Getting around Graz
By S1 train from the airport, by tram from the main station, and through the old town without a ticket, because the tram there is free.
- From the airport
- S1 train
- One-hour ticket
- €3.20
- 24-hour ticket
- €7.20
Graz charges for the tram only outside the old town, and that shapes the whole route. You take the S1 train from the airport on a single ticket, change to a tram at the main station, and arrive in a zone around Hauptplatz where the tram costs nothing. Everything beyond that zone, the station and Eggenberg Palace included, needs a ticket.
From the airport to the centre
The S1 is the way in, and the station is about 300 m from the terminal, so you walk there without changing anything. Since the start of 2026 the line runs through the airport, with trains every 15 minutes at peak times, and the ride to the main station takes about 12 min. The airport lies in zone 101, which means the one-hour ticket for €3.20 is all you need. In short: S1 train to the Hauptbahnhof.
Bus 630 also stops outside the terminal, but it runs via Puntigam to Zentralfriedhof, where you change to a tram, and that extra change is why the train wins. Taxis wait outside the arrivals hall, and the airport offers a shared shuttle to an address that you order by SMS.
3-star hotel, double room, per person per night
From the main station to the old town
Trams 1, 4, 6 and 7 leave from the main station and all reach Hauptplatz. You need a ticket for this ride, because the station is outside the free zone. The distance is about 1.6 km as the crow flies, and Lend, where the station stands, lies across the Mur from the old town, so anyone with luggage will want the tram.
Lend, across the Mur, is also a place to sleep, since the station is on its doorstep. Whether that beats a bed in the old town itself is the question the stay page answers.
The tram without a ticket
Inside the old-town zone the tram is free from the first run to the last, in both directions and every day, public holidays included. The zone is defined by stretches that run out from Hauptplatz: to Südtiroler Platz and the Kunsthaus, to Schloßbergplatz, and to Jakominiplatz. From Jakominiplatz it continues to Kaiser-Josef-Platz, Dietrichsteinplatz, the Finanzamt stop and Andreas-Hofer-Platz.
The lines that serve it are 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 16, 17 and 23. In practice the first day of a Graz visit needs no ticket at all, apart from the Schlossberg funicular, while the main station and Eggenberg sit outside the zone and do ask for one.
Tickets and what they cost
The one-hour ticket is valid 60 minutes from validation, and the 24-hour ticket runs 24 hours from validation, not until midnight. Both can be bought without cash in the GrazMobil app, with a card, EPS or Apple Pay, and at an inspection you show a photo ID next to the mobile ticket. Riding without a ticket costs €105, so anyone making several trips in a day should look at the 24-hour ticket, and a longer stay suits the weekly one.
Zone 101 covers the whole city and the airport.
Funicular or lift
The funicular belongs to zone 101, so a one-hour or 24-hour ticket already pays for it. The lift is separate, costs €2.60 for one ride, and does not accept a city ticket. Schloßbergplatz at the bottom lies inside the free zone, which makes the verdict easy: if you ride a tram that day, go up by funicular, because it is already paid for.
To Eggenberg
Eggenberg Palace sits outside the free zone, so this is a ride with a ticket. Take tram 1 to the stop called Schloss Eggenberg, then walk about 350 m along Schlossstraße to the entrance at Eggenberger Allee 90. Tram 7 to Eggenberger Allee works too, but leaves about 650 m on foot. Opening months are on the page about when to go.
Taxi, bike and car
Taxi 878 and taxi2801 take bookings by phone, and ranks stand at the main station, the airport, Jakominiplatz and Hauptplatz. Flux is a shared taxi that serves the outskirts and more than 40 municipalities, and you book it ahead. Bikes can be hired from bicycle.at at several points in town, and the main station has a guarded bike garage.
A car makes little sense here, because most of the old core is a pedestrian zone with narrow streets. Park at one of the park-and-ride sites on the edge and ride the tram in, where a 24-hour park-and-ride ticket is €12.50.
Where to next
Graz in 2 days
→The first day stays in the old town and on the Schlossberg, the second crosses the river to the Kunsthaus and rides the tram out to a palace that only runs until the end of October.
Klagenfurt · 99 km
→The warmest alpine lake, and a city with a dragon on its arms
How well does Graz suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
Nomadinho scores out of 100, the same ones behind “Where to go”.
If you like Graz
Three places with the closest scores, from any country.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
How do you get from Graz airport to the centre?
Take the S1 train from the station about 300 m from the terminal to the main station, a ride of about 12 min, on a one-hour ticket at €3.20. From the station a tram runs to Hauptplatz.
Where in Graz is the tram free?
Inside the Altstadt-Bim zone around Hauptplatz, Jakominiplatz, the Schlossberg (Schloßbergplatz) and the Kunsthaus. The main station and Eggenberg lie outside it.
Do you need a car in Graz?
No. The core is mostly pedestrian and the tram covers the rest. If you do drive, use a park-and-ride on the edge of town, with the 24-hour ticket at €12.50.
Ready for Graz?
Front row for the next trip
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