Austria's lush heartland, is awash with verdant grass and rich vineyards. Trout fishing, hiking and mountain climbing are popular lures to stunning Styria. The region is also renowned as a culinary hotspot, as well as for its Reisling and Traminer. An emerging ski destination, dozens of ski schools have sprouted on its snowy flanks. State capital Graz is a university town, with a UNESCO-designated Old Town. Thermal resort town Bad Gleichenberg is another top area attraction.

A bevy of universities give Austria's second-largest city its lively pace. Baroque palaces are a pleasant contrast with 16th-century courtyards and provocative modern buildings. The Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, teems with fine architecture, including the Burg castle complex, with its Gothic double staircase, and the graceful Uhrturm clock tower. A funicular takes visitors up the dramatic bluff. The River Mur dashes through the city, and thermal springs dot the surrounding countryside.

If you live, eat and breathe skiing, Obertauern is your paradise—its own little mountaintop microcosm where you can literally walk (er, ski) out the door of your charming lodge or B&B and directly enter the slopes. Feeling ambitious? Complete a “Tauern Circuit” of the ski lifts and slopes that encircle the village. The restaurants and lodges offer merry après ski rejuvenation.

Despite its baroque architecture and historic old town, Linz is strikingly contemporary. The northern city hosts a cutting-edge cultural scene, exemplified by its futuristic electronic arts centre and glass-fronted modern arts museum, both set on the banks of the Danube River.

While Venice’s mainland suburb of Mestre has a history and character all its own dating back to medieval times, it owes its growth and fortune to its more powerful offshore neighbor. Unfortunately, it’s everything Venice is not: modern, industrial and cheap. But while they may not compare to the romantic canals of Venice, Mestre does have attractions of its own, including the Torre (Tower) dell'Orologio and the Duomo (Cathedral) di San Lorenzo, located on its town square, Piazza Ferretto.