What to Do in Stainz When It Rains: Twelve Answers for Grey Days

West Styria sees rain on roughly a third of the days in an average year - in summer often as a short, heavy afternoon thunderstorm, in autumn more as steady all-day rain. Stay a week and you will almost certainly catch a grey day. The good news: this region has more to offer for exactly those days than most wine areas.

Sorted by effort, from "don't get up" to "day trip":

Without leaving the house

1. Don't rescue the day. The first and most underrated option. A rainy day is the only day on holiday when nobody expects you to do anything - including yourself. With an apartment and a kitchen, it turns into a long breakfast table that lasts until noon.

2. Cook what you bought. Rainy days are the days when supplies from the farm shop make sense. Which Styrian wine goes with which dish is covered in Which Wine Pairs with Which Styrian Dish.

3. Taste the wine you brought back. If you bought from winemakers on previous days, now is the time to line the bottles up and actually compare them rather than just drink them. What makes Schilcher distinctive is explained under Discovering Schilcher.

Why rain suits this landscape

The vineyards of West Styria look different in mist and drizzle than in sunlight: the slopes stack up behind one another in shades of grey, and the noise of the road disappears. Treat the rain as weather rather than as interference and you get images that do not exist on a blue day.

In the village and within walking distance

4. Stainz Castle and its museums. The obvious rainy-day plan: the hunting museum and the agriculture museum in the castle are part of the Universalmuseum Joanneum and entirely under a roof. Two to three hours pass easily. Details under Stainz Castle.

5. A Buschenschank in the afternoon. Wine taverns are not only fair-weather destinations - the parlours are the more pleasant part of the operation precisely when it rains. Call ahead, since opening hours are seasonal. Five nearby establishments are under Top 5 Buschenschenken near Stainz.

6. A wine cellar instead of a vineyard. A cellar tour is the one item that works better in rain than in sun - underground, the weather is irrelevant anyway. Where that is possible nearby is under Wine Cellar Tours near Stainz.

7. A guided wine tasting. Unlike a spontaneous tavern meal, a tasting can be scheduled and takes place indoors. Process and cost under Wine Tasting in the Schilcherland.

Twenty to forty minutes by car

8. Therme NOVA Köflach. The nearest thermal facility, about twenty to twenty-five minutes away, with thermal water from the Barbara spring in Piber. The classic rainy-day half-day out. More on it and on the alternatives further afield under The Best Thermal Spas in South West Styria.

9. Hundertwasser church Bärnbach and the Stölzle Glass Center. Church and glass museum sit close together and combine well into a half day - both largely dry. Details under Bärnbach: Hundertwasser Church and Stölzle Glass.

10. Lipizzaner stud farm Piber. In the rain the white horses are in the stables, which does not make the visit worse - only closer. Opening hours vary seasonally.

11. Deutschlandsberg Castle. The castle houses a museum and a restaurant, so it works even when the view from the terrace disappears into grey. More under Deutschlandsberg Castle.

12. Graz. Forty minutes, and you are in a city with a provincial museum, the Kunsthaus, an arcaded courtyard, an opera house, and plenty of covered lanes. A rainy day is when proximity to Graz pays off.

The advantage of your own kitchen on a rainy day

In a hotel, rain means sitting in the lobby or in your room. In an apartment, rain means you have a living room, a kitchen, and a table that seats more than one person. That is why rainy days in apartments are considerably less dramatic - more under Vacation Without a Hotel.

What does not work in the rain

For honesty's sake, the counter-list: the Rosenkogel route and the longer hikes are a poor idea in sustained rain - the meadow sections turn slippery and the view, which is half the point, is missing. The same goes for cycling the wine roads. The Flascherlzug runs seasonally and partly in open carriages. And a picnic in the vineyard simply does not need rain.

If you had a hike planned, move it by a day rather than push through. In West Styria a rainy day is often followed by a particularly clear one.

Frequently asked questions about rainy days in Stainz

Does it rain a lot in West Styria? In summer mostly as short, heavy afternoon thunderstorms; in autumn more as longer steady rain. A completely washed-out weekend is the exception, a washed-out afternoon is not.

What is the best bad-weather destination for families? Therme NOVA in Köflach, followed by the Lipizzaner stud farm at Piber and the glass centre in Bärnbach.

Are Buschenschenken open in the rain? Yes, provided they are open that day at all - operations follow the seasonal calendar, not the weather. Calling ahead is still advisable.

How far is Graz from Stainz? About forty minutes by car, which makes it realistic even for half a day.

What can you do in the rain with small children? The spa, the glass centre, and the stud farm are the most reliable. In the house itself, an apartment with separate rooms helps more than any program.

A rainy day in Stainz is mostly a question of accommodation: with a living room, a kitchen, and a table you need no program at all. If you want one, it is within thirty minutes by car.

See the apartments or send an inquiry.