A Slow Travel Guide to Graz, Austria
Graz is an ideal slow travel getaway - filled with interesting, locally owned restaurants and cafes, lush parks and gardens and plenty of art and design museums to enjoy. This Slow Travel Guide to Graz is to help you find the best experiences and highlights on your trip to Graz.
The wonderful thing about Austria's second-largest city, is that so many of their environmental initiatives, and culinary approach to savouring locally sourced food is baked into the Styrian mindset.
You really don't have to try too hard to have a sustainable holiday that supports the local economy, environment and culture, so here's the inside word to ensure it.
How to Get Around Town
We travelled via rail, as always, to get to Graz from Vienna, you can check my full guide on how to travel between Vienna and Graz here.
Once there, we were able to easily navigate the city by foot, or using public transport and the free shuttle services offered by the city of Graz.
Your best bet is to download the 'Graz Mobil' app to your phone, where you can easily find the correct routes for getting between locations, and purchase your tickets for public transport. We were even able to route ourselves to the swim spots just outside the city using the app, it's very straightforward to navigate.
The 72 Hour City ticket is the best value for a weekend trip, it covers all your public transport needs and includes the price of the Schlossberg lift and funicular, which you are definitely going to want to ride on your visit. Currently just €12,90 it’s the best value option to navigate the city.
To get a feeling for the city, strolling by foot is a lovely way to explore, and the town is compact enough that you can cross from the transport hub of Jakominiplatz in the South, to the oh-so-cool Lend district of the North in 20 minutes by foot. The walk will take you right through the heart of old town as a bonus!
Slow Travel Experiences
Slow Travel is all about taking your time to experience your destination, enjoying the atmosphere and connecting with locals respectfully. (Need a refresher on what the hell Slow Travel is? Check this post!)
Graz makes slow travelling easy....the multiple farmers markets beckon for you to stroll, with plenty of flowers, cheese, and produce to try. Residents normally get up early to collect their daily shop, but linger over drinks afterwards at one of the small wine stands the speckle the market squares. Try your hand at some German to get chatting over an Apfelsaftgespritz (soda water and apple juice) or local white wine speciality.
Cafes and restaurants spill over into open courtyards for sitting back and relaxing, as you watch the world go by.
Order yourself a coffee, perch upon a small tisch, and look across the main square or into one of the many hidden cobbled courtyards to see the locals breezily go about their day.
Notice the languid pace of their walks, the way a grand dame in her stately pearls will stop to chat with her neighbour, the young family with a tearaway puppy nipping at their heels.
Graz is renowned for its 'Mediterranean vibe' and sitting in a cool courtyard with an espresso in hand is one of the best ways to immerse in it!
Cycling the city is another option to explore and get a feel for the city, while sneaking in some excercise.
Graz has plentiful cycling paths that are clearly marked, with some leading out to main tourist sites like Schloss Eggenburg. You can rent a bike from the local Fahrrad verleih, with locations for pickup at Hauptbahnhof main train station and 4 other convenient spots around the city. A weekend long rental is just €24 per bike.
The Graz tourism office will be happy to help you with cycling path maps, but you can also follow your nose and the clearly marked bike paths used by locals to explore around the city.
The region surrounding Graz is lovely to explore by bike with plenty of marked paths that are mostly flat, some beside the water, just awaiting leisurely rides.
Where to Enjoy Slow Food in Graz
A big part of getting up close to the destination is tasting its cuisine.
In Graz, your are spoilt for choice with foodie options aplenty, from the farmers markets to fancy restaurants and everything in between. There are a wealth of places to enjoy, but these restaurants stood out on our trip as something special, embracing regional ingredients and welcoming atmosphere.
Der Steier
Our highlight of our recent trip - this is exactly the kind of casual but extraordinary fine dining Stefan and I love. Der Steirer is a wine bar, restaurant, cafe and store in one, with tapas menu options for any level of hunger.
It's perfect for tasting a variety of Styrian specialty dishes without overindulging. The staff are friendly and very helpful in suggesting wine accompaniments with your meal, from their extensive selection - which you can also purchase as take home bottles!
They focus on regional ingredients and suppliers, and the quality of goods on display proved they take food very seriously. Pumpkin seed oils from nearby farmers, chocolate from local makers Zotter and wine from the heart of Styria.
The restaurant itself is a cosy comfortable setup, perfect for date nights and family dinners alike, with casual communal tables and seating by the bar, and intimate window seats for something more discreet.
An absolute must-visit to try their selection of seasonal tapas and Styrian hallmark dishes.
Mohrenwirt
A relatively new restaurant offerring top-notch local food, from classics like pork knuckle and ribs, to a modern interpretation on Kaiserschmarrn dessert, made in the style of Salzburger knockerl.
Committed to using organic ingredients sourced only from regional suppliers and upholding the 'Wirsthaus' (Innkeeping) tradition, its another comfortably simple location that excels in their foodie execution.
They blend traditional Styrian dishes and creative interpretations seamlessly, meaning you can go safe and order breaded chicken and find it extraordinary, or try something wild like beef shoulder with polenta, depending on the season.
The team here are more than happy to chat about the origins of their dishes, and suggest some local gin combinations to accompany your night out.
An excellent locals favourite in the heart of the hipster Lend district.
Local Bakeries
An easy and accessible option to snack the way they do in Styria is to drop into one of the local beloved bakeries that are scattered across town. With fluffy pastries and sweet cakes in abundance, you can get yourself a midday sugar rush and try the beloved creamy Topfengulatsche for yourself.
There are multiple major bakery chains in Graz - the best of which is Martin Auer. You'll spot their iconic branding throughout the city - just try to resist popping in for a treat on your travels.
Aiola Dining
For a high-end local eating option, the Aiola restaurants are a superb way to taste the flavours of Styria in a serene setting.
The Aiola im Schloss is a beautiful way to combine a lovely night out with some sightseeing as the grounds and courtyard of the Schloss are gorgeous year round.
Slow Travel Stores & Souvenirs
If shopping and supporting local businesses is your slow travel jam, then Graz has plenty on offer to try, taste and buy! From second hand and handmade clothing, to regional foodie treats and low-waste items and accessories you can very easily find the perfect gift or souveneir.
To be honest, I love buying either clothes or items I will use regularly back home when I travel. As every time you wear that skirt, or use the cheeseboard from your holiday, its a lovely little reminder of your trip.
These are just a handful of suggestions for where to visit for a unique item from your time in Graz.
Das Gramm
An icon in the sustainable scene of Austria, Das Gramm is a cosy cafe and store in one that supports bulk buying and package free items.
You can BYO glass jars or containers and pickup fruit and nut mixes, chocolate coated dried fruits and for something truly Styrian - the beloved Kürbiskern pumpkin seeds to nibble on.
On our most recent weekend, I picked up a handful of items here, including an eco brotbox that I'd had my eye on for months and some snacky trail mixes for the train ride home.
The team here are super friendly and there are plenty of practical zero-waste items and regional foodie snacks to enjoy. Mostly though, its worth visiting to see the heart of Graz's thriving zero-waste and sustainable initiatives and energy.
Zerum Lifestyle
This place is an absolute honeytrap for lovers of fair fashion, accessories, and locally made jewellery and fashion.
I spent waaaayyy too long in here browsing, trying on t-shirts, skirts, ogling cute glass water battles and trying to decide on which earrings I could get away with purchasing. It's lovingly put together for items to highlight local brands, and has practical bits and pieces - like beeswax foodwrap - alongside super cute to-go cups and socks.
Take your time enjoying the space and you will find your perfect little hipsterish and special gift - for yourself or someone back home!
Offline Retail
A little deeper into the Lend district, Offline Retail has a really incredible selection of curated second hand clothing, crockery and adorable bits and pieces for the home.
What caught my eye here immediately were the stunning traditional Dirndl and Trachten outfits available. These traditional outfits that you see at village festivals, Oktoberfest, and official ceremonies like weddings and christenings in Austria can be super expensive but are gorgeously made to last. Here in Offline Retail you can choose from a selection of second-hand Dirndl that are all in excellent condition and allow you to help in 'upcycling' the clothing. There were plenty of varied sizes and lovely colours to suit different tastes or events.
What's more, in shopping at Offline Retail, you're supporting a community initiative to re-employ people with addictions and the long term unemployed. The 'Offline Project' is an initiative setup by Caritas to support folk in need to re-enter the workforce. They take on varioius roles preparing the clothing and items in Offline Workshops - cleaning, sanding, ironing and supporting the retail business.
Here you could also pickup some hand-made clothing, created in the sewing workshops, or quirky home accessories like bird feeders, lamps, dainty tea sets and furniture.
Definitely a one-off location for special handmade clothing.
‘s Fachl
This place is very central in Graz and I'm going to be honest - very dangerous, in the best kind of way!
I was lost here for more than half an hour, browsing the huge selection of pumpkin seed oils, wines, chocolates, handicrafts and so much more.
The concept of 's Fachl is that small, artisanal creators can 'rent' a box on the store shelves and fill it with their product, cutting out the overhead and middleman headaches that small producers often face in distribution and opening a store. In this way, the 's Fachl store offers a wide range of genuinely local, small brands and burgeoning artists to help them reach more customers.
This is well beyond your average souvenir tat shop. This is where you can come to get delicious, small label cheese, meats, wine, jams and coffee.
There's also some great hand made jewellery, crafts, home decor and design bits and pieces if you want something more decorative and long lasting for at home.
We nabbed some award-winning pumpkin seed oil, pretty face masks and spotted my favourite balsamic vinegar from Gölles on the shelves here too.
If you want a take home slice of Styrian foodie ingredients, this is the treasure trove to come to and try to recreate the flavours at home for yourself.
With so many slow travel options, you can stretch a weekender in Graz to last as long as you wish. Most of all though, you can savour the languorous pace, friendly locals and inimitable atmosphere of this very special city.