Carinthia

Carinthia is Austria's lake country: more than 1,200 lakes lie between the Hohe Tauern and the Karawanken range, many of them with drinking-water quality and summer temperatures around 77°F. A vacation in Carinthia combines swimming piers on Lake Wörthersee with mountain hikes around the Grossglockner and a cuisine that already tastes of Italy and Slovenia.

Lakes and Mountains

Lake Wörthersee is the best-known lake, lined with Belle Époque villas in Velden am Wörther See, Pörtschach and Maria Wörth, whose church sits on a peninsula. Lake Millstätter See and Lake Ossiacher See lie in gentle valleys, while Lake Weissensee is a quiet, fjord-like lake where ice marathons are run in winter. Lake Faaker See in Finkenstein glows turquoise beneath the Mittagskogel, Lake Klopeiner See in Sankt Kanzian is one of the warmest swimming lakes in Austria, and Lake Pressegger See near Hermagor lies in the Gail Valley close to the Nassfeld ski area. In the northwest, the Hohe Tauern rise with the Grossglockner, while to the south the Karawanken and the Carnic Alps form the border.

Cities and Towns

Klagenfurt has an old town with Renaissance arcades and the Lindwurm Fountain, the city's landmark. The Minimundus miniature park lies on the lake. Villach on the Drau River is a transportation hub, known for Austria's largest carnival parade and the Villacher Kirchtag festival in August. Bad Kleinkirchheim is a thermal spa and ski resort in the Nock Mountains, and Wolfsberg is the center of the Lavant Valley, home to orchards and cider. Gmünd is an artists' town with a Porsche museum, and Heiligenblut lies at the foot of the Grossglockner.

Other Carinthian destinations include Friesach, the oldest town in Carinthia, where a castle is being built at a medieval castle construction site using medieval methods, and the Möll Valley with Obervellach. Millstatt has a Romanesque abbey on the lake, and Spittal an der Drau has a Renaissance palace.

Sights in Carinthia

Sights in Carinthia include the Pyramidenkogel, an observation tower of wood and steel with one of the tallest slides in Europe; Hochosterwitz Castle, perched on a limestone rock with 14 gates; and Gurk Cathedral, a Romanesque basilica. The Grossglockner High Alpine Road ends at Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe above the Pasterze, Austria's largest glacier. The Nockberge National Park, the Tscheppa Gorge and the Landskron castle ruins with their eagle flight show are further destinations.

Food and Drink

Carinthian Kasnudeln, dumplings filled with quark, potatoes and mint whose edges are artfully crimped ("gekrendelt"), are the regional specialty. Also look for Reindling, a yeast cake, Gailtal bacon, Lavanttal cider and fish from the lakes. Proximity to Italy shows in the coffee bars and pizzerias, while the Slovenian minority in the south maintains its own traditions and bilingual town signs.

Also typical are Kärntner Laxn, lake trout, and the Kärntner Kirchtagssuppe, a tangy soup with meat and spices served at village festivals in late summer.

Getting There and Best Time to Visit

Since late 2025, the Koralm Railway has cut the trip from Graz to Klagenfurt to about 45 minutes; Railjet connections run from Vienna and Salzburg. Klagenfurt Airport offers a number of scheduled flights. The best time to visit is June through September, when the lakes are warmest; in winter, Bad Kleinkirchheim, Nassfeld and Gerlitzen draw skiers.