Graz is a city famous for the University of Technology which offers the best teaching and research in the engineering, science and technical natural branches. In the University, there are a number of aptitude centers, laboratories, projects and research fields. With a population of around 290,000 as of 2008, Graz is the second-largest city in Austria after Vienna and the capital of the federal state of Styria, a green and heavily forested area. The city is situated on the Mur river, in the south east of Austria. It is approximately 200 km southwest of Vienna. The nearest larger urban center is Maribor in Slovenia which is about 50 km away.

Graz has a long tradition as a student city where six universities have over 44,000 students. Graz's "Old Town" is one of the best-preserved city centers in Central Europe. The old town was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999 due to the harmonious co-existence of typical buildings from different epochs and in different architectural styles. Graz was sole Cultural Capital of Europe for 2003.

Today the old town consists of over 1000 buildings, their age ranging from Gothic to Contemporary. There are currently 228 buildings in Graz that are classified as highrise buildings. In Graz a building is classified as being highrise if the floor of at least one room is 22 metres above ground level.

The most important sights in the old town are Schloßberg, hill dominating the old town; Uhrturm clocktower, symbol of Graz; Neue Gallerie, museum of art; Schloßbergbahn, a funicular railway up the Schloßberg; The Landeszeughaus, armoury, the largest of its kind in the world; the Schauspielhaus is the principal theatre; Dom, a rare monument of Gothic architecture; Burg, castle complex with Gothic double staircase; Kunsthaus museum of modern art; Murinsel, an artificial island in the Mur.

Some of the most important museums in Graz are Alte Galerie, Neue Galerie, Natural History Museum, Stadtmuseum Graz, Grazer Kunsthaus,Camera Austria, Landeszeughaus, Volkskundemuseum, and Diözesanmuseum.

Many festivals take place throughout the year such as styriarte, theatre and music festival; steirischer herbst, contemporary art festival; Jazz-Sommer Graz; Eggenberger Schlosskonzerte, classical music concerts in banqueting hall of Eggenberg Palace; Classics in the City, classical concerts held in old town courtyards;  Diagonale, festival of Austrian film; LaStrada street/puppet theater festival; springfestival, festival for electronic art and music.

The most important art/music venues in Graz are Stadthalle Graz exhibition center, Oper Graz opera house, Schauspielhaus principal theatre, NextLiberty youth theatre, Orpheum music/stand up comedy venue, Grazer Congress - Stephaniensaal classical music venue/ballroom, Helmut-List-Halle music arena, Grazer Stadtmuseum city museum/art venue, Kulturhaus art venue, Dom im Berg contemporary music venue/art venue, Schloßbergbühne Kasematten music/theatre venue, p.p.c. (project pop culture) contemporary music venue, Explosiv contemporary music venue, Forum Stadtpark contemporary art venue.