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Austria has few peers as a year-round holiday destination,
with plenty of winter sports in the Alps, some of the most
impressive and overblown architecture in Europe and an unrivalled
musical tradition that even The Sound of Music couldn't sully.
The cities have plenty to engage visitors. Vienna is the capital,
hub of the country's musical life and littered with beautiful
buildings. Music, art and architecture reach baroque perfection
in Salzburg, Mozart's birthplace. Innsbruck's snow-capped
peaks frame its fascinating historic buildings. If any city
can claim to be the capital of music, it is Vienna. In no
other city in the world lived so many composers: Haydn, Mozart,
Beethoven, Schubert, Johann Strauss,...
Throughout Austria, you'll find the rhythm of daily life has
a musical beat; music festivals fill its calendar. There's
also a wonderful range of outdoor activities, from lounging
on lakeside beaches to paragliding from mountains. The skiing
is some of the best in the world.
It has been 2000 years ago, that the Romans founded the fortress
of Vindobona, of which remains can still be seen in Vienna.
The history of the city has been influenced by its location
on the shores of Danube River, the natural border line between
East and West. The crusaders passed through here on their
way to the Holy Land. The Turks besieged the city twice. An
empire made of many countries and nations governed from Vienna
over centuries. Today Vienna is not only the city of the waltz,
the ancient, tradition-steeped imperial metropolis, Vienna
is although the glittering new business capital for the whole
of Central Europe. Almost all multinational companies and
banks have established their European Headquarter in Vienna.
Vienna is UN City, too. Vienna is today convention city number
1 in Europe with a large international community and 2 millions
of inhabitants.
But Vienna is still the city of the Opera Ball, the city of
many palaces such as Schönbrunn or Belvedere. Vienna
is where the Giant Ferris Wheel goes round, where the Vienna
Boy's Choir sings and where the famous Lipizzaner horses dance.
Vienna has a wealth of buildings from many epochs, a city
set in beautiful surroundings, the Vienna Woods. Vienna is
a shopping city. Vienna has sandy beaches all along Danube
River. Vienna is sexy! In Europe, Vienna ranks number 2 (after
Zurich) for living quality.
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