Most people that visit Graz think they’ve seen it after a day on the Schlossberg and a walk through the Altstadt. But there’s a lot more to Austria’s second city, so here’s how to explore off-the-beaten-path Graz, so you don’t miss out on its real character.
On my second visit to Graz, I thought I knew the city a bit more than I actually did. I had explored the Altstadt (Old Town), and a little bit of the Lend and Gries neighbourhoods on a previous trip. But there’s only so much you can cover on a couple of days.
So I was really excited when I found out that I would be returning to Graz, and that there was a new city app that would take me to spots that are not usually found on the travel guides.
The app in question is Graz Uncovered, which was developed after award-winning travel writer and blogger Dan Clarke spent 10 weeks in Graz.
Dan went in deep, found all those secret spots and lesser known neighbourhoods in the city, and that treasure trove of information is now being shared with the world via this app.
This is exactly the kind of travel I like to do, finding true hidden gems beyond the tourist trail at my own pace, exploring in a more meaningful way, finding opportunities to hang out where locals hang out too, and discovering the true essence of a place.
But before we get into it, here are some quick facts and practical advice for visiting Graz.
Table of Contents
Quick facts about visiting Graz
Getting to Graz
Graz has its own international airport with direct connections from several European cities, though Vienna is the main hub for transatlantic flights.
From Vienna, Graz is an easy 2.5 to 3-hour train journey on a regular direct service, a far more scenic and sustainable option than flying. And the train drops you right in the city centre.
Getting around Graz
Graz Old Town is compact, walkable and best experienced slowly. Trams and buses are reliable and well connected for anything further afield, and you can use the Graz Card on all public transport. The cycling infrastructure is also excellent.
When to visit Graz
Graz can be enjoyed throughout the year. Spring (April-May) and early autumn (September-October) are the sweet spots, with comfortable temperatures, fewer crowds, and the city’s outdoor cafe culture in full swing.
Summer is warm and lively but busier, and winter has its charm, particularly around the Christmas markets.
Where to stay in Graz
In most cities, where you base yourself shapes how you experience the city. But in Graz the location of your hotel doesn’t really matter, it has an excellent public transport system and you can move around the city really easily.
Hotel Gollner, Altstadt
If you’d like to stay in the Altstadt, Hotel Gollner puts you right in the heart of the old town, ideally placed for the Schlossberg, the Glockenspiel and the historic centre. It’s a 4-star hotel that has been run by the same family for four generations, and a great sustainable option.
> Book your stay in Hotel Gollner here
Harry’s Home Smart City Hotel, Lend
For something with more of a neighbourhood feel, Harry’s Home Smart City Hotel in Lend sits across the river in one of Graz’s most interesting and creative districts. It’s closer to the independent restaurants, bars and markets that make up the less obvious side of the city.
If getting under the skin of Graz is the goal, Lend is a strong argument for where to sleep. It’s also a family-run hotel group and the first to be awarded the Austrian Ecolabel in the country.
How long to spend in Graz
At least three to four days to get below the surface. Two days is enough for the highlights, but it’s not enough for the city to actually reveal itself. If you can stretch to a week, you’ll leave with a version of Graz that most visitors never manage to find.
What makes Graz special in the first place
Graz has all the credentials. It’s Austria’s second largest city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a UNESCO City of Design, and Austria’s Capital of Delight (a.k.a. the country’s foodie capital). Despite all this, when it comes to visitor numbers, it doesn’t even rank in the top three.
Another thing that makes Graz stand out is that it has been getting sustainable travel right for years without overthinking it.
Graz is easily walkable, cycle-friendly, and rooted in a strong local food culture. Styria, the region it sits in is known as Austria’s Green Heart, and it has one of the strongest culinary identities in the country, and this is reflected in over 300 city farms in the city’s vicinity.
There is also a strong network of independent businesses that have been set up with local customers in mind. None of it feels performative, but rather it all feels very real, which is often the exception in this world of Instagram and bucket lists we sadly live in.
But most itineraries tend to miss Graz’s true character out, treating it as a stopover en route to another European destination, with Schlossberg, the Clocktower, and the Altstadt as an excuse to stop for a few hours, and feel that you’ve ticked it off your bucket list.
And yes, without a doubt those spots are a good reason to visit Graz. The Old Town is genuinely beautiful, and the views from Schlossberg are worth the climb.
But there’s so much to see and do in Graz beneath the surface, and focusing on these highlights means most visitors leave without ever really knowing Graz.
And that’s exactly what Graz Uncovered was built for. During his stay in Graz, Dan dedicated substantial time to absorbing the city’s true essence, and building guides to the neighbourhoods and nearby villages that don’t make it into the standard Graz travel guides.
The result is something that gives you the kind of local knowledge that usually takes multiple visits to accumulate.
Interestingly enough, Graz has actually benefited from being bypassed by major travel trends.
As it’s deliberately not chasing mass tourism, it has managed to keep its own character and its neighbourhoods have been able to maintain their unique characters. Graz has undoubtedly avoided falling into the homogenisation trap we see in destinations all over the world.
And it’s precisely this strong identity coupled with plenty of undiscovered secret corners, what makes Graz worth more than a short stopover. You just need something like Graz Uncovered to help you find it.
How to explore Graz beyond the tourist trail
All this is well and good, but often going off the beaten path in a new city is easier said than done.
Without contacts, context or a decent amount of time on the ground, most of us tend to visit the same neighbourhoods, the same streets, and the same spots that everyone else does. Of course, Graz is no different… unless you know where to look.
Graz Uncovered shows you the neighbourhoods with the most character, where locals actually eat and drink and which nearby villages you should consider visiting. All this knowledge is in one place, ready to be used on your arrival to the city.
The app is free, and it essentially opens the doors to a less obvious Graz. You download it, open it, and it takes you through off-the-beaten-path areas of the city and beyond. It really is that easy!
There are a number of city tours within the Graz Uncovered app that take you through some well trodden areas in the Old Town, but they’re still full of secret spots and surprises hiding in plain sight.
Just turn on your location, and you’ll never really get lost (unless you really want to), as it gives you easy-to-follow directions to an array of hidden gems.
One of my favourite finds in the Altstadt through the app was a little cafe, very close to the famous Glockenspiel, that hides a cinema underground.
It was cute, with a lovely pastel coloured patio at the back and great coffee. Despite it being right next to one of Graz’ most popular sights, had it not been for Graz Uncovered, I would have totally missed the little hidden cinema, even if I’d stopped for a coffee there.
The app also has a few tours outside the city, which can be done as half or full day trips. And my absolute favourite discovery on this trip was in one of these tours.
I decided to follow the tour to the village of Thal, famous for being the birthplace of Arnold Schwarzenegger. I’m not necessarily a big fan, so going to Thal was not on my original Graz plan, but the tour in the Graz Uncovered app looked intriguing.
It ended up being a fantastic afternoon out, very easy to reach by public transport, via some stunning spots. A Baroque Palace in the outskirts of Graz, and the best view of the city and surrounding valleys from the Furstenstand are worth the trip in itself.
But finding what became my favourite spot on this trip, was the cherry on top. St James’ Church in Thal is a lovely church on the outside, with its pretty pastel colours. Initially I thought that as pretty as it was, it was just another village church.
Until I walked inside. When I walked through its doors, the interior literally took my breath away to the point that I had to stop myself from saying something inappropriate, as I looked around in awe.
A mixture of organic and fantastical shapes inside the church had me walking around seeing something new wherever I looked.
From the floating cross made of Murano glass and Swarovski crystals, and the brightly coloured almost-psychedelic ceiling, to the pebble encrusted floor and seats that resemble shells, my jaw just kept hitting the floor in surprise and delight.
Another thing that made it really special to me is that this unusual church is the starting point of the West Styrian Way, a pilgrimage route that joins the Camino de Santiago all the way to Santiago de Compostela.
I walked the Camino from France (all of 500+ miles) a few years ago and it was one of the best experiences of my life, so this place felt even more special to me.
Curiosity doesn’t kill the cat in Graz
As I’ve mentioned, Graz is one of those cities that doesn’t give everything up at once. The longer you spend in it and the more you look, the more it reveals. I realise that it’s not often that we have the luxury of time, so deliberately looking is the best way to unpeel its layers.
One thing I’ve learnt on this trip is that moving through a city with more intention and an open mind brings great rewards.
I followed routes I wouldn’t have necessarily chosen when tight on time, I ended up in streets I had no reason to know about, and I slowly built a picture of a place that turns out to be both subtle and complex at the same time, considerably more than it looks at first glance.
Aside from the practical aspect of easy-to-follow directions and information, this is exactly what Graz Uncovered is for.
This app gives you a reason to cross the river, to head out to a village, to stop at a particular cafe or wine bar, to walk into a church that looks perfectly ordinary from the outside but turns out to have one of the most extraordinary interiors you’ve ever seen.
In conclusion, Graz can give you more if you dig a bit deeper. You just need something to point you in the right direction, like a free, self-paced app built by someone who collected all those hidden secrets to make sure you don’t miss out. You just need Graz Uncovered.
Do you have any questions about going beyond the tourist trail Graz?
Let me know in the comments!
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Disclosure: This post has been created as a partnership with Graz Tourismus. As always, all views are my own.