Daily Life

shopping
eating out

Opening hours

Generally, stores are open Monday to Friday between 9am and 6pm (most grocery stores between 8am and 7pm) and Saturday between 9am and 5pm or 6pm (and closed on Sundays). If you urgently need something outside opening hours you can go to gas stations or to one of the stores listed below and buy what you need at quite a high price:

• SPAR, in HAUPTBAHNHOF (main train station), open daily until 10pm (normal prices)
• HASIBA, Grabenstraße 1; open Mon - Sat until 9pm
• GRAZER ECK, Mariahilferstraße 24; open daily 8.00am – 10.00pm
• Some Turkish/Oriental shops also stay open longer.

When purchasing goods valued € 75,01 or more in one transaction AND planing on taking them back home with you, you can get a form for VAT reimbursement ("Mehrwertsteuerrückvergütung") filled in for you at the time of purchase. Shoes, coats and the like are good things to get money back on. The tourist information center can give you more information on how it works. All prices in Austria include 20% VAT. Herrengasse and Annenstraße are the main shopping streets in Graz. There are several shopping malls in Graz and on the outskirts, all of which can be reached by public transportation.

• ANNENPASSAGE, Bahnhofgürtel 38, 8020 Graz
• STYRIA CENTER, corner of Volksgartenstraße & Annenstraße, 8020 Graz
• CITYPARK, Lazarettgürtel 55, 8020 Graz
• SHOPPING CENTER WEST and IKEA, Weblingergürtel 25, 8054 Graz. To get there you take the tram #5 to the last stop (Puntigam Bahnhof). The bus #64 (in the direction of "Wetzelsdorf") then takes you to the shopping center.
• SHOPPING CITY SEIERSBERG To get there, you take the tram #5 to the last stop (Puntigam Bahnhof). The bus #78 then takes you to the shopping center.
• MURPARK Take the tram # 4 to its final stop "Liebenau / Murpark"
• KASTNER & ÖHLER, Sackstraße 7-13 (right off Hauptplatz) is the only department store downtown. Prices there range from reasonable to exorbitant depending, of course, on what you buy.

DM stores ("Drogeriemärkte"), SCHLECKER or BIPA sell toiletry articles and cosmetics at inexpensive prices.

LIBRO and PAGRO are chain stores specialized on office supplies and books.

SPAR and BILLA are grocery stores, HOFER, MONDO, PENNY MARKT and LIDL are grocery (discount) stores with weekly specials.

Very popular places to shop for fruits and vegetables are the local farmers' markets, most of which are open all morning six days a week. The two largest ones are the Kaiser-Joseph-Markt (opposite the opera house) and the one on Lendplatz.

An average meal including beverages will cost between € 7,50 - € 10. Most guests - except those who are utterly dissatisfied - will give a tip by rounding up.

There are two inexpensive student cafeterias in the vicinity of the university, where a full meal costs around € 3,60: UNI-MENSA, Schubertstraße 2 - 4 (also open during vacation) and in the new RESOWI building on campus: KATHOLISCHE MENSA, Leechgasse 24. Beliebte vegetarische Restaurants sind:

MANGOLDS Vollwertrestaurant, Grieskai 10/Griesgasse 11, 8020 Graz (open Mon - Fri 11am - 7pm, Sat. 11am - 4pm).

GINKO, Grazbachgasse 33/corner of Klosterwiesgasse, 8010 Graz (open Mo-Fr 11.30am to 9pm, Sa 11.30am-18pm).