Country guides - Austria
Austria, with its full winter experience and huge choice of ski areas for all abilities, is world famous for its Austrian après ski scene. It provides second home owners not only the short airport transfers, perfect for those with families, very accessible by the variety of cheap “low cost” flights, but also offer stunning picture postcard “chocolate box” resorts.
A country of friendly, welcoming people who speak good English, whatever you are looking for in your second home, be it mountains, lakes, charming villages, or merely to enjoy the simple pleasures of good food, wine, locally brewed outstanding beer, peace and fresh clean air, Austria has it all and more.
With a population of over 8 million, Austria is a wonderfully clean and environmentally friendly country, being the world leader in recycling and protecting their lakes and rivers which are clean enough to drink from.
As well as easy access by air, for the second home owner planning to drive, Austria poses very few problems. Practically all resorts are valley villages that have neither steep ascents nor high altitude. The thoroughfare of the Inn Valley which runs through the Tirol from Landeck via Innsbruck to Kufstein and the motorway, along it, a vital transport link and kept open in all but extreme weather extends to the Arlberg Pass and on into Switzerland make getting around very simple.
Austria is split into 9 main provinces:
- Burgenland
- Karnten (Carinthia)
- Niederösterreich (Lower Austria)
- Oberösterreich (Upper Austria)
- Salzburgerland
- Steiermark (Styria)
- Tirol (Tyrol)
- Vorarlberg
- Wien (Vienna)
Burgenland, the birthplace of the composer Joseph Hayden and noted for its wines, lies along Austria’s border with Hungary. Its chief feature is the 22 mile-long Neusiedler See (Lake Neusiedl), central Europe’s only steppe lake and nature preserve. Austria’s southernmost province is Karnten, home to the famous Wörthersee and many other lakes, as well as Austria's tallest peak, the Großglockner (12,458 ft/3,797 m), located in the Hohe Tauern National Park.
Niederösterreich otherwise known as Lower Austria, is the largest province that surrounds Vienna and here you can find Europe’s first major mountain railway, a scenic route that takes you over the Semmering Pass. Oberösterreich or Upper Austria is one of the most scenic provinces of Austria offering lakes, mountains and the famous Danube river. The best known region is Salzkammergut, but the rocky peaks of the Dachstein massif are also an attraction for visitors year-round. Sharing the region of Salzkammergut is the province of Salzburgerland which takes its name from the birthplace of Mozart, the historical powerbase, known as Salzburg.
With its lush green landscapes and forests, the province of Steiermark or Styria, the birthplace of Arnold Schwarzenegger and home to Austria’s second largest city borders both Hungary and Slovenia. While the Tyrol province is probably the most famous for its skiing and winter sports, has twice played host to the winter Olympics. Austria’s westernmost province Volarberg has 10,000 ft mountains in the East and Lake Constance the second largest lake in Europe, which has Germany, Austria and Switzerland on its shoreline in the West. Finally Wein or Vienna, home to OPEC and United Nations office, is Austria’s famed capital city, making up the 9th Austrian province.
With an office in Austria and working with local chalet builders and developers, Alpine Property Investments specialise in Austrian property purchases (luxury chalets, new builds, land, farms, apartments, renovations, and commercial premises).
We have an extensive array of Alpine properties for sale throughout the best resorts, including a wide selection of apartments and chalets. For more information on individual resorts please refer to our Resort Guides.
Whether you are looking for a small studio apartment under 100,000 Euros or a luxury chalet on the piste, we’re here to help.
The Austrian property for sale, listed on this website provide just a small "taster" of what we have currently available. If you have not seen anything you like, or we don’t currently have any listings in the resort you are interested in, just simply complete the Enquiry Form and we will get back to you.