Events in Graz
No matter when you want to experience something in Graz, Graz opens its doors to visitors at any time of the year. We would like to present you a small overview of the year already now, to show you how we Grazers plan our year with events and various happenings.
Spring events (March 21 – June 20)
With the spring starts the Springfestival (June 2-6, 2024), the urban indoor festival in Graz for electronic art and music. In the main venues like the Helmut-List-Halle, Dom im Berg, p.p.c., Kunsthaus Graz or the Parkhouse international artists show us their skills on the stages of Graz.
In June (2024), the university city of Graz invites its 60,000 students to Europe’s largest student festival, the USI-Fest. The festival is a 12-hour party marathon and takes place on 6 areas in the UNI Graz sports center Rosenhain.
Summer events (June 21 – September 22)
When summer begins, the love of classical music also blossoms in us Grazers. The Styriate (June 19 to July 19) is the Graz festival for classical and early music. In the Helmut List Hall and the stages of the old town of Graz, such as the Stefaniensaal, you can let your ears be enchanted here.
Previously held mostly in August, the 9-day international street and puppet theater festival is being moved this year. With an average of 100,000 visitors, artists present their art at various venues in Graz.
Then, after we Grazers have recovered artistically or even exhausted ourselves, we start to get our bodies going. The hardest sightseeing tour in the world – the Grazathlon (postponed this year) winds its way past the most beautiful places in Graz with a length of 10 km. This obstacle course is so tough that only 4853 athletes made it to the finish line in 2019.
Due to all the training, it can happen that we Styrians almost don’t make it into our lederhosen because of all the muscles. The leather pants we need namely at the end of the summer to the Aufsteirern. With more than 100,000 visitors every year, the Aufsteirern is the largest folk cultural event in Austria and enchants everyone who visits with Styrian cuisine, music and dance.
Events in autumn (September 23 – December 21)
In autumn, Graz’s leisure spirit awakens and graz begin its preparations for our first major event, KLANGLICHT (24. – 26. October 2024), Austria’s largest festival of light art. 100,000 people will stroll through downtown Graz during this event and examine the interesting and breathtaking light installations.
When the leaves turn wine-red and the sun has reached a pleasant warmth again, we Grazers are inspired to artistic deeds. The international festival called steirischer herbst (Between September 24 and October 18) is a festival for contemporary art. The focus is on the networking of various art disciplines from arts such as theater to architecture and new media, everything is presented here.
What would Graz be without our interesting and charming museums. During the Lange Nacht der Museen (Long Nicht of Museums) event (October 3, 2024), up to 84 museums in Styria and Slovenia can be visited with just one ticket. So that these museums are also easy to reach, there is of course also a dedicated shuttle service for this.
Before the quiet winter begins, it is once again to take the legs in hand and prove his condition at the Graz Marathon (October 9-11, 2024). With 42.195 km, the course usually runs just parallel to the Mur River and supports the air quality of the city center with its road barriers.
The most beautiful time in Graz is definitely our Advent season. During the events in the course of Graz Advent (November 29 to December 24), our city center wraps itself in warm golden Christmas light, inviting you to enjoy a warm mulled wine, the finest handicraft products or Styrian culinary delights. When it comes to choosing the right Advent market, we also recommend our guests to visit the Christmas market in the casemates on the Schlossberg.
Events in winter (December 22 – March 24)
When the snow slowly clears in Graz, the Elevate Festival with the subtitle “Festival for Contemporary Music, Art and Political Discourse” will take place (on March 3-7, 2024) in and around the Schlossberg in Graz. Here, great and mostly free discussions and workshops can be attended during the day and concerts by national and international artists in the evening.
The Austrian film culture enjoys ANY YEAR more and more growth. The film festival, which sees itself as a festival of Austrian filmmaking – the Diagonale (March 13-18, 2024) – presents us with the successful result of Austrian film-making in the annual review.
Likewise, we Grazers are very happy that the world’s largest sports movement for people with intellectual disabilities and multiple disabilities, the Special Olympics World Winter Games also took place in Graz in March 2017.
5 Event locations in Graz that every Graz resident knows.
City Hall Graz
The Graz Stadthalle is located in the Jakomini district of Graz and was completed in 2002. With its total floor space of 14,000 m², it is the largest event hall in Graz. Its special feature is the canopy, which projects almost free-standing over the entire forecourt. Throughout the year, a huge number of concerts, fairs, events and balls such as the Styrian Farmers’ Union Ball are held here. In addition, the hall is also easily accessible by public transport, as there is a streetcar line station in front of the main entrance.
Seifenfabrik Event Center
Anyone who has ever been to an event at the soap factory understands why this special place is a protected monument. The soap factory is located on the left bank of the Mur River in the Jakomini district of Graz. It is easily recognizable by the red brick from which it was built. In 2003 it was used as an event center for the first time. The total area of the four parts is 450 m² and offers plenty of space for trade fairs, celebrations, events, balls, concerts, etc.. A special feature is also that the event center now also has a usable connection to the Mur through the newly built jetty harbor and thus the gates are open for water (sports) events.
Dom im Berg (The Dome in the mountain)
The event space called Dom im Berg is located underground in the middle of the castle hill. It is reached through a corridor, which runs through the entire mountain. The total area of the event space is 733 m². The special feature is not only the incredible location but also the very good acoustics. Therefore, the Dom im Berg is a particularly good location for theater performances, presentations up to clubbings and various acoustic events.
Helmut List Hall
Then an industrial hall and now a concert hall of international standard. The Helmut List Hall was opened in 2003, the year of the Capital of Culture. Concerts such as the Styriate or the Styrian Autumn are held here on an area of 2000 m². The hall is located near the main train station of Graz. Through the underpass of the Graz main station, which has its exit at Wagner Biro Street, the Helmut List Hall can also be reached on foot from the main station in 10 to 15 minutes. A special feature is also the solar energy (photovoltaics) on the south side of the hall.
Kasematten
The Kasematten is a beautiful open-air stage, which is located on the Schlossberg. The stage is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site along with the historic center and Eggenberg Palace. The casemates were first used as a stage for the Schlossberg Festival in 1927. In 2009, a mobile roof structure was added to protect our guests from rain and strong sun. Everyone is allowed to rent the stage for their own events. In addition to countless concerts and markets, the Styriate and the Styrian Autumn also take place here.
Events for children in Graz
The little people of Graz also want to be entertained. Graz offers many events for children and young people. We would therefore like to present a small selection here:
FRida & freD – The Graz Children’s Museum
At FRida & freD (https://fridaundfred.at/) you will find exhibitions, workshops, theater and birthday parties. Almost every weekend events can be visited and the museums take place in the children’s museum called Kimus (https://kimus.at), which is located at Friedrichgasse 34, near Augartenpark.
The Schlossberg in Graz
Our Schlossberg in Graz offers a variety of amusement options for children. A highlight is certainly the Schlussberg slide Graz (https://www.schlossbergrutsche.at/) or also the Graz fairy tale train (https://www.grazermaerchenbahn.at/). For the perfect family outing, we recommend taking grandmas and grandpas up on the Schlussbergbahn, while you take the little ones on the beautiful ascent of the Schlossberg. In addition to the sights along the way up, once at the top you can take a guided tour every Saturday (note, tickets must be booked in advance). To get back down afterwards, there are three options. First by foot, second by the Schlussbergbahn or third and this is the best option, by slide. If you take the slide with your children, it will then bring them exactly to the entry point of the Graz Fairy Tale Railway, which is open for you until 6:00 pm. And so a successful family outing at the Graz Schlossberg can be concluded afterwards in a pub.
NEXT LIBERTY
The children’s and youth theater in Graz called NEXT LIBERTY (https://nextliberty.buehnen-graz.com/) was founded in 1995 and is one of the most successful children’s and youth theaters in German-speaking countries. It is located at Kaiser-Josef-Platz 10 near the Graz Opera House. Over the season, more than 200 performances attract an audience of over 65,000.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Museum (https://arnieslife.com/)
What should not be missing on a trip to Graz, of course, is the Arnold Schwarzenegger Museum in Tahl near Graz. It is the birthplace of Arnold Schwarzenegger and presents his life in 2 floors. Afterwards, it is also a good idea to take a short walk around the Thalersee lake.
Amusement and adventure parks in Graz
In addition to the theaters and museums in Graz, the amusement parks and areas must of course not be missing. Here we have listed some for you:
FLIP LAB Graz Center West (https://fliplab.at/graz-center-west/)
The best trampoline park Graz has ever seen. It is located at the Shopping Center West (Weblinger Gürtel 25, 8054 Graz).
Adventure Park Graz (https://www.abenteuerparkgraz.at/)
The outdoor adventure park on the outskirts of Graz. (Köberlbauerweg 52, 8054 Attendorf)
SteirerPark (https://www.steirerpark.at/)
The amusement and adventure park in Seiersberg
MCG – Messe Graz
During trade fairs in the Graz Stadthalle, such as the Graz Autumn Fair, the area behind it is usually transformed into an amusement park.
How to reach your event location in Graz
To make sure you don’t miss any of our events, we Grazers naturally try to make your journey as pleasant as possible.
Rail traffic
If you like to protect the environment like we do, then traveling by train is certainly a very relaxing way to visit Graz. You will also see our modern train station and can then change to our streetcar or bus network to easily get to your events.
Flixbus
If the arrival or departure times do not suit you, you can also arrive by Flixbus. An advantage here is certainly the place of arrival, which is located in the immediate vicinity of Jakominiplatz and thus in the center of Graz.
Tram
Basically, most major events are accessible by streetcar. You can find the timetables at https://www.holding-graz.at/graz-linien/fahrplaene/fahrplaene.html or download the BusBahnBim app on your mobile device.
On foot
Graz is a mixture of rural village and urban modern city. Once in Graz, many events can also be easily reached on foot. Just find out in advance on Google Maps how long the walk is. Often your venue is reached in a quarter of an hour.
By Car
If it is unavoidable, you can of course visit our events with your car. We are of course happy if your car is an environmentally friendly electric car. During the week, we recommend that you take a parking space outside the city center and use the streetcar from there. From our experience, there is often congestion around the train station and downtown. The most common times when there is a traffic jam during the week are usually from 06:30 to 09:00 and from 16:00 to 19:30.
Airplane
If it really has to go fast and you have to travel from far away to see your star, we also have our small airport on the outskirts of Graz. You can get from there to the city center by bus, train or cab.