Graz is the capital of the Styria province and is the second largest city in Austria after Vienna.

It has the world’s largest historical armoury collection with over 32,000 pieces of weaponry and armour.

It’s a University city with more than 45,000 students living in Graz which is nearly 20% of Graz’s population. The University was founded in 1585 making it one of the oldest Universities in Central Europe.

For you Arnold Schwarzenegger fans, you can head to Thal which is a stones throw away from Graz to the Arnold Schwarzenegger museum, it’s in the childhood home of the man himself.

Sadly I didn’t get a chance to see it on account of not knowing about it. It was becoming a theme of my Austrian travels. I decided rather than planning the trips in advance I’d just go with the flow and book up things last minute.

The only thing I had booked was the return flight and used whatever time I had to see as much of Austria. At that point you’re running the risk of missing out on places to visit.

All that means is it gives me something new to do when I return.

Schlossberg

For the best view of Graz in the heart of the old town is the Schlossberg, a tree clad hill and the site of a fortress.

There are several ways to get up the 473m high Schlossberg. You can walk up 260 Schlossbergstiege stairs or go via Karmeliterplatz. Alternatively you can go in the glass lift that ascends inside the mountain or take the funicular railway.

There are plenty of places to get a sunset view of Graz. The area is so big there was a part of the Schlossberg marked off for a concert.

You also have the largest underground slide in the world at 64m high and 175m long. It’s steep enough to get you up to 25kmh.

Annoyingly the slide was closed when I wanted to go back down. You can pre book to avoid queuing.

Another unique thing that you’ll be forgiven for not noticing on first viewing is the Uhrturm (clock tower). The hands on the clock are reversed. Originally there was only the hour hand. The minute hand was added later making it look like they were swapped over.

Kunsthaus

The Kunsthaus is an exhibition house which combines international contemporary art with regional and local themes.

It was built as part of the European Capital of Culture celebration in 2003, and has become an architectural landmark in Graz.

The Kunsthaus is often referred to as the “Friendly Alien” due to its futuristic shape. It stands out in Graz’s historical centre in the midst of the older buildings.

It took over 1,000 acrylic glass elements to form the skin of the Friendly Alien. At night it sends light signals or written messages from its “BIX facade” to the other side of the river. It sucks daylight from the north through the nozzle.

I really enjoyed Graz.

Ok so I didn’t write too much and only included a couple of places. This is largely because I spent most of the time exploring arguably the best food scene in Austria. You only need a full day to see the sites of Graz, but to enjoy the food scene you need longer.

There are previous blog posts where I’ve put restaurant recommendations, but there was so many it would have been an injustice to put the few places I made it to when there was lots to try.

Graz was a place I came to without a clue of an itinerary and going with the flow. Plenty of exploring and admiration of the architecture. It’s an ideal place to decompress and switch off.

There are day trip options if you wanted to explore outside the old town. One of the good things about Graz is the free use the tram within the old town if you don’t fancy walking around.

It’s a peaceful place in comparison to Vienna, Salzburg and Linz.