| Graz with a population of 287,723 as of 2006 (of which 250,099 have principal residence status), is the second-largest city in Austria after Vienna and the capital of the federal state of Styria (Steiermark in German).
Graz has a long tradition as a student city: its six universities have over 40,000 students. Graz's "Old Town" is one of the best-preserved city centers in Central Europe. In 1999, it was added to the UNESCO list of World Cultural Heritage Sites. Graz was sole Cultural Capital of Europe for 2003.
The city is situated on the Mur river, in the south east of Austria. It is approximately 120 miles southwest of Vienna or 2.5 hours by train / 2 hours by car. The nearest larger urban center is Maribor in Slovenia which is about 30 miles away. Graz is the capital and largest city in Styria, a green and heavily forested area.
Due to its position south east of the Alps, Graz is shielded from the prevailing westerly winds that bring weather fronts in from the North Atlantic to north western and central Europe. Due to this factor the weather in Graz is Mediterranean influenced. Graz therefore has more hours of sunshine per year than Vienna or Salzburg and also less wind or rain. Graz lies in a basin that only opens to the south, causing the climate to be warmer than would be expected at that latitude. Plants are found in Graz that normally grow much further south. However, this milder, less windy climate is detrimental to the air quality in Graz as it makes the city prone to smog in winter. The exhaust fumes of the around 120,000 cars driven into Graz every weekday by people living in the surrounding areas, together with the car journeys made by the inhabitants of Graz itself, are the most significant source of air pollution.
An extensive public transportation network makes Graz an easy city to navigate without a car. The city has a comprehensive bus network, complementing a tram network consisting of eight lines, two of which run from the main train station (Hauptbahnhof) to the old town before branching out. One-hour or 24-hour tickets can be bought on all modes of transport for €1.70 and €3.70 respectively, while long-term tickets (e.g. weekly, monthly or yearly) must be bought in the Hauptbahnhof or on Jakominiplatz. Tickets are valid on trams, buses, the Schloßberg funicular railway and on suburban rail services within zone 101 (which includes the airport). Furthermore there are seven nightbus routes, although these operate only at weekends and on evenings preceding public holidays.
From the main train station (Hauptbahnhof), you can take regional trains to most of Styria. Direct trains also run to most major cities nearby including Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Maribor and Ljubljana in Slovenia, Zagreb in Croatia, Prague in the Czech Republic, Budapest in Hungary and Zurich in Switzerland. Trains for Vienna leave every hour.
Graz Airport is about 10 kilometres south of the city centre and has a railway station within walking distance (east of the airport). The non charter flight international destinations from Graz are Berlin, Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt/Main, London, Munich, Stuttgart, Zurich, Girona/Barcelona (from 8/11/2007) and Oslo.
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