Linz has pulled off one of Europe’s most convincing urban reinventions. Once known primarily for its steel industry, Austria’s third city rebranded itself around digital art and culture — winning the UNESCO City of Media Arts designation and building institutions that draw visitors who might otherwise pass through on the way to Vienna or Salzburg.
The Ars Electronica Center — the Museum of the Future — explores the intersection of art, technology, and society in an illuminated glass building on the Danube’s north bank. Across the river, the Lentos Art Museum glows at night in shifting colors, housing a collection that spans Klimt to contemporary video art. The Hauptplatz is one of Austria’s largest town squares, anchored by the Baroque Alte Dom and surrounded by cafés where the Linzer Torte — the world’s oldest named cake, a lattice-topped almond and redcurrant creation — is served with the reverence it deserves. The Pöstlingberg hill above the city offers pilgrimage church views and a narrow-gauge railway that has been climbing the slope since 1898.
When to go: May through September for Danube cycling and outdoor festivals. The Ars Electronica Festival in September is a global highlight.