Where Renaissance Meets the Friendly Alien
Graz is Austria's second city but arguably its first in charm — a UNESCO World Heritage old town where Renaissance courtyards hide behind Baroque facades, a floating steel island sits in the river, and a clock tower has told time backwards for three centuries. Capital of Styria and European Capital of Culture in 2003, Graz refuses to choose between tradition and the avant-garde. Its name derives from the Slavic word gradec (small castle), and its hilltop fortress was so impenetrable that even Napoleon could not take it by force.
"Graz is a city that grows on you slowly, then suddenly you realise you never want to leave." — A sentiment since 1128