Austria

Austria combines grand cities with some of the prettiest scenery in the Alps. Vienna is a capital of palaces, coffee houses and concert halls; Salzburg, ringed by hills, is the city of Mozart and The Sound of Music; and the lake district of the Salzkammergut holds Hallstatt, the pastel village reflected in its lake that so many travellers have saved on their phones.

In the west, Tyrol brings Innsbruck’s old town, cable cars into the mountains and Swarovski Crystal Worlds. Trains between the main cities are fast and comfortable, so a week usually covers Vienna, Salzburg with a Hallstatt day, and Innsbruck, and Austria combines naturally with Switzerland, Munich, Prague or Budapest.

It suits honeymooners, families and senior travellers who like an unhurried pace. Vienna and Salzburg have Indian restaurants, and elsewhere we pre-arrange vegetarian meals with hotels. Summer is for lakes and mountain roads; December brings the famous Christmas markets.