What to Wear in Austria in Summer: City and Mountain

Austria in summer needs two wardrobes in one suitcase: light, breathable clothes for city and valley days, and warm layers for Alpine evenings and anywhere higher than a valley floor, because temperature in Austria depends heavily on altitude rather than just the season. This list comes from an eight-day road trip through Austria that combined city tripping with hiking, done once in June, when it was warm and dry, and again in July through Vorarlberg, when it was noticeably cooler and wetter.

How Warm Is Austria in Summer?

Austria’s summer temperature splits clearly by elevation, and the gap between a city and a mountain can be 15 to 20°C (27 to 36°F) on the same day. Vienna, at 170m (558 ft), averages 21.0°C (70°F) in June, 23.0°C (73°F) in July and 22.8°C (73°F) in August, based on 1991 to 2020 climate normals from Austria’s Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG). Innsbruck, an Alpine valley city at 574m (1,883 ft), runs a similar daytime high (24.0 to 24.7°C, or 75 to 77°F) but a noticeably cooler night (12.0 to 13.1°C, or 54 to 56°F), per NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information.

Go higher and summer stops feeling like summer. At Hoher Sonnblick, a ZAMG-operated observatory at 3,106m (10,190 ft) in the Austrian Central Alps, the July mean daily maximum is only 5.6°C (42°F) and the mean daily minimum is 0.5°C (33°F), based on 1981 to 2010 normals. That is not a typo: at the height of summer, an Alpine summit in Austria sits close to freezing overnight. The reason is the environmental lapse rate, the roughly 6.5°C (11.7°F) drop in air temperature for every 1,000 metres (3,281 ft) of elevation gained, a constant meteorologists use worldwide. A cable car or a hiking trail that climbs 1,500 to 2,000 metres (4,921 to 6,562 ft) above a 24°C (75°F) valley floor can land you in single-digit Celsius temperatures within an hour, which is exactly why an evening in the mountains needs a warm layer even after a hot day in the valley below.

What to Pack for City and Valley Days in Austria

City and valley days in Austria call for the same light, breathable clothes you would pack for most of Western Europe in summer, since daytime temperatures rarely climb into genuinely hot territory. The pieces that covered both cities and casual dinners are listed below.

1. A dress, for warm city days and casual dinners.
2. A pair of leggings, for cooler evenings or travel days.
3. Casual dress trousers, for a smarter look without packing a second pair of jeans.
4. A short jumpsuit and a skirt, as lighter alternatives to the dress.
5. Two regular bras and three sports bras, since sports bras double as regular ones on hiking days.
6. Four pairs of shorts, though two got swapped for long trousers on the cooler Vorarlberg week.
7. Six tops and four t-shirts, kept to a limited colour palette so everything mixes and matches.
8. Two t-shirts to sleep in.
9. Nice sandals for evening dinners, since some of the places to stay in Austria lean a little dressy, plus a pair of everyday sneakers.

What to Pack for Hiking in the Austrian Alps

Hiking in the Austrian Alps does not require full technical hiking wear for most day trails, since regular sporty clothes covered hikes through the Krimml waterfalls area and the Vorarlberg trails without issue. The exceptions worth packing specifically are listed below.

1. A pair of broken-in hiking boots, because new boots on a mountain trail is how blisters happen.
2. Six pairs of hiking socks, enough to always start a hike in a dry pair.
3. An Icebreaker Oasis Henley 200g base layer, worn on a sunrise hike, when valley temperatures can sit well below the daytime figures above.
4. A rain jacket and a zippered fleece jacket, since the lapse rate above means afternoon showers and windy summits turn up even in July.

One honest note from that trip: real technical hiking trousers, the quick-dry kind that unzip into shorts, were not missed on these day hikes. They would earn their place on a trip built entirely around multi-day hiking, but for a mixed city-and-mountain itinerary, regular shorts and leggings did the job.

Hiking Tips for First-Time Alpine Hikers

New hikers heading into the Austrian Alps benefit from a few practical habits that seasoned hikers take for granted. The tips below cover what mattered most on the trails above.

1. Skip a skirt or a dress on a hike, unless you enjoy someone walking behind you on a steep uphill stretch.
2. Wear proper hiking boots or shoes rather than trainers, since Alpine trails mix loose gravel, roots and wet rock.
3. Apply sunscreen generously and reapply often, because UV exposure increases with altitude and a sunburn is easy to pick up without noticing.
4. Carry more water than feels necessary, especially on an exposed, sunny trail.
5. Know your physical and mental limits, and turn back if the weather or the trail turns worse than expected.
6. Pack food for the trail, such as fruit, nuts or a snack bar, even on a day hike that is not a full picnic-style trek.

Toiletries, Electronics and Bags for Austria in Summer

The smaller items below rounded out the packing list for an eight-day mixed city-and-mountain trip.

Toiletries: a travel-size hairbrush, Lush solid shampoo and conditioner, Aromaco solid deodorant, sunscreen, body lotion, facial cream, makeup remover and cotton pads, mascara, a setting powder, toothbrush and toothpaste, a nail file, dental floss, any regular medication, lip balm, tweezers, bandages for sensitive skin, blister plasters, and small travel containers for liquids.

Electronics: the kit below is what this list recommends now, since the gear has moved on since the trip. A USB-rechargeable headlamp for a sunrise hike, a Kindle, a lightweight laptop, an iPhone 17 Pro Max, which handles most of the photography a mixed city-and-mountain trip needs, a DJI Osmo Pocket 3 if you want stabilised video without carrying a camera bag, an Insta360 X5 in place of the discontinued Gear 360, a power bank, all the necessary cables.

Bags: a PacSafe CitySafe anti-theft handbag for evenings, a padded backpack as an everyday daypack, a Lowepro Slingshot Edge AW 150 camera bag as a second daypack option built around camera gear, a Thule Subterra check-in duffel for the main luggage, and an HP laptop sleeve. Carrying two daypack options meant the main camera could stay safely in the car on a hike, then come along in a proper camera bag on city days.

Miscellaneous: a quick-dry towel, something insulated to sit on, sunglasses, a refillable water bottle, ear plugs, paper tissues, a pen, Eagle Creek Specter Pack-It cubes, a passport, and a Dynomighty wallet for cards and cash.

Getting Around Austria in Summer

Flying into Vienna and taking the train onward covers most of Austria’s mountain regions well, since Innsbruck and the Alps sit a comfortable train ride from the capital. On the trip behind this list, that meant flying into Vienna, spending two days there (including learning the Viennese waltz and visiting Vienna’s museums), taking the train on to Innsbruck, and flying home from Salzburg, since no direct flight connects Innsbruck to most home airports. Compare airlines before booking to see how flights to Austria price up across Vienna, Innsbruck and Salzburg, and check train timetables and fares across Europe for the legs in between.

A rental car makes the mountain half of a trip like this far easier, since valley towns and trailheads are not always well served by public transport; compare rental car prices across hundreds of companies through rental cars. If you would rather base yourself in one spot and book accommodation ahead, compare hotels and guesthouses across Austria’s cities and ski or hiking regions through Booking.com.

About the author. This guide is written and maintained by the Wonderful Wanderings editorial team. Wonderful Wanderings was founded in 2012 by Sofie Couwenbergh, and the first-hand notes in this post come from her eight-day road trip through Austria, spanning Vienna, Innsbruck and Vorarlberg, taken as part of the #Austriantime road trip with the Visit Austria tourism office. The team covers Austria for independent travellers, including the tours, hotels and packing gear worth booking for a trip that mixes cities with the mountains, and updates this page when prices and conditions change.