Wels

Wels is a city in Upper Austria (Oberösterreich). Its old town is well worth seeing.

It has about 59,000 inhabitants.

Get in

Wels is about 30  km southwest of Linz.

By train: Wels is an important railway junction on the Salzburg - Vienna route and a stop for almost all international trains.

By car: from Salzburg on the West Autobahn to Voralpenkreuz and on the Innkreis Autobahn to Wels. From Vienna on the Autobahn to Knoten Haid and on the Welser Autobahn to Wels. From Passau on the A8.

By plane: Linz Airport (LNZ/LOWL) is only about 15  km away, but Wels Airport (LOLW) with 1390  m of asphalt runway is also available for general aviation.

Get around

Wels is notorious for one-way streets, traffic jams and a lack of parking spaces, especially in the city centre. It is therefore better to leave your car in the garage. Most of the sights are within walking distance of each other and the public transport network is dense.

Several city bus lines make every point of the city accessible relatively quickly. There is no bus service on Sundays, but it is possible to call an "AST" taxi by phone. Call at least 30 minutes before departure (☏ +49 7242 20 69 69) and state your name, departure point (number), departure time, destination (free choice of destination within the timetable area) and number of people.

See

• Wels has one of the most beautiful town squares in Austria.
• University of Applied Sciences.
• Stadtplatz / The Big Street.
• Kaiser Josef Platz 2 - The house of Manish Abraham.

Churches

• 1 Stadtpfarrkirche (city parish church). Romanesque-Gothic 
• 2 Vorstadtpfarrkirche (suburban parish church). 
• 3 Christuskirche (Christ Church). 
• 4 Herz-Jesu-Kirche (Sacred Heart Church). 
• 5 Kalvarienbergkirche (Calvary Church). 
• 6 Kirche zum hl Franziskus (Church of St. Francis). 
• 7 St. Josefskirche (St. Joseph's Church). 
• 8 profanierte Minoritenkirche (deconsecrated Minorite church). 1283 - one of the earliest Gothic buildings in Austria. 

Other buildings

• 9 Kulturzentrum Burg Wels (Burg Wels Cultural Center). with thecdeath chamber of Emperor Maximilian I (January 12, 1519) 
• 10 Schloss Polheim (Polheim Castle), Freiung 14.  
• 11 (Ledererturm) (on the town square). A tower. 
• 12 Haus der Salome Alt (House of Salome Alt). 

Do

• 1 Kornspeicher (granary). A wonderful garden in the heart of Wels which was created in 1941. It can be found in the passage from Freiung 15 to Stadtplatz 46. 
• 2 Tiergarten, Maria-Theresia-Straße 33. Over 100 animal species in a wonderful park landscape. The modern zoo was created in 1930 and is the oldest zoo in Upper Austria. It is about 3 hectares in size. Free. (updated Dec 2024)

Buy

In the town square and in the small streets of the old town you will find a variety of small shops.

In the west of the city there are two shopping centres on the left and right of the B1 towards Salzburg: Shoppingcity Wels, about 80 shops and max.center, about 45 shops.

Eat

• Gösserbräu
• Gasthaus zur Linde

Drink

• MOJO
• Verdacht
• Kreuzbeisl
• Rewü

Go next

There are many cities easily accessible by train.

• Traun
• Vöcklabruck
• Steyr

Routes through Wels

Passau ← becomes ← ←	W  S	→ Becomes → Liezen
Ends at ←	W  E	→ Ends at
Salzburg ← Vöcklabruck ←	W  E	→ Linz → Amstetten