SNAPSHOT IMAGES OF THREE PICTURE-PERFECT CITIES.

Byline: Susanne Hopkins Daily News Travel Editor

This is a traveler's tale of three cities, of finding chestnuts in Graz, a golden roof in Innsbruck and the sounds of a carillon in Salzburg.

One of the delights of traveling is gathering such mental snapshot images of places as you journey around. Years later, at a sound, sight or scent, you can be transported back to that place.

Austria is a prime country for such memories, particularly the old sections of the smaller cities (the modern areas and the suburbs hold little fascination). Everywhere you look in these old quarters, it seems, there are special scenes. . .

Graz

It may be Austria's second-largest city with 242,000 residents, but Graz must be the country's best-kept secret. You won't find vast groups of tourists or a plethora of T-shirt and souvenir shops here.

Situated on the River Mur about 120 miles southeast of Vienna, it is, a Graz resident told me, "a typical middle-class city shaped by Renaissance art."

This lovely 860-year-old city old), which spawned actor Arnold Schwarznegger, is filled with well-preserved Renaissance structures in ice-cream colors, inviting cobblestone alleyways and unexpected delights.

I walked through a chic department store, the Jugend-Stil Haus, and found myself in a courtyard where the city's first university once stood. I sat with a hot chocolate at a little outdoor cafe across from the imposing city hall and listened to a fellow in tie and tails playing music from "Carmen" on bottles. At a street corner stall, a young man roasted savory chestnuts and served them up in a newspaper cone. And large, vibrant blooms beckoned from small flower stalls.

At the church in St. Francis Square, workers were installing a new copper roof over tiny shops snugged up against St. Francis Church. Built in 1239, the church has for centuries rented space to the shopkeepers.

I marveled at things peculiarly Grazian: the clock tower that once had a single hand because, city guide Helga Denk said, "That was enough. The minutes were not as important as today"; the modern metal sculpture representing the Statue of Liberty in front of the stately Opera House; and lovely Eggenburg Palace's finely done, but depressing, frescoes depicting unhappy times in history.

Near City Hall, I ventured into an imposing yellow and white Renaissance structure the Armory. It contains a pristine collection of 30,000 weapons - maces, flintlock rifles and pistols, bullet molds and cannon balls, as well as armor.

Time doesn't allow visits to the Joanneum State Museum, with its artwork and collection of archeological discoveries; the mausoleum of Emperor Ferdinand II; or the Gothic-style Castle, which, built in 1438, is now the seat of government for the state of Styria (of which Graz is the capital).

But I've images enough to savor.

Innsbruck

About 300 miles west of Vienna, Innsbruck sprawls over a landscape split by the River Inn and dominated by the lofty Alps. Its crown jewel is the old town center, where Emperor Maximilian once presided over jousting matches, cheering on his knights from beneath his Golden Roof.

Today, the cobbled square of the medieval city is lined with touristy shops housed in old, handsome buildings, many of which are adorned with intricate frescoes and fanciful, Baroque ornamentation. Tourists have replaced jousters, but the Golden Roof still dominates the setting.

The roof (actually gilded copper disks) was added onto a plain white house at the end of the square in 1500 at Maximilian's request. On a sunny day, it shimmers brightly, almost obscuring the fine frescoes and reliefs that now adorn the structure.

Down an alleyway from the Golden Roof is Hofburg Palace, a yellow-and-white wedding cake of a structure topped with a green-washed dome. Among the 400 rooms inside, there's a spectacular presentation hall with its jigsaw-puzzle floor of red, white and gray marble, its colorful frescoes and paintings of each of Empress Maria Theresa's 16 children.

The old town of Innsbruck is fun to roam around. It's filled with interesting shops (off the square), fascinating architecture such as the Court Church, and glimpses of spectacular Alpine scenery.

I took a ride up the Hungerburg mountain in a funicular, a trip which provided a spectacular view of Innsbruck and its surroundings. Swinging up the mountain in a car that could hold 50 people, I spotted hikers moving up the steep trails, folks seated on benches reading in the warm sun and hang-gliders stepping off high, green peaks into space.

Innsbruck is a sports-minded place - lots of hikers and bicyclists were in evidence when I visited. And it's one of the places to ski in the winter. Indeed, Innsbruck, which has only 117,000 residents, has twice hosted the Winter Olympics, in 1964 and 1976, and the town is making a bid for the 2006 Games. You can still see the Bergisel ski jump at the edge of the city (and even climb up it a ways) and there's an Olympic Museum of sports memorabilia and videos in the town square.

At Ambras Castle in the southern part of the city, Emperor Ferdinand's rather odd art collection is on exhibit.

From golden cache boxes, instruments and toys showcased in a rainbow of colored cabinets, our tour group moved on to artwork best called unusual. There was a dangerous-looking metal chair, one of Ferdinand's prized pieces. Ferdinand, our guide told us, apparently delighted in getting guests to sit in it. Once they did, arms and brackets snapped into place, trapping the person. The victimdid not get out until it pleased Ferdinand to set him free.

There were giant oil paintings of a werewolf family, as well as giants and dwarves and a man with a lance through his forehead.

"These are people who actually lived in Ferdinand's time," our guide said.

"This is absolutely macabre," said one awed tourist.

I could only nod in agreement - and vow not to replace my mental snapshot of Innsbruck's Golden Roof with the portrait of the man with the lance through his forehead.

Salzburg

The rich tones of the carillon were sounding as I stepped into Salzburg's old market square. And when they stopped, I heard the lyrical strains of a violin.

Yes, this was Mozart's city, where he was born in 1756. Then, it was a small village; now, it is a city of 138,000 about 190 miles west of Vienna. Bisected by the Salzach River, its most fascinating features are found to the west of the river, in the old city. A brooding fortress, the 11th century Hohensalzburg, looms above the city.

Even if you've never been to Salzburg, it would seem familiar. The old city, which always seems to me to be dusted with a golden light, was where much of "Sound of Music" was filmed. You can, in fact, take "Sound of Music" tours to landmark settings from the film.

But for most people who come here, it is still Mozart's city. His birthplace, the third floor of a bright yellow residence on Getreidgasse, has been turned into a small museum that can become intensely crowded in summer months. It's worth battling the crowds - here you can see some of the young genius's musical instruments, early compositions and learn about his family.

Across the river, on Imbergstrabe, is the Mozart Residence, where young Wolfgang lived from 1771 to 1781 (his family continued living there for several more years). It was closed when I was there, swathed in red netting with workers swarming all over.

"The Mozart Residence is being reconstructed from donations from all over the world," a guide informed me. It was bombed during World War II, she said, noting that in the reconstruction, old paintings of the house's concert room were found behind two centuries of wallpaper.

Mozart notwithstanding, Salzburg is a lovely city to roam. There is a warren of small streets filled with impressive shops; the imposing baroque and Romanesque Cathedral in Domplatz, which was reconstructed in 1614 after a fire and boasts a marvelous organ; the catacombs of St. Peter's Abbey; museums, including one dedicated to toys; and, out of the old city, Hellbrunn Palace with its elegant park, a zoo and some garden water games; and Mirabell Palace, with its garden mazes.

There are open-air markets, alleyway antiques sales, and always, there is the sound of music - Mozart or otherwise.

On Location

If a visit to Innsbruck is on your travel itinerary, you may want to stop by Wattens, about a half-hour east. There you'll find the Swarovski crystal factory, which specializes in small crystal sculptures and jewelry, and its new museum, Swarovski Crystal Worlds. While you can't go through the factory, you can walk through a giant's mouth and step inside a crystal.

The subterranean museum is inside a hill that is the shape of a giant, topped with a park, a children's playground and a maze in the shape of a hand. The grass-covered head has lighted crystal eyes that change from clear to blue and a waterfall spews from its mouth into a large pond below. Entrance to the museum is via a pathway behind the mouth.

Once inside, you'll see a 36-foot-high crystal wall containing 12 tons of glittering crystal jewels. You'll walk inside a crystal dome, see crystal works by such artists as Salvador Dali and see a theaterlike display of crystals that appear to be a galaxy.

There is also a cafeteria here and a gift shop. Hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily May 1 to Sept. 30, and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday Oct. 1 through April 30. Admission is about $6 for adults, free for children under 14.

For more information about Austrian cities, contact the Austrian National Tourist Office Inc., [phone].

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Photo (1--Color) Innsbruck's famous Golden Roof is really gilded copper disks. Susanne Hopkins/Daily News (2--Color) A merchant roasts chestnuts in Graz. (3--Color) A flea market in old Salzburg. (4--Color) The River Inn runs through Innsbruck. Box On Location (See text)