Graz is Austria's second city, but it carries none of the weight of that label. Where Vienna is imperial and self-conscious, Graz is easy-going — a university town that happens to have an extraordinary old city, a hill with a clock tower, and one of the best collections of historical armour in the world.
The old city sits tight around Hauptplatz, a broad market square you can cross in a few minutes. From there, stairs and a funicular climb the Schlossberg, the forested rock that dominates the skyline. Most of the sights are within walking distance of the centre, which makes Graz unusually friendly to explore on foot.
The city grew important on its role defending Central Europe against the Ottomans from the 15th century onwards. The Landeszeughaus — the provincial arsenal — still holds over 32,000 pieces of armour and weapons, maintained as it was when soldiers might actually need to pick them up. It is one of the strangest and most impressive rooms in Austria. The Kunsthaus, by contrast, is about as far from medieval warfare as you can get: a biomorphic blob of a building, nicknamed the "Friendly Alien," dropped into the baroque streetscape in 2003 when Graz was European Capital of Culture.
With around 300,000 residents and a large student population, Graz has a lively after-dark scene and a restaurant culture that punches well above its weight.