September
Wk 37–39
The quietest stretch among this region's best weather weeks: crowd level around 35 out of 100, weather comfort near 47.
- Crowd level
- 32–37
- Comfort
- 44–49
Austria · Kärnten
Carinthia: from the Klagenfurt basin to the Hohe Tauern
At its middle, Austria's southernmost state narrows to just 44 kilometres. Within it lie the ancient principality of Noricum, the fourteen gates of Hochosterwitz Castle, and the tallest wooden tower in the world.
Busiest week
AugustCrowd level 100
Wk 32 · 588,652 overnight stays
Quietest weeks
NovemberCrowd level 0
Wk 45–47 · measured against the region's own year, not against other regions
Sweet spot
SeptemberCrowd level 32–37
Wk 37–39 · quietest while the weather still holds
Warmest month
17 °CComfort 58
July · around 141 mm of rain in the month
Kärnten in brief
Carinthia is Austria's southernmost state and, at 9,364 square kilometres of land, its fifth-largest; at its middle it narrows to just 44 kilometres, separating the high mountains of Upper Carinthia from the Klagenfurt basin of Lower Carinthia. Its high point is the Großglockner at 3,798 metres. Historically the land runs from the principality of Noricum through the Slavic state of Carantania and the duchy that passed to the Habsburgs in 1335, to the state that did not gain its present borders until 1920. Hochosterwitz Castle with its fourteen gates and the Pyramidenkogel, the tallest wooden tower in the world, count among its buildings.
When is Kärnten busy, when is it quiet?
Click a week. The panel on the right explains why it is busy or quiet.
Weather profile
Weather comfort is an absolute scale (0 = poor, 100 = ideal) and a second axis next to the season-relative crowd level.
JanuaryØ 18
FebruaryØ 26
MarchØ 13
AprilØ 5
MayØ 23
JuneØ 51
JulyØ 84
AugustØ 93
SeptemberØ 37
OctoberØ 11
NovemberØ 2
DecemberØ 14
Colour = season-relative crowd levelBar = weather comfort (Sun & warmth), absolute 0–100
Why this week?
September · Wk 37
Crowd level37/100 · moderate
quietbusy
Weather comfort15/100 · Sun & warmth
+15 % versus the region's annual average.
- Contributing months
- September (100 %)
- Overnight stays/week
- 248,845
- School-holiday pressure (source markets)
- 9 % of source markets on school holidays · -2 % crowding from holidays
- Main source markets
- Germany (40 %) · Austria (32 %) · Netherlands (7 %) · 93% of guests modelled
- Region range
- 47,928–588,652 (avg 215,483)
- Base years
- 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 (excluding 2020, 2021)
v1: Crowd-Score aus der Eurostat-Basisschicht (Übernachtungen), moduliert vom Schulferien-Druck der Quellmärkte, region-spezifisch gewichtet mit dem Quellland-Mix. Season-relativ zur Region. Event-Schichten folgen.
Plan your trip
Pre-filled with the next date in week 37.
DestinationKärnten
Travel datesPick a week in the calendar
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Photos: Johny Goerend · reisetopia · Dino Reichmuth on Unsplash
The travel year in Kärnten, month by month
The year as a table to read and to cite: crowd level for every month, plus weather comfort and temperature from the climate normals.
| Month | Crowd level0–100, season-relative | Weather comfort0–100, profile “mild” | Avg temperature |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 18 | 5 | -3 °C |
| February | 26 | 7 | -1 °C |
| March | 13 | 14 | 3 °C |
| April | 5 | 25 | 7 °C |
| May | 23 | 34 | 10 °C |
| June | 51 | 54 | 16 °C |
| July | 84 | 58 | 17 °C |
| August | 93 | 60 | 17 °C |
| September | 37 | 48 | 13 °C |
| October | 11 | 35 | 9 °C |
| November | 2 | 15 | 3 °C |
| December | 14 | 6 | -1 °C |
The crowd level is season-relative: 100 is the annual peak of Kärnten itself, not the busiest destination in Europe. The figures say when it is quiet here — not where it is quieter than elsewhere.
Weather comfort 0–100 from the climate normals, profile “mild” – the same profile as the recommendation above, not the selection in the calendar. A “–” means the data for that month is missing.
Index 2.0 · As of 25/08/2026
The windows worth catching
Three windows from the model: first whether the weather suits the region, then how busy it gets.
May–June
Wk 22–24
A second option, also with usable weather: crowd level around 44, weather comfort near 49.
- Crowd level
- 34–50
- Comfort
- 43–54
August
Wk 31–33
The region's peak: crowd level around 98 out of 100. Only if the dates are fixed.
- Crowd level
- 96–100
- Comfort
- 60–62
Kärnten compared with Europe
How full the accommodation is here, measured against Europe – on the only measure on which two travel regions can be compared.
- Bed occupancy in Kärnten
- 22.8
- European median
- 23.1
per cent of bed places, annual mean
per cent of bed places, annual mean
Furthest from the median: November, at 0.4× the value. Closest to the median: September, at 1.0× the value.
Mean across 12 months, weighted by their weeks. This occupancy compares travel regions with one another. The crowding in the table above compares Kärnten with itself. The two measures are never combined.
Climate through the year
Average temperature with day/night range and precipitation across the twelve months.
- Avg temperature
- Day/night range
- Precipitation
| Month | Avg temperature (°C) | Day avg (°C) | Night avg (°C) | Precipitation (mm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | -4 | -3 | -5 | 64 |
| Feb | -2 | -1 | -3 | 78 |
| Mar | 1 | 3 | -1 | 83 |
| Apr | 4 | 7 | 2 | 99 |
| May | 8 | 10 | 6 | 170 |
| Jun | 13 | 16 | 11 | 130 |
| Jul | 14 | 17 | 12 | 141 |
| Aug | 15 | 17 | 13 | 156 |
| Sep | 11 | 13 | 9 | 154 |
| Oct | 7 | 9 | 6 | 110 |
| Nov | 2 | 3 | 1 | 120 |
| Dec | -2 | -1 | -3 | 87 |
The band shows mean daytime to nighttime temperature. Precipitation shown as monthly total (mm). Typical monthly value (climate normal), not a forecast.
How sunny?
How much sun a typical day delivers, month by month, expressed as hours of full midday sun.
Moderately sunny
≈ 3.4 h of full midday sun per day, annual average
Jun
Sunniest month
| Month | ≈ h of full midday sun per day |
|---|---|
| Jan | 1.5 |
| Feb | 2.2 |
| Mar | 3.5 |
| Apr | 4.6 |
| May | 4.8 |
| Jun | 5.7 |
| Jul | 5.6 |
| Aug | 4.8 |
| Sep | 3.5 |
| Oct | 2.3 |
| Nov | 1.4 |
| Dec | 1.2 |
Basis: mean daily solar irradiance in kWh/m²/day; 1 kWh/m² is roughly one hour of full midday sun (1,000 W/m²). Not the same as measured sunshine duration. Typical monthly value (climate normal), not a forecast.
Directly reachable from
Destination airports of Kärnten and every European departure airport with a direct connection to them.
Destination airports
Select a destination airport to see the direct departure airports.
“Directly reachable” means a direct connection exists according to our sources. We do not show a live timetable. Availability and flight days can vary by season and airline.
Ski areas in Kärnten
Mapped ski areas in this region with slope kilometres, lifts and elevation, plus the long-term snow average from our climate data.
- Ski areas
- 27
- Slopes in total
- 391 km
- Lifts
- 195
- Highest point
- 3,084 m
On a long-term average, March sees the most snow: 74 cm mean snow depth across the region. In 6 months of the year the regional average reaches at least 10 cm of snow depth.
| Ski area | Slopes | Lifts | Elevation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nassfeld, Mokrine | 69.98 km | 29 | 612–1,996 m1,384 m vertical drop |
| Bad Kleinkirchheim | 68.24 km5.01 km cross-country | 27 | 1,012–2,037 m1,024 m vertical drop |
| Gerlitzen Alpe | 37.22 km | 20 | 1,002–1,908 m905 m vertical drop |
| Großglockner Heiligenblut | 24.2 km0.43 km cross-country | 13 | 1,235–2,905 m1,670 m vertical drop |
| Goldeck | 23.59 km | 8 | 546–2,117 m1,571 m vertical drop |
| Innerkrems | 22.06 km | 9 | 1,465–2,167 m702 m vertical drop |
| Mölltaler Gletscher | 21.13 km | 9 | 2,103–3,084 m980 m vertical drop |
| Klippitztörl | 12.79 km | 6 | 1,470–1,817 m347 m vertical drop |
| Weinebene | 12.61 km | 8 | 1,598–1,843 m245 m vertical drop |
| Koralpe | 12.49 km | 4 | 1,626–2,065 m439 m vertical drop |
| Hochrindl | 12.42 km | 7 | 1,465–1,838 m373 m vertical drop |
| Ankogel Mallnitz | 11.79 km | 6 | 1,271–2,630 m1,359 m vertical drop |
| Dreiländereck - Arnoldstein | 10.69 km | 7 | 691–1,538 m847 m vertical drop |
| Skigebiet Petzen | 10.56 km | 5 | 634–1,904 m1,270 m vertical drop |
| Flattnitz | 8.43 km | 2 | 1,390–1,516 m126 m vertical drop |
| Heidialm | 6.88 km | 3 | 1,860–2,124 m264 m vertical drop |
| Simonhöhe | 6.56 km | 10 | 1,046–1,338 m292 m vertical drop |
| Bergbahn Weissensee | 5.15 km26.15 km cross-country | 5 | 932–1,365 m434 m vertical drop |
| Embergeralm | 4.77 km | 5 | 1,659–2,110 m451 m vertical drop |
| Vorhegg | 4.7 km | 3 | 700–1,201 m502 m vertical drop |
| Weißbriach | 2.92 km | 3 | 818–1,136 m318 m vertical drop |
| Bodental | 1.48 km | 3 | 1,008–1,149 m140 m vertical drop |
| Skilift Zirkitzen | 0.33 km | 1 | 925–980 m55 m vertical drop |
| Bad Kleinkirchheim | not available | not available | not available |
| Raunigwiese | not available | 1 | 621–687 m66 m vertical drop |
and 2 more areas in this region
Slope, lift and elevation figures come from open mapping and are complete to varying degrees. “Not available” means not mapped, not “does not exist”. Opening hours and season are not included. Snow figures are long-term averages for the whole region, not snow depth on the mountain and not a forecast.
Kärnten in detail
Location and shape
With 9,364 square kilometres of land, Carinthia is Austria's southernmost state and its fifth-largest by area; it borders Osttirol to the west, Salzburg to the northwest, Styria to the northeast, and, along a combined 280 kilometres, Slovenia and the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia to the south. At its middle the state narrows to just 44 kilometres, which divides it into mountainous Upper Carinthia and the Klagenfurt-basin landscape of Lower Carinthia. The Klagenfurt basin lies between the Austrian Central Alps to the north and the Karawanks to the south; within it sits the state capital Klagenfurt, with Lake Wörthersee to its west.
Mountains, forest and water
The state's high point is the Großglockner at 3,798 metres, its low point near Lavamünd at 348 metres; it stretches 68 kilometres north to south and 177 kilometres west to east. Geologically, Carinthia is built from four major tectonic units, among them the Penninic zone with the Tauern Window in the Hohe Tauern and the Southern Alpine unit with the Carnic Alps; 57.6 percent of the state's area is covered by forest. Besides the Drava valley, the largest valleys are the Möll, Gail, Rosental, Jaun and Lavant valleys; 540 hydroelectric plants, 385 of them small-scale, cover 90 percent of Carinthia's electricity demand, half of it from the ten power stations on the Drava. Around 15,000 animal species are recorded in Carinthia, about 150 of them endemic; four scorpion species have been found here too.
From Noricum to the Habsburgs
The Hallstatt-era population mixed with Celtic settlers in the year 300 BC; the resulting principality of Noricum was the first state entity on the soil of present-day Carinthia and, under Emperor Augustus, became part of the Roman province of Regnum Noricum, with centres at Magdalensberg and at Teurnia. Around the year 600 the Slavs formed their own state, Carantania, centred on Karnburg; from 976 to 1335 the Duchy of Carinthia was independent, until Emperor Louis the Bavarian passed it to the Habsburgs in 1335. The Carinthian defensive struggle cost Carinthia the Kanal valley to Italy and the Miess valley, Unterdrauburg and the municipality of Seeland to the new state of the Slovenes, Croats and Serbs; following the plebiscite of 10 October 1920, Carinthia became a state of the Republic of Austria within the borders thereby set. The name Carinthia possibly derives from the Celtic karanto, meaning stone or rock; its probable earliest attestation, as Carontani, appears in the Cosmography of the Anonymous Ravennate from the eighth or ninth century.
State symbols
The Carinthian coat of arms shows a shield parted gold and red, bearing three striding black lions and a silver bar; it originated as a claim of Duke Ulrich III to the Babenberg lands, while the original coat of arms was a black panther on silver. The state flag is gold, red and white, making it the only tricolour flag among Austria's states. The state anthem, the Kärntner Heimatlied, was written with three verses in 1822, set to music in 1835 and made the state anthem in 1911; a fourth verse, on the Carinthian defensive struggle, was added by Agnes Millonig in 1930.
Castles and buildings
Hochosterwitz Castle stands on a rock cone rising freely from the plain and carries fourteen gates; first documented in 860, it was expanded into a fortress over roughly a decade and a half after Georg Freiherr von Khevenhüller acquired it in 1571. Gurk Cathedral is a twelfth-century High Romanesque, three-aisled pillar basilica with a twin-towered west front, a gallery, a crypt and three apses; the crypt built beneath the choir for Countess Hemma is unmatched anywhere else in the German-speaking world. The Pyramidenkogel near Keutschach is a 100-metre observation and transmission tower built in 2013, and the tallest wooden tower in the world. The Malta-Hochalm road climbs 14.4 kilometres from the Malta valley at 911 metres, over nine hairpin bends and six tunnels, to the Kölnbrein dam at 1,902 metres, a structure 200 metres high, 626 metres wide and up to 41 metres thick.
Food and culture
Carinthian cooking is an Alpe-Adria cuisine shaped in part by ingredients from Italy and Slovenia; the Kärntner Kasnudel is a pasta dough filled with potatoes, curd cheese and mint, its ornate seal called Krendeln. Other specialities include Glundner Kas, made from aged curd cheese with caraway, Ritschert, a stew of pearl barley, beans, lovage and smoked meat, and Reindling, a yeast cake with sugar, cinnamon, raisins, walnuts and rum; wine, by contrast, is grown only on a small scale, in vineyards near Taggenbrunn and near St. Paul in the Lavant valley. Museums include the Landesmuseum Kärnten, the Maria Saal open-air museum, the Magdalensberg archaeological park and the Teurnia Roman museum; the Villach city museum documents, among other things, the life of its onetime resident Paracelsus. Peter Handke received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2019; the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize, awarded in Klagenfurt since 1977, supports young German-language writers. The Museum Moderner Kunst Kärnten, opened in 2003, is housed in Klagenfurt Castle; Carinthia's visual art of the early twentieth century was shaped by the Nötsch Circle around Sebastian Isepp, Franz Wiegele, Anton Kolig and Anton Mahringer.
Frequently asked questions about the best time to visit Kärnten
Short answers on timing, weather and getting there, all from the data on this page.
When is the best time to visit Kärnten?
- The best time to visit Kärnten is September (Wk 37–39): it is the quietest stretch among the region's best weather weeks – crowd level around 35 out of 100, weather comfort about 47 out of 100.
When is Kärnten quietest?
- November (Wk 45–47) is the quietest time in Kärnten. Crowd levels there sit at 0 out of 100, the lowest across the year.
When is Kärnten busiest?
- Kärnten is busiest in August (Wk 32) with around 588,652 overnight stays in the peak week.
What is the weather like in Kärnten and when is it warmest?
- It is warmest in Kärnten in July with an average of 17 °C and around 141 mm of rain in the month.
When is there the most snow in Kärnten and when are ski conditions best?
- Kärnten has the most snow in March with an average of around 74 cm. Those are the most reliable weeks for winter sports.
When is Kärnten least busy while still having good snow?
- The best time for quiet winter sports in Kärnten is April: with still around 37 cm of snow, the crowd level of about 5 out of 100 is below peak season.
How do you get to Kärnten?
- Kärnten is reachable via the destination airport Klagenfurt Airport (KLU) with direct flights.
Quiet travel windows across Europe, once a month
The Crowd Report names the emptiest weeks of the coming months — for every region, not just this one. Free, unsubscribe any time.
Sources and data vintages
Every provenance note on this page, collected in one place.
- Cover photo
- Photo by Thomas Peham on Unsplash
- Cover video
- Video by Marc Espejo on Pexels
- Crowding figures
- Index 2.0 · As of 25/08/2026. v1 approximation, calculated from Eurostat overnight stays. Day tourism and cruises (Venice, Dubrovnik …) are still missing, so we show these destinations as quieter than they are. The crowd score is a model-based forecast, not a measurement.
- Climate data
- Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2025.
- Reachability
Data sources: direct connections from Wikipedia (“Airlines and destinations”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, aggregated and modified by us), cross-checked with Eurostat, Destatis and the UK Civil Aviation Authority; airport data from OurAirports (Public Domain). The derived connection data is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Data as of: September 2026
- Ski areas
Data sources: ski areas from OpenSkiMap, based on OpenStreetMap, licensed under ODbL 1.0; snow depths from ERA5-Land (Copernicus Climate Change Service).
- Region text
- Text by HolidayHub, written from Wikivoyage „Kärnten“ (1748678) · Wikipedia „Kärnten“ (270249220) · Wikidata Q37985. Wikivoyage and Wikipedia are licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikidata CC0.
- Data basis
- All figures are approximations derived from open data (crowd level from Eurostat overnight stays, climate from Copernicus/ERA5-Land), not measurements.