Villach

Villach is a town in the Carinthia province of Austria. It has about 62,000 inhabitants (2018). Villach is the second-largest city of Carinthia and a railway gateway to most parts of Austria as well as the Italian border.

Understand
Its carnival is broadcast on public television throughout Austria.

It's quite old, with roots back in Roman times (when the city was called Santicum). The city was heavily bombed in World War II, destroying many parts of the city.



By train
Villach is a railway hub for Austria, so trains converge from most other big cities including Vienna, Graz, Klagenfurt, Salzburg, Linz, Innsbruck and Bregenz. There are also direct connections to Munich, Zurich, Venice, Ljubljana, Zagreb and Belgrade. Several sleeper trains stop en route to destinations such as Florence, Milan, Munich, Rome, Stuttgart, and Zurich. However, Villach is a mid-point for these journeys, so departure times are after midnight.

Optima Express runs a car-train between Villach and Edirne in western Turkey two or three times a week April-November, taking 33 hours. Departure days vary. This train enables motorists to take their own cars to Turkey while avoiding the tricky, tiring roads through the Balkans, and it's also open for passengers without cars. It's one of the cheaper ways to retrace the old Orient Express in the modern day.



By car
If you are coming from north, take the A10 Tauernautobahn. If you are coming from east (Graz,Vienna) take the A2 Südautobahn. If you are planning to go from Slovenia, take the A11 Karawankenautobahn. If you are arriving from Italy also take the A2 Südautobahn. The motorway around Villach has two exits at Faakersee which takes you to the centre of the city and Ossiachersee which takes you to the north of the city.

By plane
If you are travelling by plane,  is the nearest airport, with regular flights from destinations including Alicante, Brussels, Dublin, Frankfurt, London Stansted, Munich, and Rotterdam. The drive is approximately 40 km along the A2 Südautobahn. By train, the S-Bahn line S1 runs hourly between Villach's main station and Klagenfurt Annabichl station, a 5-10 minute walk to the airport terminal. The ride is just under one hour. The airport in Ljubljana is further away (about 100km) but serves a larger number of airlines and destinations.

Get around
It's a quite small town, so it is easy to get around on foot. Taxis can be found near the railway station and in the centre of the city near Hauptplatz. Federal buses go to the surrounding area from the local Busbahnhof (busterminal, a few minutes away from the railway station). Local busline no.10 (operated by a company called Kowatsch) goes around the historic city centre. Getting around by car can be tiring since parking space is rare during weekdays and traffic jams at business hours are very common. During weekdays parking fees are charged in most areas around the centre of the city.

Buy
If you want to go shopping stick to the Hauptplatz and the centre area of the city. A bit outside of Villach (along Mariagailerstrasse) you will find an area with many shopping malls. These malls are far apart, so it's better to go by car or bus there. Buses to Mariagailerstrasse go from the local Busbahnhof (a bus terminal) which is located a few minutes away from the central railway station. In 2007 a huge shopping centre (atrio) was opened. It has about 80 shops!

Budget
All these are in the city centre:



Drink
If you want to go out in the evening go for Hauptplatz and the numerous small avenues that start there. You'll find various small pubs and cafes such as

Stay safe
Villach, like most Austrian cities, is safe to wander around. There will be occasional drunk people during festivities, but police visibility is evident. It is advisable to take precautionary measures when traveling, similarly to traveling to other European cities.

Sleep
Villach has a large variety of both low and high-budget hotels. Some addresses are:

Connect
Local area code is 4242.
 * Cafeteria nikolai Nikolaigasse 16 (about 10 min away from central square),, an internet cafe which serves food and drinks.
 * Villach town government website

Go next

 * If you want to get out, try, a beautiful lake a few kilometres outside of Villach. Faaker See is one of the warmest lakes in Austria with water temperatures around 27 °C during summer. Faaker See can be reached by bus or train. Trains go to Faak am See (the ride takes about 20 min) from the main station (during weekdays there is a train every two hours), a lido is 10 min away from the local train station.




 * located in the south of mountain Dobratsch, an area with huge stone rocks, which are parts of Dobratsch itself after an earthquake back in the 14th century caused half of the mountain to fall into the surrounding area.
 * is a mountain and small ski resort located half an hour from Villach. The skiing is nothing special but Gerlitzen offers some of the best vistas in Austria. On clear days almost the whole of Carinthia can be seen from this mountain top. You can either drive up (take care in winter) or take the cable car. From the parking space/cable car station it's an hour's walk to the summit. The cable car station at the mountain's base at can be reached by bus or train, including S-Bahn line S2 from the Villach main station.
 * are the scenic remains of a castle built in the 12th century. Has great views. Today it is used as location for musical events.
 * The Soca/Isonzo valley in Slovenia is about an hour's drive from Villach over the Predil mountain pass via Italy. Its deep limestone gorges offer a spectacular scenery and its emerald-coloured rivers are famed for some of the best kayaking and white water rafting in Europe. Since the Soca valley is actually easier to reach from Villach and Klagenfurt than Ljubljana (Slovenia's capital) it's well worth a day trip if you're hanging around Carinthia for longer. Head for the town Bovec, the touristic centre of the Soca valley.
 * , on the border of Salzburg and Tyrol, is the largest of Austria. A magnificent roundtrip is to first take the Gross-Glockner Hochalpenstraße (pass) that brings you as well along the highest mountain of the country. From here towards the Zillertal and over the Gerloss-pass to the waterfall. Then back to Carinthia. As a daytrip only with your own transportation.