Styria (German: Steiermark) is a state of Austria.
Styria was a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire and later a crown-land of Austria-Hungary. During those times Styria also included parts of Slovenia. It borders Carinthia, Salzburg, Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Burgenland, and Slovenia.
The province can be split into three main regions.
The capital is Graz.
Styria speaks Austro-Bavarian along with the rest of Austria, however you will find that most people also speak German, including just about all residents of Graz. Most people also have a functional command of English, and in the southern parts Slovene is also spoken by many, and this is not limited to the strong Slovene minority residing there.
Styria has its own international airport (Graz Thalerhof, IATA: GRZ) located in the south of Graz. There are daily connections to Frankfurt (IATA: FRA), Munich (IATA: MUC) and Vienna (IATA: MUC). Several flights a week to Stuttgart (IATA: STR), London Stansted (IATA: STN), Düsseldorf (IATA: DUS)
Major train routes pass into Styria from all neighbouring provinces and countries. There is an hourly Inter-City connection to Vienna and Carinthia as well as regular Inter/Euro-City connections to Linz, Salzburg and Maribor
Postbus is operating a route from Klagenfurt to Graz which is significantly faster than the train.
Eurolines operates a few international destinations from/to Graz.
Otherwise it will be difficult to find a long distance bus leaving to Styria.
Motorways A2 from Vienna to Carinthia and A9 from Linz to the slovenian border cross at Graz. There is also a major route available from Salzburg (Ennstalbundestraße).
There is an excellent bicycle route available next to the river Mur. It starts in Salzburg and ends at the border to Slovenia, at Spielfeld you can cross the border to Slovenia and from there use the bicycle route 1 to get to Maribor.
There is also a possibility to get to Styria using the Drau bicycle route from Tyrol and Carinthia, either via Maribor or via another bicycle route at the very south of the Styria/Carinthia border that crosses over to the Mur bicycle route.
The European hiking route "Fernwanderweg" E4 starts in Andalusia, Spain, crosses through Styria and ends in Crete.
The Austrian hiking routes "Weitwanderweg" 01, 02, 03, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09 cross through Styria as well.
There exists a vast network of public bus an train services. You will be able to reach nearly every town of the province, although sometimes the connections and operating hours may not be perfect. The whole public transport is part of a single network called "Verbundlinie". They offer a pretty good route planner on their homepage .
If you want to enquire offline concerning your transportation needs you can contact their information bureau at Jakoministraße 1 in Graz, right next to the Jakominiplatz. Phone: +43 316 820606 Fax: +43 316 820606-82.
Styria has a well developed tourism infrastructure with many things to see and do:
Styria is famous for its white wine. If you get a chance be sure to stop at a wine yard ("Buschenschank") near the border to Slovenia. There you'll also get great food - order a "Brettljause", but not if you're vegetarian, or fond of small portions, because what you'll receive is a circular wooden tray stacked high with an enormous range of cold meats, and perhaps garnished with horseradish shavings (Kren).