Pörtschach Am Wörthersee

Pörtschach is one of the smaller towns on Lake Wörthersee, and that suits it. Unlike Klagenfurt at the eastern end, it has no heavy traffic or industry, just a compact centre, a few hotels and guesthouses, and a shoreline that is mostly open to the public. The main street runs parallel to the water, and from almost anywhere in town you can reach the promenade within a few minutes on foot.

The promenade is the town's best-known feature. It follows the shore past villas with wooden balconies, boathouses and landing stages, and it connects the public bathing areas with the peninsula in the middle of the village. On the peninsula stands the Schloss Leonstain complex, one of the landmarks that gave the town its postcard silhouette. Elsewhere along the way you will find the Pörtschacher Strandbad, a public swimming facility with a long lakefront and lawns, and the lido area, which is the place to be on hot July afternoons.

The lake itself shapes everything. Wörthersee is relatively shallow and sheltered, so its surface warms quickly in summer; swimming temperatures in the mid-twenties Celsius are common from June to August. Sailing, stand-up paddling, rowing and wakeboarding are all available from local operators, and the lake steamers and small passenger boats connect Pörtschach with other shore towns. Seebühne is the name given to the open-air stage on the waterfront, where summer concerts and theatre productions take place with the lake as a backdrop. The programme changes every year, so check the local calendar before planning around a particular event.

Culture here comes in a quieter register than in Salzburg or Vienna, but it is real. Brahms is the best-documented link: he stayed in Pörtschach in the summers of 1877, 1878 and 1879 and composed some of his best-loved works while looking at the lake. The town has marked this with a small memorial and occasional concerts. The parish church of St. John the Baptist, the Pfarrkirche Pörtschach, is a modest but pleasant stop, and the Burg Trautmannsdorff and other historic estates in the area add a layer of aristocratic history that explains why so many of the villas were built in the first place.

Food is Carinthian and lake-based: freshly caught whitefish and pike-perch from the Wörthersee on restaurant terraces, Kärntner Kasnudeln (cheese-filled dumplings) in traditional taverns, and a good coffee-and-cake culture that fits the villa setting. In late summer, the surrounding hills have wine taverns and farm shops that sell local produce.

The best months for swimming and water sports run from June through early September, with July and August the busiest and most expensive. May and late September are calmer, with lower prices and a lake that is cool but still pleasant on sunny days. Winter is quiet, as many seasonal businesses close, but the lakeside walk on a clear cold morning has its own appeal, and Klagenfurt and Villach are close enough for city trips.

Getting there is simple. Pörtschach has a railway station on the line between Klagenfurt and Villach, with regular regional services, and Klagenfurt airport is roughly a quarter of an hour away by road. A car helps if you want to reach the hills above the lake or the neighbouring towns of Velden and Maria Wörth, but many visitors do without one. The shoreline is flat enough for easy cycling, and the walk to Velden, along the lake and through woods, makes a satisfying half-day outing.