Lower Austria in white: highlights in January

Elegant at a New Year’s concert, bundled up at a nature park, athletic on the slopes, relaxed in a wine cellar: The top events in January.

Despite the cold, there are events in January guaranteed to warm up your heart, from the New Year’s concerts of the Tonkünstler or a moonlit hike on snowshoes to trying out skiing for the first time or soaring in a hot-air balloon over Alpine peaks!

Winter takes command in Lower Austria in January, which can mean magnificent outdoor experiences between the snow-covered ground and the deep blue sky. The Lower Austrian nature parks offer unique kinds of guided winter hikes – with snowshoes, with llamas or to watch the game being fed. The Donau-Auen National Park, for its part, has excursions for exploring life behind hibernation.

Moonlit hikes and balloon rides

Stomping through snow set aglitter by the bright moonlight under a sky filled with stars: Guided snowshoe hikes through the sparkling white countryside are carried out on a regular basis on full moon nights in the Mostviertel, for instance in St. Aegyd am Neuwalde or Lunzer See. And the Mostviertel is also the place to go if you want to view winter from high up in the sky: Alpine balloon rides are available here from December through February.

Getting a first-time taste of winter sports

In terms of sports, January is naturally when people hit the downhill runs and cross country skiing trails. There are special taste-of-skiing getaways for downhill or Nordic that teach the basics to novices and people returning to skiing after being away for a while. Ambitious skiers can test their own racing talent during regular slalom practices on Semmering.

Listening pleasure

For many years now, the Tonkünstler Orchestra has been bringing in the New Year with a colorful bouquet of beautiful melodies. The first of the New Year’s concerts is at Festspielhaus St. Pölten, then the orchestra takes off on a tour throughout January with a different Lower Austrian venue almost every day.