A Short Walk Along the Sights of Graz

February 15, 2022April 11, 2023 Koen 0 Comments

In this guide we take a walk through the old town and visit some of the main sights of Graz, the capital of the Austrian state of Styria.

Graz stopover

After a comfortable journey on the Nightjet sleeper train, I found myself on a Sunday morning at the rather empty railway station of Graz.

As it was only 7am and my connecting train to Slovenia would not depart until 10.39am, I had a good three-and-a-half hours to walk around Graz, a city which I never managed to visit before.

Sure, for a historic city such as Graz – the state capital of Styria – it’s certainly not enough time for a proper visit.

However, even a morning in town is better than nothing and if my first impressions were good I could always come back another time and stay around longer.

nightjet review night sleeper train austria — *My Nightjet train arrived spot on time in Graz in the early morning. ©Paliparan*

graz hbf — *Graz Hauptbahnhof (Graz Hbf) is the main station of the city. ©Paliparan*

City centre

Having around 330,000 inhabitants, Graz is Austria’s second-largest city.

Although Graz certainly has a sizeable old town and packs in quite some sights, everything is very much walkable if you just remain in the city centre.

From the main railway station it takes around 30 minutes on foot or a few stops by tram to reach the city centre.

On the Sunday morning when I was visiting, there was hardly anyone around on the streets so I had more or less the entire city to myself.

annenstrasse graz — *Walking towards the city centre. ©Paliparan*

empty streets — *The city felt completely deserted at 7am on Sunday. ©Paliparan*

city river creek — *Crossing a small river on my way to the city centre. ©Paliparan*

*The baroque Barmherzigenkirche (Church of Mercy). ©Paliparan*

graz walk — *It’s a rather pleasant walk from the train station to the city centre of Graz. ©Paliparan*

The banks of the River Mur

The River Mur streams right through the city centre of Graz and a couple of important sights are located on the riverbanks.

From the banks of the river you have a great view over the Schloßberg (Castle Hill) on which a hilltop fort and clock tower is located.

On the west bank of the river you can find the Kunsthaus (Art House), a modern art museum with a rather unusual architectural design.

hilltop castle graz mur — *From the banks of the River Mur you have a great view of the hilltop castle and clock tower. ©Paliparan*

love locks mur river — *Love locks on the bridge over the River Mur. ©Paliparan*

church graz Franziskanerkirche — *The Franziskanerkirche (Franciscan Church) is located right across the bridge over the River Mur. ©Paliparan*

kunsthaus modern art museum graz — *The Kunsthaus, a modern art museum in Graz. ©Paliparan*

Old town of Graz

The most appealing part of Graz is the Altstadt (German for ‘old town’, referring to the historical city centre).

The old town centre of Graz is one of the best preserved in all of central Europe and has even been placed by UNESCO on the World Heritage List.

The heart of the old town is the Hauptplatz (German for main square) on which you can find the ornate City Hall and a fountain with statue of Archduke John of Austria.

It makes for a beautiful area to walk around as there are lots of picturesque streets and alleys in the vicinity.

graz altstadt — *Walking into the Altstadt (old town) of Graz. ©Paliparan*

building old town — *Elaborate building decorations in the old town. ©Paliparan*

graz old town street — *Old town streets of Graz. ©Paliparan*

main square graz — *The Hauptplatz (Main Square) of Graz. ©Paliparan*

graz city hall — *Fountain and statue of Archduke John of Austria with behind it the Graz City Hall. ©Paliparan*

*Street and tram tracks next to the city hall. ©Paliparan*

old town altstadt graz — *Street in the old town of Graz. ©Paliparan*

Old town churches

There are two important churches in the old town of Graz which are well worth a look.

The most important one is the Saint Giles Church. Built in Gothic style in the 15th Century, this Cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Styria (Diocese of Graz-Seckau).

Right next to the Gothic Cathedral stands the baroque Katharinenkirche (Saint Catherine’s Church), which makes for an interesting contrast.

In a dedicated part of the Saint Catherine’s Church you can find the Mausoleum of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II, who was born in the city of Graz.

graz cathedral — *The Cathedral of Graz. ©Paliparan*

st catherine's church graz mausoleum ferdinand II — *Saint Catherine’s Church and the Mausoleum of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II. ©Paliparan*

Up on the hill

As I still had plenty of time and energy left, I decided to climb up the Castle Hill towards the Clock Tower.

On my way up I passed along the Freiheitsplatz (Freedom Square) with its statue of Holy Roman Emperor Francis II and the Karmeliterplatz (Carmelite Square) with its Trinity Column.

If you are not in the mood to climb up, there is also a funicular (Schlossbergbahn) as well as an elevator (Schlossberg lift) built into the rock which can take you to the top of Castle Hill.

freiheitsplatz graz — *Freiheitsplatz (Freedom Square) features a statue of Francis II, the last Holy Roman Emperor. ©Paliparan*

karmeliterplatz graz trinity column — *Karmeliterplatz (Carmelite Square) with its Trinity Column. ©Paliparan*

hill view — *View over Graz and the surrounding area during my walk up the hill. ©Paliparan*

Clock Tower

Halfway up Castle Hill you can find what is arguably the most famous landmark of Graz: The city’s iconic Clock Tower (Uhrturm).

From the Clock Tower and the surrounding casemates you have some sweeping views over the old town of Graz at the foot of the hill as well as the city suburbs further beyond.

graz uhrturm — *The beautiful Clock Tower (Uhrturm) is the most famous sight of Graz and is the symbol of the city. ©Paliparan*

graz clock tower — *The Clock Tower of Graz. ©Paliparan*

clock tower — *The impressive Clock Tower. ©Paliparan*

graz view — *From the casemates below the clock tower you have an excellent view over the old town of Graz. ©Paliparan*

casemates view — *Panoramic view over Graz from the casemates on Castle Hill. ©Paliparan*

Back down again

Although it was tempting to climb further up on Castle Hill and visit some more sights, I slowly had to turn back again to the railway station of Graz as I didn’t want to risk missing my train.

I took the stairs down the hill towards the Schlossbergplatz (Castle Hill Square), another small but picturesque square in the old town of Graz.

Schlossbergplatz graz — *Schlossbergplatz as seen from above. ©Paliparan*

Murinsel

On my way back towards the train station there were however some other iconic sights of Graz which I passed by.

One of the most striking one is the Murinsel (‘Mur Island’), a floating glass structure in the middle of the River Mur which is connected to the banks by a pedestrian bridge.

mariahilferkirche graz — *The Mariahilfer Church. ©Paliparan*

walk city — *The walk back towards the train station as equally lovely. ©Paliparan*

volksgarten graz — *On my way back, I opted for a different route through the Volksgarten (Public Garden) park. ©Paliparan*

church park — *Walking back to the train station through quiet parks and neighbourhoods. ©Paliparan*

Graz Hbf

The walk back to the main railway station of Graz Hauptbahnhof (Hbf) went faster than I thought.

Still having some time to spare before the departure of my train into neighbouring Slovenia, I spent some time drinking coffee and watching some interesting train departures from the modern station.

These included the ‘Transalpin’ EuroCity train which links Graz with Zurich, as well as a Railjet operated by the Czech Railways which links Graz with Vienna and Prague.

However, my upcoming train would certainly be as interesting as these two!