villach_austria

STARTING POINT

As the seventh largest settlement in Austria and second largest in Carinthia Villach manages to captivate visitors with its easy-going, Mediterranean lifestyle. The town is also an important transport intersection for the whole Alpe-Adria region, with the Italian and Slovenian borders just a short hop away. Villach is a small town with a big conference knowledge and a hunger to become even better at it.

Situated in central Europe, rich in natural beauty and influenced by a multilingual culture and, it also offers state of the art infrastructure for meeting professionals. Villach has gained an international reputation as a charming conference destination in southern Austria not just by offering high quality services, but mostly for their very welcoming hospitality. Understanding their advantages and any shortcomings has made them work harder and pay more attention to detail, which helps them rank higher in overall hospitality. Combining a professional support service for meetings along with an attractive holiday destination is quite impressive.

Those working in Villach are professional, but at the same time would like to show you their true nature and make you feel very welcome. Carinthia is a destination where the desire both to do well and to feel good could not be more strongly connected.

In Villach the standard of service is very high and what might elsewhere be considered luxury is here seen as necessity. With a constant eye on professionalism, every guest gets to feel the warm hospitality that is part of the culture and way of living here.

TOP 5 PLACES WHERE PEOPLE MEET

The best places to meet, stay and incentivize in Villach

HOLIDAY INN AND CONGRESS CENTER VILLACH
Congress Centre Villach is directly connected to the Holiday Inn hotel. The impressive property positioned right on the banks of the Drau river offers spacious conference rooms with amazing views. The congress centre offers several smaller meeting rooms for 30–200 participants and two bigger halls, one for 530 and the other for up to 1,060 participants. Foyers on different levels can be used for receptions and events as well as for exhibitions.

karawankenhof_carinthia

THERMENRESORT WARMBAD VILLACH
This luxurious complex offers four congress rooms that are perfect for smaller meetings for 10 participants right up to 150 in Parksalon, their biggest room. All rooms have a flexible set-up and new state of the art technical equipment. They offer direct access to the spa area and the nearby 5 star hotel, with possibilities for team building exercises in the surrounding outdoor areas.

KARNERHOF
Karnerhof resort is an amazing property, set right by the Faaker See, and has been family run for over 40 years. They cater to every need and wish of meeting planners, offering four fully equipped conference rooms appropriate for 10 to up to 140 participants. Every conference room has direct access to the panorama terrace that gives stunning views over the Faaker See. The hotel has a big spa area, an awarded kitchen and more than 100,000m2 of free space around it that can be used for incentive programmes.

NATUREL HOTELDORF SCHONLEITN
Their main motto of “So fun can business be” sums it up perfectly. The possibilities here are endless, from renting the whole village to team building academies and seminar rooms with a homely environment. Offering five fully equipped conference rooms from 18 up to 160 participants.

HOTEL ZOLLNER
Hotel Zollner is a smaller, family-owned and run property conveniently positioned just off the A2 motorway, but still far enough to find yourself in a peaceful, green oasis. A charming and traditional hotel that offers four completely equipped conference rooms for 10-70 participants containing everything that is required for a successful business event – with TV, video, beamer, slide projector, video camera, overhead projector, flipchart and Internet connection, the technical conditions are complete.

ESSENTIAL MEETING EXPERIENCES

The idyllic combination of crystal clear lakes and alpine landscape takes you back in time, to a kind of fairytale scene in which you can stroll around, dip your fingers into the lake, ride a bike or eat delicious local food. Dating back to Roman times, they still like to preserve and respect their culture that can be seen in the historical buildings, monuments and souvenirs. Take your time to sit by the Drau river or try a locally brewed beer. Villach is awakening from its beauty sleep and upgrading their charm with additional services, without in any way compromising their heritage. The combination of the historic and the modern sets a new vision for the future, one that is appealing and bright.

Villach is a cultural town that likes to celebrate life through various festivals throughout the year, with everything from entertainment at the Villach Carnival to fairytale festivities during the Christmas market. They are proud of their active summer events, jazz festival and the Villacher Kirchtag, a special family-oriented celebration with food, dancing and a big amusement park that takes place in August. The local hospitality shines through most of all when they are in festive mood, so there is rarely a month you wont find an interesting event happening.

ESSENTIAL INCENTIVE EXPERIENCES

zitrus-garten

LEMON GARDEN
A perfect opportunity to explore how business and passion go hand in hand, this peaceful lemon sanctuary offers shelter during a hot summer’s day, refreshing drinks and food from the lemons grown there, creative incentive options such as cooking classes and lectures, or even the necessary inspiration to start creating your own oasis. It can all be as simple as starting with one lemon plant.

LANDSKRON
When you need to blow off some steam there is nothing better then visiting the Landskron hill, a place where you can completely relax and let your mind wander. Landskron hill is the home of the macaque monkey and where you will be able to feed them while they run freely inside their monkey resort. On top of that, you will have the chance to watch a magnificent show of predatory birds circling freely around the famous Landskron Castle, all taking place within a backdrop of amazing views. It will make an impression guaranteed to stay with you for some time.

ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE

Elli Riehl Puppenwelt is an art museum where you have the chance to view more than 700 dolls made of porcelain, vinyl and wood and all arranged in beautiful country life scenes. Villach-born artist Elli Riehl has been making the dolls for more than 46 years and they tell you a lot about the region and its people. This impressive collection that also includes other craftwork of the talented artist is a mecca for collectors and craftspeople.

WHEN IN VILLACH

www.villacherbrauhof.at

MUST TASTE – GASTRONOMY
Austrians are very proud of their beer and so you shouldn’t miss a visit to Brauhof Villach run by the local brewery. When supping some of their finest, also don’t forego the chance to savour some of the food that goes so well together with the beer. Whilst we might all be familiar with the Wienerschnitzel, you will find more a bit more flair in their traditional Kasnudln (dumplings filled with meat and veggies) or Bierfuhrebrot (pastry filled with meats, cheese and radish). These might sound like complicated dishes, but don’t be taken in by the names – the dishes are simple but delicious, a great reflection of the culture and the friendly people.

CARRY ME HOME
There are many local craftsman in Villach, who sell products made of different materials. Quite known is Holzart, a very known and crafty designer shop where they make everything from jewellry to gift baskets and knifes. If you prefer to impress your guests with designed glasses, you should visit Alois Hechl Glasbläserei and get your original and unique set.

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