The only thing Austria lacks is a coastline (fun fact is that it did until 1919, when it lost the Adriatic Port of Trieste after WW1). It has everything else a tourist might desire: a rich cultural history, a passion for food and drink, cities such as Vienna and Salzburg and world-class ski resorts. Getting here is a doddle too. It has six airports (Vienna, Graz, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Linz and Salzburg) and several airlines offer cheap flights to Austria, including flag carrier Austrian Airlines and easyJet.

Austria is landlocked by Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. All these have influenced Austrian cuisine. The Wiener Schnitzel (breaded veal fried in butter) is just the start.

Vienna pioneered coffee-house culture in the 17th century, providing welcoming and warm surroundings for reading newspapers, playing chess, chatting and debating the issues of the day. They could be said to have played a role in Austria's strong arts tradition: in music it can boast Mozart (There is a music festival in Salzburg, his birthplace every year), Strauss (father and son), Mahler, Haydn, Schubert and Beethoven (German-born, but lived in Vienna for much of his life); in art, Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele; in literature Franz Kafka; and perhaps most famously the father of Psycho-Analysis, Sigmund Freud. There more to experience than is possible in just one trip.

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