Fabulous. A holiday in the family hiking paradise.

In the Lieser- und Maltatal valley, set in a fabulous location between the Nationalpark Hohe Tauern Nature Reserve and the Nockberge Biosphere Park, relaxation becomes an outside experience for the whole family.

A REGION with recreation, fun and excitement, as far as the eye can see or as far as you want to go in one of the most beautiful family hiking areas. And because the landscape looks like a picture book, the whole region has become a specialist in looking after really young guests: Here everything is tuned to the family, where grandparents belong just as much as a large “patchwork” family. For this reason there are all sorts of entertainment here for little people and at the same time pure relaxation for grown-ups – thanks to the loving baby- and childcare in many hotels. The surroundings are a real paradise for children: The Fallbach Water Experience Park offers fun underneath Carinthia’s highest waterfall, the Fallbach. The Maltatal Donkey Park with over 100 different animals, where direct contact is possible with almost all the animals, as well as the Trebesing Energy Adventure Trail, a story of energy for young and old. But medieval Gmünd, the Artists’ Town itself is an enchanting synthesis of the arts, with its galleries, creative arts areas, workshops and numerous exhibitions by famous artists.

And above all there is something for the whole family, every single member of it: Granny and Grandpa can go walking, Dad can have a go at the via ferrata and Mum can spoil herself with a massage, whilst the children go on a tour of discovery with the childminders. 

Gmünd, the Artists’ Town

Gmünd in Carinthia, one of the liveliest and most versatile small towns in Austria, has successfully invested in art and culture for 30 years. Exhibitions, museums, artists’ studios, galleries, craft workshops and sculpture gardens invite one to stroll round the town’s charming medieval lanes and squares.

Gmünd Stadtturm Gallery:
As one of the most important exhibition centres in the south of Austria, the Stadtturmgalerie Gmünd 2021, with its PABLO PICASSO exhibition, is putting on a representative selection of lithographs, etchings and coloured linocuts by Pablo Picasso, the artist who has made an impact like no other on 20th century art. The exhibition in Gmünd is intended to make people aware of the artistic importance of graphic work in the artist’s total output.

Exhibition opening on 30 April 2021 at 19.00 hrs. The exhibition can be visited from 1 May to September 2021, daily from 10.00 to 13.00 and 14.00 to 18.00 hrs.

Pankratiumgmünd – the House of Amazement – leaves nobody unmoved with its fascinating sound machines and the sound art garden, and has also arranged some surprises on the theme of “Seeing & Believing”. During an interactive journey through a world full of visual-acoustic wonder one is immersed in a universe of sensory awareness.

Opening at the beginning of May and then open daily until October.

In the Summer Academy with its workshops, courses and seminars anyone can dip into the various forms of art, and learn something new. From the Mosaic Seminar, via the Photo Workshop to the Children’s Painting Days, at which young people work creatively with paint and brush at large easels.

Active outdoors

When Canyoning in the Malta Valley one comes into intensive contact with water. Slip into a tight-fitting wetsuit and straight into the chilly wetness of the Göss Falls. Safety tips are on offer from Michael Koller (Alpinsport Koller) – waterfalls, pools and canyons await all adventure seekers. One can experience these special natural features as one indulges in 12m jumps, Night Canyoning or one’s own Children’s Canyoning.

Four Via Ferrata and some individual crags with climbing routes at degrees of difficulty from 5 to 10 are available in the region for friends of granite and gneiss climbing. Nothing leads one as quickly and easily into the utterly unfamiliar, breath-taking exposure of a vertical rock face like the steel rope of the Fallbach via ferrata, accompanied by the ever-present rainbow along Carinthia’s highest waterfall. A fun introduction to heights is available for children from 6 years old with Taster Climbing.

Of Connoisseurs and Culture Gourmets

A successful recipe is grounded in a love of Nature. It is there in people’s hearts and is mirrored in their menus – in the choice of products and their variety: dumplings and doughnuts, fish and meat, fungi and polenta. Carinthian cuisine owes its charm to the refined combination of almost forgotten local expertise and  culinary delights from across the world.