The Landhaus courtyard

The Landhaus on the Herrengasse has been the seat of the Styrian estates since the sixteenth century, and its courtyard, built by Domenico dell'Allio between 1557 and 1565, is the purest piece of Italian Renaissance north of the Alps in Austria. Three tiers of round-arched loggias run around all four sides; a bronze well canopy of 1590 stands in the middle, and creeper covers the lower arches through the summer.

For a photographer the value is the light. The arcades are deep enough to throw a soft, even shade on any bright day, the stone is warm-toned, and the repeating arches give a frame in whichever direction you point. Stand under the ground-floor loggia and shoot across the yard; stand on the first gallery and shoot down the arcade line for the receding arches.

It is a working parliament building, so the courtyard is open in office hours and closed or partly closed when events are set up in it — in July and August it carries a summer stage, which is atmospheric but full of infrastructure. Access rules change, so check before the day rather than on the doorstep.

The yard is enclosed, which makes it the reliable rain and midday option in the middle of a walking session: the Hauptplatz, the painted Herzogshof and the narrow Sporgasse are all within two minutes, and the Schlossberg lift is five.