Graz. Gourmet capital city of Austria, sun kissed by the heat of the south and quite simply, a cradle of theatre, poetry, and good-natured people with an inclination for … food. Lots & lots of foodie delights! Each and every time I visit, the “gourmet capital” dishes up a new type of foodie travel experience. Apart from hosting the “Longest Dinner Table” event in Austria (an event I have already shared with you here!), we have been able to eat our way through some of the city’s newest foodie inventions. Watch out for “Lend is(s)t anders” (Lend city district is and eats different, in German), a tasty and totally new food tour of a kind south of the river Mur.
Go & stay in the hippiesque, one-of-a-kind Hotel Weitzer / Wiesler, throwing in perfect views of the old town of Graz to a really cool hotel experience.
Hotel rooms where “walls proudly display cracks” ..? Stand-alone bathtubs exuding a kind of imperial, almost Sissi-like flair? Oriental basins in the bathrooms? “Arnie’s favourite room”, complete with a smoker lounge and one of the best views of Graz? And a fancy bike workshop right by the reception …? Hotel Weitzer as well as its sister hotel Wiesler are proud (and prominent) to be different. “Share your Wiesler moments”, the Polaroid camera in the lobby beckons. A real treasure for us innately curious travel bloggers, spoiled to the modern technology comforts of today ..!
Welcome at Hotel Wiesler in Graz …
… a hotel whose rooms are proud to be, a little “different”.
“Such a shame we cannot touch wine” … true?
Both hotels, Hotel Weitzer & Wiesler, are located in the city district of Lend, a really cool, or rather, HOT city district of Graz!
Check out this new “Graz Food Tour” …
… a tasty walk with our Graz Guide Angela!
“Lend is(s)t anders” & “UNESCO City of Design-Tour”: Graz offers many tasty and trendy amuses-gueule.
The Lend district appears to be one large foodie mile here in Graz. From cute little bakeries at the Lendplatz, such as “Süße Liese” to the trendy food design shop “ParkArt”, we are able to taste all that is currently cooking up in Graz. From here, it is only a 15-minutes walk to the reach the most famous meeting point for true foodies in the city: The local farmers’ market Bauernmarkt am Kaiser-Josef-Platz as part of our Graz Design Tour.
Making our way through Graz …
… we stop around the “Altstadtkern”, a stone fruit sculpture at the heart of the city centre …
… opening up new perspectives …
… upon traditionally popular food, such as big, juicy Styrian tomatoes.!
Beer, too, is always popular: Checking out the Graz Food Tour “Lend is(s)t anders” …
… all the way to interesting designer shops …
… and a classy selection of Austrian tapas at the Café-Restaurant Freiblick / Promenade right in the city park of Graz: Do not miss a visit there!
Not even one hour from Graz, the Styrian Wine Trails offer sweet seductions exploring the countryside around Graz. We talk to the wine growers. Taste vegan vineyard snacks. And really, really love the wines here!
Right on cue as we are out and about in the vineyards, the sun comes out bathing the surrounding landscape of Styria in its golden light. Beautiful vineyards there are, lush and green. The air is fresh, with views all the way south to Slovenia. “We love to come up here for a private tasting with our guests”, local wine grower Hannes muses about his favourite spot high up in the vineyard lanes, on top of the hills near the family wine estate Dreisiebnerhaus. From here, we take to the Weingut Steinberghof run by the Firmenich family, experts in turning traditional, meat-based Buschenschank snacks into delicious (and very tasty!) vegan alternatives. Check this out …
A last glimpse of the city of Graz …
… before we find ourselves out HERE in the magic countryside of Southern Styria …
… a landscape that has a lot in common with the Italian Tuscany region, don’t you think?
Here, we are invited to taste a local app called “Terroir Erleben” …
…featuring lots of interesting local information about wine & wine growing, such as provided by the family wine estate Dreisiebnerhaus.
I really enjoyed our vegan food trip in Styria …
… as well as the warm hospitality of the local Firmenich family …
… responsible for spoiling us to those vegan delights: A tasty apricot plum pie there.!
Check out a world of experience around the local viticulture of Southern Styria, such as this one provided by the Vinofaktur Genussregal …
… or simply enjoy the magic of the local surroundings: Likely, you will find something for everyone to enjoy.
My friends & fellow travel writers from Austria, on the occasion of our third annual travel blogger meet-up in the city of Graz, have also shared their views on how the city of Graz as well as the foodie district of Styria have helped them explore new horizons:
- Lifetravellerz: “Kulinarisches Reisebloggertreffen in Graz” & “Sporty Graz“
- Anita Arneitz: “3. Reisebloggertreffen in Graz #visitgraz” & a poetic travel video called “Geschichten aus Graz“
- Reisebloggerin: “Lend is(s)t anders“, “Graziger wird’s nicht – meine Tipps für Graz” & “So schmeckt das Sausal“
- Travelpins: “Terroir erleben: Unterwegs in den Weingärten der Südsteiermark“, “Wie entsteht eigentlich Whisky? Besuch in der Destillerie Weutz“, “Ganz schön Graz: Unterwegs in der City of Design” & “7 Lokale, in denen man in Graz gegessen haben muss“
- Wiederunterwegs: “Sonntags in der Südsteiermark” & “Graz hat’s. Von Hotels, Design & Kulinarik.“
- Kofferpacken: “Graz: Die Stadt mit dem Hipster-Potenzial” & “Kurztrip entlang der Südsteirischen Weinstraße“
- Travelwoman: “Meine Insidertipps für Graz“
See you in Graz & Styria! 🙂
Disclaimer: Thank you to the city of Graz as well as the Styrian Tourism Board for hosting and supporting us on the occasion of the 3rd Austrian Travel Blogger Meet-up. All opinions are my own.