schwarz on Unsplash

When people think about Austria, they often imagine either the imperial Vienna capital, with its opulent buildings and beautiful parks, or the breathtaking Alpine regions, where skiing is popular and mountains tower over villages.

But there is much more to Austria than that. The country’s second-largest city, Graz, has just over 300,000 inhabitants and was cited in a global study as the world’s best city for “quiet living”. The Styrian capital scored high in safety rates, public transport links, access to amenities, and other criteria used in the survey. 

There is also some curious data that makes Graz perhaps more attractive to quiet-seeking people: “If you enjoy practising yoga, then you’ll be pleased to know that Graz has the second most yoga studios per 100,000 people on our list, at 37.86”. 

The top 10 cities are Graz (Austria), Canberra (Australia), Zurich (Switzerland), Sydney (Australia), Helsinki (Finland), Vienna (Austria), Brno (Czechia), Munich (Germany), Copenhagen (Denmark) and Stockholm (Sweden).

READ ALSO: Salzburg, Linz, Graz: Where are Austria’s biggest companies?

What makes Graz so great?

First of all, it’s a bit of a city by Austrian standards (the second-largest) but still small, with just over 300,000 people compared with the more than two million Viennese. Graz is a centre for knowledge and science, with four colleges and four universities.

“The best thing about Graz is that there is always a lot going on; it’s a big city, but with a small-town vibe, and everything is so easily accessible, even by bike”, Valeria Queiroz, a Brazilian who moved to Graz before finally settling in Vienna, told The Local in a 2022 interview.

Part of living a quiet life means you live in a safe city. Austria is not by any means a dangerous country, but Graz has one of the lowest crime index scores among the state capitals, as The Local reported. Styria, the province where Graz is located, has one of the lowest frequency rates of criminal offences in Austria, with only Lower Austria and Burgenland having fewer criminal offences per 100,000 inhabitants, according to Statista.

Great connections and lower cost of living

You can live a quiet life in Graz but still be near the hustle and bustle of other cities, which adds to the perks of the Styrian capital. 

“Graz has everything you might need and is not far from Vienna. The atmosphere is charming, and you are close to places like lake regions, Slovenia and Italy. My entire family decided to stay in Graz, and they love it,” Natália Amaral-Skreinig told The Local.

It’s also easier to travel further, as Styria has its own regional airport in Graz with nearly 20 direct flight connections, including daily flights to Vienna, Munich and Berlin, and weekly options to the Canary Islands and Greek islands.

READ ALSO: What are the new flights to and from Austrian airports in 2024?

Besides the great connections, Graz has another advantage over many bigger cities: cheaper cost of living. 

“Rents are much lower in Graz than in Vienna, but energy and other costs are the same. When it comes to highly skilled workers, because they have salary requirements according to the immigration law, they end up having a higher purchasing power in Styria and lower living expenses outside of Vienna”, Kornelia Epping, a specialist in immigration and relocation and CEO of MOVES consulting, explains.

Nature and overall atmosphere

Even though it is not an Alpine city, Graz is surrounded by beautiful natural places and is very green, adding to the quiet living experience. Graz also has a rich historical and cultural heritage, which, combined with its recent resurgence as a design city, makes for a compelling combination. 

Graz is not just renowned for its architecture: the city is Austria’s officially designated culinary capital, partly because its position between the Styrian Alps and the fertile Grazerfeld basin makes it an ideal setting for agricultural production.

Graz’s numerous parks and green spaces are the city’s green oases. Relaxing walks, quiet thoughts on a shady bench, beautiful views of old giant trees and colourful flowerbeds, sculptures and water art, playgrounds and dog meadows – the parks and gardens of Graz offer urban recreation for every need.

The city is also perfect for nature lovers, with many parks, a clean and beautiful river, and many bike paths.

READ NEXT: How to make the most of 24 hours in Graz

Share your own views on life in Graz in the comments section below? Does it offer the best quality of life in Austria? 

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TRANSPORT

What direct flights can I get from Austria’s regional airports?

Flying abroad from Austria doesn't always mean you have to go from the capital Vienna, because there are options from the country's regional airports including Salzburg, Graz and Innsbruck.

Published: 19 December 2023 15:08 CET
Updated: 14 March 2024 10:32 CET
What direct flights can I get from Austria's regional airports?

If you’re flying intercontinental in particular, there’s often no other choice than for you to fly out from Vienna or to connect through an even larger European airport – but for those who don’t live in the capital, it’s still sometimes worth checking for the connections you can get out of some of Austria’s other airports.

Salzburg, Innsbruck, Graz, Linz, and Klagenfurt all have at least a few direct flight connections.

READ ALSO: What direct intercontinental flights can I get from Vienna?

Flying out from the Alps – Salzburg

Out of the country’s non-Viennese options, Salzburg Airport by far offers the most destinations. Depending on what time of year and week you’re flying, you can access over 30 direct destinations from Salzburg.

Although many options are seasonal or only available a few times a week – or even just once a week, the UK is particularly well-connected with Salzburg flight-wise.

You can get a direct flight to a London airport every day, with both EasyJet and British Airways running direct daily flights to Gatwick Airport. Both airlines also offer connections to either Luton or Heathrow respectively, running a few times a week, while BA even operates a once-weekly flight from Salzburg to London City Airport. Ryanair also sells a direct service from Salzburg to London Stansted and WizzAir is slate to start up a three-times weekly service to Luton in early 2024.

From Salzburg to elsewhere in the UK, Jet2 offers once-weekly flights to Belfast, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Manchester, Nottingham, Leeds, and Birmingham. Meanwhile, easyJet has either once or twice-weekly connections to Liverpool, Birmingham and Bristol – while Ryanair flies twice a week to Manchester.

There are numerous connections directly into and out of Salzburg without having to go through Vienna or Munich first. Photo: Pixabay / Werdepate

For Ireland, Ryanair also sends passengers from Salzburg direct to Dublin three times a week. Northern European countries also have a few direct connections to Salzburg, with daily flights to Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Rotterdam and Amsterdam – and many less frequent services to destinations like Cologne, Brussels, and the Nordic and Baltic capitals.

Southern direct destinations include both Belgrade and Skopje. Sunseekers can also use Eurowings a few times a week to get direct from Salzburg to Palma de Mallorca, Ibiza, the Canaries, Sardinia, Cyprus and even Greek destinations like Thessaloniki, Crete, Zakynthos, Corfu, Kos and Rhodes. The airline also has occasional service to Egyptian destinations. 

Those travelling intercontinentally even have a few options from Salzburg, notably through a daily Turkish Airlines flight bound for Istanbul, a weekly Arkia connection to Tel Aviv, and five-times weekly flights to Riyadh on Flynas or Dubai using Flydubai. 

Transatlantic travellers can even route themselves through Reykjavik on Icelandair direct from Salzburg twice a week.

Munich, Vienna, or Salzburg: Which is the best airport to fly from?

From Styria to the world through Graz

Austria’s second-largest city has nearly 20 direct flight connections.

Most of these are with destinations that are fairly close by – some easily reachable also by train – perhaps in order to connect Graz passengers with hubs able to take them to more far-flung destinations. These include daily flights to Vienna, Frankfurt, Munich, and Amsterdam on Austrian, Lufthansa and KLM – as well as four or five-times weekly flights on Eurowings to Düsseldorf, Hamburg, and Berlin – and a Swiss flight to Zurich. 

Travellers looking for sunnier climes also have a few options from Graz, although many only run once a week, such as Eurowings options to the Canary Islands, Corfu, Kos, Rhodes and Cyprus. There are, however, more frequent options on Eurowings to Hurghada in Egypt or Palma de Mallorca, as well as a SunExpress flight that travels direct to Antalya every day except for Wednesday.

READ ALSO: What are the new flights to and from Austrian airports in 2024?

Westward from Tyrol – Innsbruck

The Tyrolean capital has over 20 direct destinations by plane. The vast majority of these are in nearby northern European countries.

Similar to Salzburg, it has excellent connections to London – with EasyJet, BA, or Jet2 able to provide you with a way to a London airport – including Gatwick, Heathrow, Stansted and Luton – every day of the week.

Other UK destinations are less well-served. But there are EasyJet or Jet2 connections a few times a week to Bristol and Manchester, and weekly Jet2 flights to Edinburgh and Birmingham.

canary islands limit property purchases foreigners

Sunny destinations like Spain’s Canary Islands are well-served from all of Austria’s airports, not just Vienna. Photo: slavikfi/Pixabay

You can also connect to hubs like Frankfurt, Vienna, and Amsterdam daily, through Paris on Air France twice a week, and once a week, you can use a direct Icelandair flight to connect onto North America through Reykjavik.

Other major European cities are also within your reach anywhere from once a week to Athens, Stockholm and Helsinki, twice a week to Berlin and Brussels, and four times a week to Hamburg. 

Finally, Israir will send you to Tel Aviv once a week.

READ ALSO: What are your rights if your trip is delayed or cancelled in Austria?

The small offerings – Linz and Klagenfurt

With less than 10 direct destinations between the two of them, people living in or near the state capitals of Upper Austria and Carinthia may often just end up having to go further afield – but there are a few options.

A daily Austrian Airlines flight links Klagenfurt to Vienna, while people in the city can also use Ryanair to head to London Stansted five times a week. Less frequent options include two or three times weekly Ryanair flights to Palma de Mallorca and Alicante. Meanwhile, a once-weekly Austrian flight will take Klagenfurt passengers to Hamburg.

Linz meanwhile, has a few options for those needing either to connect to a hub or grab some sun – with daily flights to Frankfurt and twice-weekly flights to Palma de Mallorca.

READ ALSO: Do people really mistakenly fly to Austria instead of Australia?

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