May to September is the best time to visit Austria for hiking, lakes and city sightseeing, with the warmest weather and longest days. December to March is the best time for skiing, when the Alps are covered in snow, with peak ski season from December to February. May, June and September offer a quieter, more affordable alternative to peak summer, with mild weather and thinner crowds. There are highlights year-round: Vienna's ball season fills the city with formal galas from January to February, the Salzburg Festival brings opera and classical music to Mozart's home city every summer, and Christmas markets and Krampus parades take over towns across the country from late November.

The best things to do in Austria include exploring Vienna's palaces and museums, hiking or skiing in the Alps, and visiting Salzburg's old town.

• Discovering Vienna's imperial palaces, including Schönbrunn and the Hofburg, coffee house culture, and museums like the Kunsthistorisches

• Hiking or skiing in the Austrian Alps, around resorts like Innsbruck and Zell am See

• Wandering Salzburg's UNESCO-listed old town, birthplace of Mozart, and following the film trail from The Sound of Music

• Exploring Hallstatt, a lakeside village in the Salzkammergut region, and touring its centuries-old salt mine above the town

• Wine tasting and cycling in the Wachau Valley, past the Baroque towers of Melk Abbey

• Visiting the Grossglockner High Alpine Road through Hohe Tauern National Park, past Austria's highest peak

• Crossing the Brenner Pass by rail between Innsbruck and Italy, one of Europe's great Alpine rail routes

• Riding the scenic Semmering and Arlberg railways, both engineering landmarks through the Alps

• Taking a guided tour Eisriesenwelt by carbide lamp through glittering ice formations, the world's largest accessible ice cave, near Salzburg

• Soaking in the thermal springs of Bad Gastein, a former spa town built into an Alpine gorge

Austria is reachable from London via a change of trains in Brussels or Paris, with high-speed and Nightjet sleeper train services connecting onward through Germany or Switzerland to Vienna and other major cities. Within Austria, an extensive rail network connects towns and cities throughout the country.