Austria

A palace of over a thousand rooms with gardens running up to the Gloriette on the hill. Interiors run on timed entry so book ahead; the gardens themselves are free to walk.

Standing-room tickets are still sold very cheaply on the day of a performance, so if you are willing to queue you get in without formal dress. When nothing is on, guided tours run through the house.

Houses pressed into a single line between cliff and water, famous worldwide from one photograph. Most visits are day trips, so late afternoon to morning is quiet, and the salt mine above the village thins the crowd further.

Mozart’s birthplace and the wrought-iron shop signs are packed into narrow lanes south of the river, with a funicular up to the fortress. During the summer festival the whole city becomes a venue and accommodation prices climb steeply.

A tolled mountain road winding past the country’s highest peak, open only from late spring once the snow clears until autumn. You need a car, and stopping at every viewpoint fills a day.

Ordering one coffee and staying for hours is the local way and nobody hurries you. A glass of water served alongside marks a proper house, and Sachertorte or apple strudel is the usual companion.

A baroque palace and its gardens surviving close to their original form, inscribed together. Reachable by metro from the centre, so half a day is enough.

A district where medieval lanes and nineteenth-century Ringstrasse architecture overlap, inscribed as a whole. It has been placed on the danger list over high-rise development.

Churches and squares from the era of the prince-archbishops, still intact. A full circuit on foot takes a couple of hours.

Three thousand years of salt mining inscribed together with the lake and glacier landscape. Seeing only the village is seeing half of it.

The Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Klimts at the Belvedere are the headline stops, and riding the tram around the Ring passes most of the landmarks. It is the international gateway, so trips usually start and end here.

Under three hours by train from Vienna and close to Munich as well. Film-location tours are an established circuit in their own right.

A cable car from the city centre puts you on a two-thousand-metre ridge in minutes. It is the base for winter skiing and summer hiking, and the small old town with its Golden Roof takes half a day.

A red-roofed old town sitting next to a striking contemporary art museum, and noticeably less touristed. It is also the route onward to Slovenia or Hungary.

Vineyards and villages line the river from Melk Abbey down to Krems, covered by boat or bicycle in half a day. An easy day trip from Vienna.

Skiing in winter, mountain railways and lakes in summer. Public transport reaches them, but a car gives you far more freedom.

Cities are uncrowded and the gardens open. High alpine roads may still be closed by snow.

Every mountain route is open and the lakes are warm enough to swim. The Salzburg Festival overlaps, so western accommodation fills early.

Harvest season, which is when the Wachau and the southern taverns are at their best. Clearer skies also mean better mountain views than in summer.

Christmas markets open from late November, and the mountains are in ski season at their highest prices. Days are short — dark by four in the afternoon.

Up to ninety days in any one hundred and eighty across the whole Schengen area, and days spent in neighbouring countries count toward the same total. The European travel authorisation scheme is being phased in, so check the official guidance before you leave.

Trains run direct to neighbouring capitals, including overnight services. City tickets must be validated at the machine — an unvalidated ticket counts as travelling without one.

Small cafés and market stalls are still cash-only in places. Service is included in the bill, but rounding up is normal.

The German differs from Germany’s in accent and vocabulary, starting with how people greet each other. English is enough in cities and accommodation.

The same plug shape and voltage as Korea, so no adapter is needed. Devices go straight into the socket.

The pan-European number reaching police, ambulance and fire, with English available. Mountain rescue has its own number, 140.