Travel Information
On Sunday 26 August please contact local EPE2001 staff at Graz Airport and
Graz Railway Station
| [The city of Graz] | [Sightseeing] | [Weather] | ||
| [Travel in Austria] | [Travel in Graz] | [Accommodation] | ||
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Graz is the capital of the Province of Styria and is Austria’s second largest city with about 300.000 inhabitants including over 45.000 students. It stands at the meeting point of the Alpine and the Mediterranean regions, and of East and West.
As the best preserved historic city centre in Europe, Graz boasts a multitude of sights of which the Castle Hill, the Clock Tower, the Arsenal, the Landhaus Courtyard and the Cathedral are just a few examples.
Graz was awarded World Culture Heritage by UNESCO in 1999. In 2003 Graz will be European Cultural Capital.
City centre shops and boutiques provide the opportunity to enjoy both sightseeing and shopping at the same time. And to taste the culinary specialities on offer in the pubs and restaurants of Graz, with the delights of the justly celebrated Styrian cuisine available at nearly every corner.
Only 15 minutes from the centre Graz-Thalerhof Airport can be reached by city bus or train. Direct flight connections are with Frankfurt, Vienna and Zurich. Graz is at the junction of major motorway and rail arteries. Every 60 minutes, for example, trains depart for all of Austrian’s major cities – with easy connections to more remote areas.
Graz is very popular among students, with Karl-Franzens-University, Technical University (TUG), University for Music and Drama (KUG) and the Fachhochschule Technikum Joanneum.
The 28 museums and collections stage more than 100 exhibitions a year, like Meisterwerke der Neuen Galerie im Schloss Eggenberg, styriarte 2001, Kammermusikfestival Stift Rein and steirischer herbst 2001. Each month, more than 100 stage and opera productions, concerts and variety shows fill theatres and auditoriums across the city.
Graz is a city that has managed to preserve its human
scale. It enables to combine culture, science, high tech industry, feeling of
well-being, tradition and modernism.
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Mediterranean landscapes, green hills and the characteristic Schöckl Mountain near Graz invite you to romantic trips, through fascinating impressive stalactite caves and past waterfalls. Whatever you are looking for, sports challenges, the great outdoors or just relaxation, you will find it all around Graz.
In the middle of the town the Schlossberg rises up 473 m above sea level, about 100m over the unique red-tile roofscape of Graz. At one time the Schlossberg housed a fortress of which only little remains today. Mere remnants such as the casemates which are today a beautifully restored open-air stage.
A highlight of any Schlossberg tour and the symbol of the city is the clock tower. Its heart has been beating for Graz since 1712 – with the original works and one of the oldest bells in the province (1382).
The Provincial Armoury is a real pièce de résistance next to the Landhaus in Graz. Since 1551 all manner of weaponry has been collected and preserved in the Provincial Armoury. Today the Landhaus boasts the world’s largest collection of historical arms. 30.000 exhibits are proof positive.
A few miles from Graz the Schöckl is the local walking challenge for the people of Graz. At nearly 1500 m, it boasts a tremendous panorama stretching out from the Styrian Alpes to Slovenia. Those who prefer it easy can use the Schöckl cable car from St. Radegund.
Looking for adventure between rocks and roaring waterfalls? Take a walk in the Bärenschützklamm. With its 24 waterfalls, this is the most beautiful water gorge in Austria. The little town of Mixnitz is the starting point for a great number of tours around the gorge.
The lurgrotte stretches under the hills between the small villages of Semriach and Peggau from where you can access the finest stalactite cave in Austria. The attraction in Semriach: Sound&Light Show in the Big Dome of the cave.
The 150 acres of the Austrian Open Air Museum at Stübing near Graz are ideal for excursions with the family and houses 83 original historic farms. A permanent special exhibition illustrates the development of agricultural vehicles and utensils.
The oldest existing Cistercian abbey of the world, Stift Rein was founded in 1129. Both, its baroque church and its library with over 100.000 books are points of interest. The abbey also organises an extensive cultural programme with concerts, exhibitions an much more.
There are eight wine routes in Styria. The two best known are the South Styrian Wine Route and the Schilcher Wine Route. Here, beneath poplars and chestnut trees, where the Klapotetz beats time, life is centred around wine, Styrian vines flourish, above all the blue Wildbacher grape, the grapes of the onion-coloured Schilcher. Savour the odour of chestnuts and even tobacco drying in the barns. And in the west of Styria grows the pride of the Spanish Riding School: The Lipizzaner horses.
There is a wide range of notable castles and chateaux: Schloss Obermayerhofen, Schloss Kornberg or Schloss Schielleiten. The most impressive of all fortresses is the Riegersburg. It stands in solitary splendour on the remains of a 482 m high volcanic mountain. Schloss Herberstein is equally well-known with its Florentine courtyard, armoury and magnificent zoo that even counts a number of exotic species kept in a natural environment.
For more information, do not hesitate to contact the Graz Tourism Office.
Phone : ++43/316/8075.
E-Mail: office@graztourismus.at
Homepage: http://www.graztourismus.at
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The climate in Graz should be very pleasant at the time the conference takes place in the end of August. We expect rather warm days with a temperature in the range of 22-30ºC; however, some rain could occur at this time of the year as well as short thunderstorms.
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Train
Using the train is a quite efficient way of transportation to travel across the country. It takes about 2 h 45 min from Vienna South Railway Station to Graz using the intercity of the ÖBB (Austrian Federal Railways). Vienna South Railway Station includes the Vienna East Railway Station in the same building, this is the final station for trains from the east. Additional direct train connections are with Linz (connection to Nuremberg) and Salzburg (connection to Munich). Graz is on the direct train route from Maribor (Slovenia). Additionally, Graz can be reached easily from Italy by international trains entering Austria near Villach and heading for Vienna, you have to change the train in Bruck a. d. Mur approximately 2 hours before arrival in Vienna. The main Austrian train stations have information counters where the traveller can find all the help he needs regarding the train schedule and special discount information. For train connections you find the information on the homepage of the Austrian Federal Railways:
Aeroplane
Austrian Airlines, Tyrolean Airways and Lauda Air are the official carriers for our congress. They offer the most frequent flights to and from Austria. Please contact your nearest Austrian Airlines, Tyrolean Airways or Lauda Air office or travel agent where you will receive information on flights and fares. As participant of the“9th European Conference on Power Electronics and Applications,August 27th – 29th, 2001” you and one accompanying person will benefit from a favourable congress fare on Austrian Airlines, Tyrolean Airways and Lauda Air flights.*)
Please identify yourself as participant by presenting your registration and referring to:
CODE – EPE01. If your ticket is issued at a travel agency, please ask your agent to contact his Austrian Airlines, Tyrolean Airways or Lauda Air office.
*) excluding certain reduced and action fares.
Car
Car routes to Graz from the north and the west require the use of the Austrian highways. A special highway ticket is to be bought and is available at the border stations. The highway ticket valid 10 days costs ATS 105,-- (appr. EUR 8,--), and if you plan to stay longer you should buy the ticket for 2 months at ATS 300,-- (appr. EUR 22,--). It would be very expensive if police stops you on an Austrian highway and you do not have a highway ticket. As Graz is located in the south-east it is possible – but not recommended - to reach Graz from these directions on standard roads and not on highways. Spielfeld in the south and Heiligenkreuz in the east are the standard border stations.
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Public transport:
Tramway and bus from the GVB (Graz public transportation company) are – beside the taxi - the most favourable transport facilities in Graz for longer distances. The venue as well as a number of hotels are directly in the town centre, so many attendees will not need public transport at all, they can reach the venue in a foot walk in a few minutes. For attendees coming from the more distant hotels we recommend buying a week ticket for public transport at ATS 100,-- (appr. EUR 7,--). This ticket is valid 7 days starting with the first use. Please do not forget to put this ticket into the stamping machine in the tramway or the bus when you use it for the first time.
We recommend coming to the venue by using public transport (or taxi), and NOT your car. There are actually no public long term parking places around the venue, so please leave your car at the hotel.
Taxi
A taxi stand is at the north-east corner of the conference building, near the town hall. Several taxi stands are distributed all over the town.
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Hotel rooms in a wide variety of prices can be reserved via the Graz Tourism agency:
Graz Tourism
Kaiserfeldgasse 15
A-8010 Graz
Austria
Tel.: +43 / 316 / 8075 – 62
Fax: +43 / 316 / 8075 – 55
E-mail: gj@graztourismus.at
URL: http://www.graztourismus.at
A description of all the hotels you find in a link to Graz Tourism from the conference homepage. For your convenience, you can use the Hotel Reservation Form available from the conference homepage: http://epe2001@unileoben.ac.at
You are invited to give your choice for your favourite hotel when using the hotel reservation form. Rooms will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. We therefore strongly recommend you to register as early as possible. Reservations have been made for the conference period. If you would like to extend your reservation we will do our best to help you. Please note: The registration deadline for hotel reservations is 10 July 2001. After this date we are only able to confirm hotel accommodation on an availability basis. Please note that we cannot guarantee hotel accommodation after this deadline. In total, there are more than 3000 hotel beds available in Graz.
Reservations are to be guaranteed by a credit card. Please observe the cancellation terms you find on the reservation form.
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