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Eight unmissable events in Austria in April 2024

Austria has a lot to offer this April. Here we list eight exciting happenings, including lively festivals, fairs, and sports events.

Eight unmissable events in Austria in April 2024
French surfers Sam Esteve (L) and Antoine Albert of New Caledonia (R) during Surf World cup 2019 at Lake Neusiedl. (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP)

April is almost here, the days are getting longer, and Austria is offering a lot of interesting events all over the country. You can enjoy everything from food festivals and surf openings to film festivals and sustainable fairs.

Wachau Gourmet Festival

The festival takes place from April 4th to 18th in the Wachau region of Lower Austria. The region is famous for its beautiful nature, cultural heritage, and wines. The festival celebrates the region’s culinary delicacies, bringing together famous chefs, winemakers, and foodies from all over the world.

During the event, you can enjoy organised dinners, food and wine tastings, and cooking demonstrations. The festival focuses on local ingredients and traditional Austrian cuisine while also using new ideas and concepts.

Every day offers a different event. You can view the program and reserve tickets to specific events here.

The church of Durnstein in the region of Wachau. (Photo by Alex HALADA / AFP)

Diagonale Film Festival

The festival is one of Austria’s most important film festivals, taking place at various venues in Graz from April 4th to 9th. It focuses on presenting and promoting Austrian cinema and is a must-visit for film enthusiasts.

The festival celebrates the diversity and creativity of Austrian cinema, presenting mainstream productions and independent works. Visitors can enjoy work from established and emerging Austrian filmmakers and choose from a wide range of feature films, documentaries, shorts, and experimental films. 

The festival program is diverse and includes screenings, Q&A sessions with filmmakers, panel discussions, workshops, and other special events. 

Check out the program and get your tickets here.

 
 
 
 
 
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READ MORE:  Austria’s 12 World Heritage sites you have to visit at least once

Krems Donaufestival

Every year, the Krems Donaufestival brings together music, performance, art, film, and discussions during a few intensive days. This year, the festival takes place from the 19th to the 21st of April and from the 26th to the 28th of April all over the city of Krems in Lower Austria.

The festival is famous for inspiring contemporary art and experimental ideas through sounds, films, exhibitions, and other performances. It explores how social and cultural changes affect creative practices. Each year has a theme like “Empathy” or “New Society,” and this year it is “Community of Aliens”.

You can enjoy up to 20 events daily with a ticket, and many art exhibitions in the city are for free. A one-day festival pass costs €45 and can be bought online.

Surf World Cup 2024

The Surf World Cup, also called the Surf Opening at Lake Neusiedl in Burgenland takes place from April 30th to May 5th and celebrates the start of the season for windsurfing and other water sports.

Lake Neusiedl is famous for its great wind conditions, making it a popular destination for windsurfers, kite surfers, and other water sports enthusiasts. The surf cup attracts people from all over Europe and beyond, including professional athletes, amateurs, and visitors.

During the opening, you can try out different water sports, watch windsurfing and kitesurfing competitions, freestyle demonstrations, equipment presentations, and enjoy workshops.

The event also offers live music, food stalls, and beach parties.

To enter the area during the day, a ticket is €15, and during the evening, when parties are organised, the entry is €20.

 
 
 
 
 
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Hallstättersee Rundlauf/Hallstatt Half Marathon

The Hallstättersee Rundlauf is an annual half marathon held around Lake Hallstatt in the Salzkammergut region.

This year, the event takes place on April 28th, and you can still sign up for the run online. If you do not want to run, you can also just go there and enjoy the energetic atmosphere and the beautiful surroundings.

The slightly more than 21-kilometer-long route takes you through breath-taking locations around the Salzkammergut, and runners of all levels tend to participate, from professionals to beginners.

An entry costs €35 and can be bought online.

READ ALSO: 6 great alternatives to Austria’s overcrowded tourists hotspots

Car-Free Wörthersee

One day every year, the region of Carinthia stops cars from driving around the beautiful lake Wörthersee to instead let people enjoy the roads on their bikes, skateboards, or by foot. This year, you can enjoy this special arrangement on April 28th from 10 am to 5 pm.

You need to bike 44 kilometres if you want to get around the whole lake, and during this time, you can do so without the company of cars.

This is a highly celebrated day in Carinthia, and you are likely to enjoy the car-free streets with hundreds of other happy bikers, skaters or walkers.

If you need a rest, many restaurants and coffee places are open along the route.

Photo by Adél Grőber on Unsplash

Electric Mountain Festival

From April 8th to April 12th in Sölden, at the top of Giggijoch Mountain, the Electric Mountain Festival takes place.

The Electric Mountain Festival offers world-class DJs playing electric music surrounded by amazing views. 

The festival ticket is included in the area’s ski pass, and if you do not want to go skiing, you can pay €70.10 for the festival, which also includes rides up and down the mountain in the gondola.

Buy your ski pass or festival ticket here.

 
 
 
 
 
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WeFair

WeFair is Austria’s largest sustainability fair and takes place in Vienna from April 12th to April 15th. It focuses on presenting new, sustainable, and modern lifestyles.

At the fair you can find everything you need for a sustainable and modern life, such as sustainable fashion, food, new innovations, and smart devices, all while knowing that everything is fair, ecological, and sustainable.

A standard ticket costs €7.50 and can be bought here.

READ NEXT: Eight unmissable events in Vienna in April 2024

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Will Austria’s Hallstatt restrict tourism this season?

One of Austria's most beautiful and crowded villages is looking for ways to curb overtourism. Here are the restrictions that could be coming - and those that won't be implemented - for those wanting to visit the Disney-like jewel.

Will Austria's Hallstatt restrict tourism this season?

The photo went all over the world: a makeshift wall was erected in Hallstatt’s top “selfie” spot, a raised section of the main road where people would squish together for the perfect photo overlooking the quaint church by the lake. 

The residents of the small Salzburg town decided to strike back against overtourism in the region—a hotspot due to its charming vibes, which are said to have inspired the Disney movie Frozen. After a social media backlash, the village—which is also a UNESCO heritage site—removed the fence, but signs remind visitors to enjoy the site quietly.

Since then, some of Hallstatt’s 750 residents have protested in favour of tourism curbs in the village – which gets as many as 10,000 visitors a day in high season. 

The Italian solution

One of the possibilities floated in Austria was to adopt the “Venetian model”, with every visitor simply having to buy an entrance ticket. However, Mayor Alexander Scheutz (SPÖ) said he was against an entrance fee for the jewel of the Salzkammergut.

“Charging an admission fee would lead to guests taking away even more rights, which would create even more of a museum aura,” said Scheutz. “There are also complicated legal aspects: How are we supposed to charge a penalty fee for guests from all over the world if they don’t have a ticket? The effort would simply be too great.”

However, the region is still looking for ways to curb overtourism. Governor Thomas Stelzer (ÖVP) recently went to Venice with a delegation to exchange ideas on the topic with the President of the Regional Council of Veneto, Roberto Ciambetti. 

READ ALSO: Four of the best hidden villages in Austria’s Salzkammergut region

What is Hallstatt doing?

Even if entry fees are not planned, the village wants to “guide and regulate” visitors and create guidelines for when the area is “full” and no more tourists are allowed. 

A working group has been set up, and the first step will be to introduce precise measurements of visitor flows – something that had yet to be done until the local tourism association started carrying out counts at several checkpoints just last year. The results of these counts have yet to be made available.

One thing that is already in place is time slots for coaches. Hallstatt has strictly limited time slots for coaches that determine how long they and their passengers can stay. “This is already working very well. In terms of overnight stays and day visitors, we are back to pre-pandemic levels—however, the number of coaches per day has halved, and we have not yet reached the maximum of 54 coaches per day,” said Mayor Scheutz.

READ ALSO: 6 great alternatives to Austria’s overcrowded tourists hotspots

Still, he admitted, Hallstatt’s busiest times are the summer months and around Christmas, so things are about to pick up there. So far, there have been no particular restrictions or extra payments for tourists travelling without bus companies.

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