Once the summer crowds have abated, the weather remains fine and it’s rarely difficult to get a room in a good hotel or a table in the best restaurants, at prices that seem remarkably low to British visitors.

Lower Austria: Styria and Burgenland

Nowhere is the autumn lovelier than in the rich agricultural provinces of Styria, Burgenland and Lower Austria. Morning mists dissolve into golden afternoons and everywhere the fruits of the long, hot summer are in evidence: rosy apples in Styria’s orchards, pumpkins piled at the side of the road and the yellow vines that light up the Wachau’s terraced hillsides.

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Well into November this exquisite stretch of the Danube is the place for gentle riverside cycling, stopping off to admire the baroque splendour of the hilltop monasteries at Melk and Göttweig or the ruins of Dürnstein’s castle, where Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned. Indulge yourself afterwards with wine tasting at the idyllic Vinothek of the Freie Weingärtner or lunch at Mörwald Kloster  and in Krems, where the Michelin- and Gault Millau-garlanded menu blends French and Austrian traditions to sophisticated effect.

A Guide to Lowland Austria: Autumn Holidays in Austria

At this time of year seasonal produce abounds: lean venison or rich wild boar ragouts, apricots from the Wachau, wild mushrooms, creamy pumpkin soups and above all Kürbiskernöl – Styria’s ‘green gold’, a light oil made from crushed pumpkin seeds and served with everything from soups and salads to the drizzle that accompanies a slice of sweet, nutty Kürbiskerntorte. Another autumn treat is sturm, a refreshingly tart, cloudy young wine that is low in alcohol.

A Guide to Lowland Austria: Austria Events in Autumn

November is when Austria’s wine-growing districts celebrate the new wine. In the Burgenland, villages surrounding the broad, reed-fringed Neusiedlersee throw open their cellar doors around St Martin’s Day on 11 November. Don’t miss Rust, the loveliest of Neusiedlersee’s villages, whose excellent restaurants (www.falstaff.at) use traditional Pannonian produce to create some of Austria’s most innovative menus. The goose liver pralines at Rust’s stylish, modern Inamera (www.inamera.at) are presented with an artistic flourish; further culinary pleasures here include crisp-skinned zander from the lake, beautifully-crafted amuses-bouche and the remarkably low bill.

A Guide to Lowland Austria: Attractions in Austria

The city of Graz is worth a visit at any time. The stately altstadt is a Unesco World Heritage Site, where sweetly decorative facades recall the city’s importance during the Habsburg era. Graz has a trendy face too, from the Murinsel, a glass and steel island housing a mid-river café, to the Asian-themed Buddha Bar, where the in-crowd gathers for cocktails. Make time for Graz’s superb cultural offering, from contemporary art at the Kunsthaus – known as the ‘friendly alien’ because of its startling modern architecture – to the extensive collections of the Landesmuseum Joanneum.

For more information on autumn in Austria please visit www.austria.info