Graz

Graz is Austria's relaxed second city, a place where a UNESCO-listed old town of red-tiled roofs and Renaissance courtyards sits beneath a wooded hill crowned by a clock tower. It is a university town too, with four universities filling the lanes with a young, easygoing energy and a lively cafe and bar scene. Above all it is Styria's food capital, the proud home of dark green pumpkin seed oil (Kernol), crisp Schilcher rose and hearty Brettljause boards of cured meats and cheeses. Approach it slowly: ride the funicular or climb the zigzag path up the Schlossberg for the defining view, wander the Hauptplatz and the arcaded Landhaus courtyard, then cross the Mur to the glowing blue blob of the Kunsthaus and the floating Murinsel. Eat where locals eat, at the Kaiser-Josef-Platz farmers market on a Saturday morning, at a Buschenschank tasting new wine, or over open sandwiches at a century-old delicatessen. Many museums shut on Mondays and shops close early on Saturdays, so plan around the market mornings and long, unhurried Styrian lunches. Graz rewards the wanderer who lingers.