When my mother and grandma came to visit over Halloween, I decided to take them on a trip to Bad Radkersburg. They had come to Graz many times and we had been to a Buschenschank in Southern Styria already, so since we were on our way to Slovenia anyway to meet my boyfriend’s family, we made a stop in Bad Radkersburg.
I had never been there so I was quite excited to visit the town. I knew about Bad Radkersburg because we drove through it a couple of times during the summer to avoid the traffic on the border between Austria and Slovenia on the motorway between Maribor and Graz. But it was the first time we actually stopped to see the town.
And I have to say that I loved it there! The town centre is sooo pretty and we had one of the best burgers I have ever eaten! Also they have plenty of cute little independent shops to spend time shopping and browsing.
A little bit about the town
Bad Radkersburg is located on the border between Austria and Slovenia. It is separated by it Slovenian side, Gornja Radgona, by the river Mur. The two parts of the city were not always friendly, but nowadays they are twinned and work together to bring tourism to the city.
The town is known mostly because of the spa with thermal water and because it is one of the sunniest towns in Austria. The famous bicycle manufacturer Puch learned his craft here in Bad Radkersburg.
How to get to Bad Radkersburg
You can get to Bad Radkersburg by car or by train.
By car
Bad Radkersburg is about an hour away from Graz by car. You can either go on the motorway and then get off just before the border and continue on the state road. Or you can also just go all the way on the state road. Here is the itinerary on Google Maps.
By train
A train trip from Graz takes a bit longer, around 1h 44m. A ticket costs €16,60. You can search for the itinerary on the ÖBB website.
What to do in Bad Radkersburg
Sightseeing
Take your time strolling around the city centre, with its beautiful main square and cute high street. You can also climb up the tower in the main square to get amazing views of Southern Styria.
You can also walk over to the other side of the river and walk up the hill to see the castle of Gornja Radgona.
Spa
Treat yourself to a day or just a couple of hours at the spa to relax and feel better about yourself. You can also stay there for a couple of days, there are plenty of hotels in the town.
Shopping
The town centre of Bad Radkersburg has plenty of quaint little shops. There is one shop that sells only mugs and teapots, which looks extremely cool. There are some small toy shops. There is even a courtyard just off the main square where there are some shops selling handmade ceramics. Here you can also see the artists at work.
Just spend some time browsing around the shops and walk up and down the main street.
Where to eat in Bad Radkersburg
We love trying out craft beers, so going to Pivohram Golar in Gornja Radgona was THE stop we had to take in Bad Radkersburg. This pub sells the most amazing burgers paired with great craft beers from Bevog that pair with them perfectly. I completely recommend this place!
Bevog is a Slovenian beer that is being brewed in a brewery in Austria, near Bad Radkersburg. This is because apparently opening a brewery in Slovenia is so complicated that it was much better for the owners to do it Austria instead. If you want to learn more about their beers, you can also do a brewery tour and do some tastings there.
If you want some more traditional Austrian food, there were a couple of restaurants in the centre of Bad Radkersburg. But I cannot recommend anything I haven’t tried myself. 🙂
Get some more ideas for day trips from Graz in my previous blog post.
