Posted on March 30, 2010 by Fiona Hilliard

While the rest of Austria snoozes by the fire in its easy chair, it looks as if the city of Linz has snook out the bedroom window in search of a bit of fun and excitement.

Linz doesn’t have the elegant architecture or high-brow cultural flair of Salzburg or Vienna, but what this vibrant student hub does offer is a sort of funky edginess, and that’s a rare find when touring Austria.

Linz hasn’t always been this hip, happening place. The Linz that greets visitors today is a world away from the gloomy industrial estate of twenty years ago. Back then, chimneystacks provided the architectural highlights, while cutting-edge art was an alien concept completely.

Linz was a very different place indeed. It wasn’t so much artfully dishevelled as just plain dishevelled. These days, the city is still reaping the benefits of being named European Capital of Culture 2009.  Tourism is on the up and Linz’s social diary is bursting with cool avante garde festivals and events including the International Festival for Electronic Art and the “Klangwolke” (sound-cloud), a massive music and light show that is held every September.

Modern glass-walled buildings such as Lentos and the Ars Electonica Center have replaced industrial eyesores and there’s a sense that you’re experiencing a real and current Austria, as opposed to the fairytale imagery of Salzburg’s palaces and theatres.

If however you do crave some happy-ever-after sights, you can make your way to Vienna quite easily from Linz.  The distance is just 154km when travelling with Linz car hire. The journey takes around 1.5 hours altogether. If you’re fortunate to be a passenger, that’s just enough time to sleep off last night’s hectic shenanigans in Linz.