Austria is world-renowned for its excellent Alpine winter sports facilities, particularly skiing, but also snowboarding, tobogganing, skating, curling and other winter sports. On the many rivers and lakes there are excellent facilities for water-sports such as sailing and canoeing, while hiking, cycling and of course mountaineering are very popular in the Alps.

More generally, all types of sports are popular in Austria and are generally well organised, with high quality facilities in virtually every town. Most have a football club, volleyball and basketball teams and athletics clubs, and include indoor and outdoor swimming pools and well-equipped gyms.

Austria is world-renowned for its musical heritage, and there are opportunities to enjoy a wide range of musical performances including classical and folk music concerts, opera, jazz and popular music. Vienna is the centre of entertainment and culture, and has numerous concert halls, theatres, museums nightclubs and cinemas. Many traditional balls are still held here, such as the annual Johann Strauss Ball in the elegant setting of the Hofburg Palace. Salzburg, the home of Mozart, is famed for is classical music concerts, particularly during the world famous Salzburg Festspiele in July/August.

There are many other festivals throughout the year in Austria including the Shrovetide Carnival in February, the Wiener Festwochen arts festival in May/June, and the Midsummer Night's celebrations with their many bonfires and fireworks on 21 June.