Twenty kilometres north-east of Klagenfurt, the castle of Hochosterwitz rises in a series of fourteen separate gateways up a steep limestone crag — the kind of dragon-castle you imagine when you imagine castles. It has stood essentially unchanged since the sixteenth century and has never been taken by force.
A path corkscrews up through the gates, each one with its own defensive trick: drawbridges, portcullises, killing slots, a tower designed to drop boulders. At the top, the keep contains a small museum of arms and armour and a restaurant with a vast view. Allow two hours for the climb and the visit. It is the most distinctive sight in Carinthia and easily worth a half-day from town.