After three or four hours in Graz I was left feeling pretty underwhelmed, however by the time I left 24 hours later I viewed it as a city I would happily pack my bags and move to permanently. It was quite a transformation, and made me feel really happy that I decided to end my little trans-European jaunt with a night in Austria’s second city, rather than just visit for a few hours as a trip from Vienna.

My initial reservations stemmed mostly from the grubby walk from the station to the city centre and the fact that as it was Sunday pretty much every shop was closed. It seemed like a pleasant enough city but nothing to get too excited about.

However as I climbed up the hill things really started to get better. The wonderful double spiral staircase tucked away in the Burg really lifted my spirits. The higher up the hill I got the happier I became, it was a mix of putting in a little bit of physical effort with some nice sites and increasingly impressive modern architecture. I really enjoyed having a beer in the modernist bar atop the Schloßberg and watching the sunset over the Alpine foothills in the distance.

My evening meal provided further reasons to be merry, Styrian cuisine proved to be exceptionally tasty perhaps thanks to the healthy glugs of pumpkin seed oil that are used in it, and the locals wines were very much to my liking (a personal recommendation is der Steirer, although Mangolds opposite also looked like it served up some tasty vegetarian options). My post dinner stroll enabled me to see some of Graz's latest additions magnificently lit up at night. The Kunsthaus was flickering with LEDs, the quirky Murinsel glowed fluorescent blue, but perhaps the most impressive was the post-industrial haze surrounding the lift shaft inside the heart Schloßberg. By this stage Graz had really won me over.

The next day the sun was shining and the shops were open bringing much more life to the city. I seemed to wander from highlight to highlight, having a great trip on the funicular train before nipping out to Schloß Eggenburg and seeing the new de-constructivist swimming centre. One of my favourite parts came as a real surprise to me; I popped into the K&O department store and found that it had recently been refurbished. The highlight was the great extension on the top floor that provided another wonderful café and a great roof top terrace offering delightful views of the city centre.

So after my initial misgivings Graz ended up being a bit of a revelation, providing a great historic centre, magnificent contemporary architecture, excellent cuisine and even an easily reachable airport serviced by budget airlines. Graz is top of the list of European cities I would happily move to.

[Site 7: Experience 8]