Well, what can I say?! It's Austria! The food is rich and tasty, so are the desterts as well as the coffee and wine....mmmhhh!
When you walk around the town centre it might seem like there are not many restaurants around, but you are wrong with that impression! Most of the restaurants are not situated alongside the shopfronts, but actually in the courtyards. So don't be shy: go down the little allyways and through the archways because you are going to be rewarded with tasty selections of "Backhaendl" (baked chicken - a local dish which takes some time to prepare, but it is worth the wait! Order a salad as a starter to taste the local pumpkin seed oil), other great meat or fish dishes with Speatzle, Knoedel and all these other hearty things. Again, there is no smoking ban in place yet, so don't be surprised when people at the table next to you have a smoke while you eat.
The area "Steiermark" which Graz belongs to is known for its wines and local wines is all the local restaurants sell. It is worth tasting some different ones so you can make the right choices later in the supermarket. If you are not keen on wine, they also sell Austrian beers and local fruit juices. I personally loved the "Hollunderbluetensaft" - Elderflower juice, mixed with sparkling water. This is then called: Hollunderbluetenschorle. Yum!
For desert it is an absolute must to have Austrian cake and coffee! There is the classic one: Sacher Torte (full on chocolate and chocolate and chocolate....) at the Sacher Hotel near the tourist information centre. It is very epensive, but surely part of the experience. One bit of advice though: don't have a milky coffee with it! That is just too much then and a simple espresso will do just fine.
Any other Cafe in Graz will serve a large selection high standard cakes and coffee.
On a sunny day in Graz it is a must to walk up to the clock towe and castle! The view over the town and the surrouding mountains is really lovely. Looking at these old buildings up there is also nice but not the main attraction really. For a proper Austrian coffee I would recommend the "Muhrinsel" - that is that contemporary art structure on the river Muhr across from the art museum. It's interiour design is funky to hang out in, but I would recommend even more to go the toilets there....and that is all I am gonna say about that! :-)
The contemporary art museum (Kunsthaus Graz) is called "friendly alien" because of its crazy architecture in the middle of these old buildings. So, that is quite interesting, but the exhibition was rubbish! I was so disappointed at everything: the service, the shop, the exhibition, the write up about it... everything. A bit better was the other place with modern and contemporary art.... how was it called...? Stadtgalerie Graz? I am not so sure anymore, but you can get all the information about different museums and gallerys in the tourist information centre.
The unofficial culture of Graz can be seen on the walls along the riverside walk - graffiti. Some is really bad and some is actually interesting.
When you are out and about after dark: don't forget your camera and tripod! You can take some fun pics of the modern architecture and light designs that can be found all over Graz!
Graz is a cruisy place, as one would expect of Austria.
I got a cheap Ryanair flight from London to Graz, and because I was not willing to pay extra for the "priority line" I didn't get a window seat...so no mountain views for me coming in. Nevermind...
At Graz airport I was greeted by people smoking (inside?! Oh my god! I have lived in the UK for too long now that this actually shocked me!) and sunny weather outside. So we jumped onto a train to the centre which only took 15 min or so, and only cost something like 3 Euros - joy!
In Graz we took an over-priced Taxi to our accomodation which was just down the road...silly us.... and went for a stroll to the centre to welcome the town.
The centre of Graz is actually quite a walk (through some dodgy looking neighborhoods) from the station, so consider that before booking a room.
gallery/Graz