A good place for the summer in Austria is somewhere around Wörthersee. Wörthersee is Carinthia’s largest lake and is known for its tourism. Carinthia is one of the nine states of Austria. I have spent most of the summer’s of my childhood in a small town called Velden am Wörthersee. Wörthersee stretches from Velden in the west to Carinthia’s capital Klagenfurt in the east.
Should you spent some time there, I would recommend going on a Wörthersee cruise. A full round trip takes about four hours. There is, however, always the possibility to get off the ship at some point and get on the next again. So, it’s pretty much a hop-on-hop-off type of cruise. There are ten stops all in all, the main ones are Velden, Pörtschach, Maria Wörth, Reifnitz and Klagenfurt.
Velden is famous for its castle and the casino. Velden castle is now a hotel so unfortunately you cannot visit it, it is nice to look at though. There are many wonderful restaurants in Velden as well. My favourite is Pizzeria Da Leopoldo. In my opinion they have the best pizza here in Velden. You just have to book a table in advance as they are always full.
Pörtschach is another small town that is mostly known for tourism. Maria Wörth on the other hand is a famous pilgrimage site. The two churches are situated right near the pier. Reifnitz is mostly known for the annual GTI-Treffen (meeting) in May. Reifnitz is also the place where you can take a shuttle bus up to Pyramidenkogel, the tallest observation tower made out of wood. From up there you have the most amazing view of the lake and the mountains surrounding it.
In Klagenfurt there is the most to do and see out of those five stops. Right near the pier is the lido, the planetarium, a reptile zoo and Minimundus. Minimundus is a miniature park that shows sights from all over the world. In the city centre you can find shops and restaurants as well as Klagenfurt’s landmark the Lindwurm. And many, many other things of course.
All around the lake there are lidos where you can go for a swim or you can rent boats to discover the lake for yourself. A Wörthersee cruise is of course another good way to discover the lake and the many beautiful places around it. Here are some pictures of beautiful Klagenfurt and Wörthersee.
Eyes of Owls 