← Linz Donau Marathon·1 night

Steyr: One Night in a Gothic Square on Two Rivers

A short train ride south to a town where the Steyr and Enns rivers meet, with a Gothic main square, a Baroque castle and nothing that needs a lot of walking.

Duration1 night
TransitTrain from Linz Hauptbahnhof to Steyr, about 51 minutes
DepartsLinz Hauptbahnhof

After the Linz Donau Marathon: Steyr

The Route: Linz → Steyr → Linz (or onward) Logistics: Train from Linz Hauptbahnhof to Steyr, about 51 minutes according to journey planners, roughly every 30 minutes. Check the ÖBB timetable for the day. Marathon Month: April Duration: 1 night

Linz Hbf ──(train, about 51 mins)──> Steyr station ──(walk or taxi)──> Stadtplatz
   ▲                                                                       │
   └─────────────────────(train back, or onward by rail)───────────────────┘

Steyr has about 38,000 people, and the change of scale from Linz is felt within ten minutes of stepping off the train. The old town sits on a tongue of land where the Enns and the Steyr rivers meet, under a castle that looks across the water at the church of St Michael. It is a small place, and that suits a Monday on tired legs.

April in Steyr: expect the same cool spring weather as Linz, with a chance of rain at any hour. Wear shoes you can walk in for an hour on hard ground.

Getting there

Take a regional train from Linz Hauptbahnhof to Steyr. Journey planners show about 51 minutes with a service about every half hour. Check the Monday timetable at oebb.at. The old town is a short walk or taxi ride from the station, so ask your hotel about the best route with a suitcase.

Night one: Steyr

Choose one hotel. The DORMERO MaHo Steyr stands at Stadtplatz 36, directly on the main square, with breakfast included in its listed room rates. The Stadthotel Styria is a short step from the church of St Mary and about 100 m from the square, and serves a paid buffet breakfast from 06:30 to 10:00. Check availability and times for your dates.

The Stadtplatz is the best-preserved thing in town, a long sloping square where Gothic houses stand beside Renaissance and Baroque neighbours. At number 32 the Bummerlhaus is the town's emblem, one of the best-preserved Gothic civic buildings in the country, with parts dating from the 13th century. Walk the square from top to bottom, which takes about ten minutes without stopping.

Schloss Lamberg stands above the old town and took its present Baroque form after the town fire of 1727. The viewpoint is one of the standard photographs of Steyr, and the walk up is short, though not flat. If your legs have no stairs left, look at it from the square.

The Museum Arbeitswelt at Wehrgrabengasse 7 is a labour museum in two 19th-century factory buildings, with changing exhibitions. It is closed to individual visitors on Mondays and Tuesdays, so it does not suit a Monday night. It opens Wednesday to Friday from 9:00 to 17:00 and at weekends from 10:00 to 17:00, with an adult ticket at about €10. Check the current schedule before you plan around it.

Where to eat

Restaurants around the Stadtplatz vary in their opening days. Ask your hotel to recommend one that is open on your evening, and book. A walk on the riverbank before dinner will help your legs more than a second coffee.

Getting home

Trains back to Linz run about every 30 minutes. From Linz Hauptbahnhof, bus 601 reaches Linz Airport in about 22 minutes. Check both timetables the evening before you travel.