• Introduction
• Reports (16)
• Useful information

  Identity card

  Know before you go

  Driving in Austria

  Practical A to Z

• History and culture

  Nature

  History

  Art and Culture

  The country today

• Eating out
• Electricity
• Embassies and consulates
• Health
• Money
• Post
• Public holidays
• Shopping
• Telephone

---

Eating out

Opening hours

Lunch is traditionally served from noon to 2pm and dinner from 6pm, but many establishments serve hot meals all day long.

Meals

A full meal will generally start with a soup, followed by a main course made up of boiled, breaded or roast meat, served with a salad or baked fruit, such as cranberries with game. To finish, try one of Austria’s famous pastries and wash it all down with one of the local fruit brandies.

---

Electricity

The voltage in Austria is 220V and plugs are standard two-pin continental plugs, so you will probably need an adaptor. You will also need an adaptor if you want to hook up your laptop to the internet, because the telephone wiring and plugs are also different. Hotels often have a few of these cables for use by guests.

---

Embassies and consulates

British Embassy – Jauresgasse 12, 1030 Vienna – t 01 716 130 – http://ukinaustria.fco.gov.uk/en/

Irish Embassy – Rotenturmstrasse 16-18, 5th Floor, 1010 Vienna – t 01 715 4246 – viennaembassy@dfa.ie

---

Health

Also see Know before you go.

Emergencies

Universal European emergency number: t 112.

Fire brigade: t 122. Police: t 133. Ambulance: t 144. Emergency doctor: t 141.

Chemists

When chemists are closed, the name and addresses of out-of-hours chemists nearby are posted on the window.

---

Money

Currency

The currency of Austria is the Euro.

Banks / exchange

Banks are open Monday to Friday from 8am to 12.30pm and from 1.30 to 3pm (5.30pm on Thursdays).

Credit cards and traveller’s cheques

Credit cards are used widely and there is no shortage of ATMs. A few rare guesthouses do however request that payment be made in cash.

Euro zone residents should note that bank charges for withdrawals and payments are identical to those in their country of origin.

Budget / Cost of living

The cost of living in Austria is roughly equivalent to that of the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Hotels are relatively expensive (around €70-80 for a comfortable double room in a tourist town), but more economical solutions do exist, such as youth hostels, bed and breakfasts and rentals of private apartments.

Allow between €15-30 per meal in a medium-range restaurant.

Visits to a castle or major museum will cost between €6 and 12.

---

Post

Post offices are open Monday to Friday from 8am to noon and 2 to 6pm and sometimes from 8 to 10am on Saturdays. In large cities, the main post office branches and those in stations operate longer opening hours. A standard letter or postcard to an EU country costs €0.55.

---

Public holidays

1 January

6 January – Epiphany

Easter Monday

1 May

Ascension Day –Forty days after Easter Monday

Whit Monday

Corpus Christi – moveable feast

15 August – Assumption Day

26 October – National holiday

1 November – All Saints Day

8 December –Immaculate Conception

25 and 26 December

---

Shopping

Shops are open Monday to Friday from 6am to 7.30pm (5pm on Saturdays). In many tourist districts and major cities, the shops stay open until 9pm on weekdays and 6pm on Saturdays.

---

Telephone

Calling Austria froma abroad

00 + 43 (country code for Austria) + area code without the 0 + number of the person.

Calling home from Austria

00 + country code. For the United Kingdom: 44; for Ireland: 353.

National calls

Dial a 0 before the area code if you are calling from another region of Austria. Within the same region, it is not necessary to dial the area code.

The number of digits in telephone numbers is variable: public services have shortened numbers while other subscribers have 7-digit numbers.