AUSTRIA 6 Days
This trip visits Vienna, Europe's cultural capital, and Salzburg, Mozart's birthplace.
Vienna is famous for its art, music, culture, Danube river views, and the nearby Vienna Woods. The city is famous for its coffee and sweets, especially apple strudel and Wiener schnitzel. Over 7 million visitors come to Vienna each year to enjoy its unique charm and culture.
Salzburg is a top tourist spot, known for its "Old Town" with famous baroque buildings and the Hohensalzburg Fortress. It is one of Europe's best-preserved cities and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Exploring Vienna:
🚗 Getting Around
Car Rental: Best for flexibility and rural areas. Rates are reasonable, but traffic and limited parking can be a nuisance.
Public Transit: Highly recommended in urban centers like Vienna. It is fast, clean, and remarkably efficient.
🚆 Rail Travel: Europe’s rail network is world-class. It is often the fastest and most scenic way to travel between regions.
Train Specialist:The Man in Seat 61
Travel Guidebooks: DK Eyewitness Vienna; Insight Guide Salzburg and Rick Steves-Vienna/Salzburg.
Travel Adapters: Type C and Type F. (the same two-round-prong style)
Currency: Euro
Map of Vienna
DAY 1
Arrive in Vienna, Austria and transfer to your hotel. (the best location is the city center)
Public transport: the system is excellent and strongly recommended.
—Visitors often use the U-Bahn (subway) and the S-Bahn (local train) network.✈️ Arriving from the airport:
If carrying heavy luggage: Use an Uber for direct door-to-door transfer.
The Savvy Shortcut: Take the S-Bahn - S7 train to the city center. <learn more>
The S7-Bahn stops in the city center are: Wien Mitte and Wien Praterstern.
Visitors arriving from the Vienna Hbf Train station, transfer by taxi, Uber or by U-Bahn.
🚆 Getting to “the Center” from the Train Station by U-Bahn.
Follow the signs for the U1 subway line (it’s a big blue "U" icon).
Take the U1 train heading toward Leopoldau. Exit at Stephansplatz. This is the very heart of the city center with many hotels.
Arriving by river cruiseships. Most dock beside Vienna’s famous Reichsbrücke.
From the dock, visitors can walk to the U1 subway at Vorgartenstraße to reach the city center. <location>
The Vienna Tourist Information website is a great resource for visitors.
If you stay for a few days, get the Vienna City Card. It provides many benefits to improve your visit.. <Learn more about the card>
Overnight: Vienna (3 nights) <Where to stay>
Innere Stadt (city center) is the most popular neighborhood to stay in Vienna and the most central to the tourist attractions.
DAYS 2 and 3
Vienna - the city center is pedestrian-friendly, dotted with green parks, well known museums, trendy boutique hotels, restaurants and old world coffee shops.
A good way to learn the city is a Walking tour.
🚶 Best walk: Walk the Ringstraße, it’s a big circle road around the city center that passes most of Vienna’s famous buildings.
What you’ll see on this walk:
Vienna State Opera: The world-famous opera house.
Parliament Building: It looks like a giant Greek temple.
Rathaus: This is the beautiful, gothic City Hall.
Other Vienna Highlights:
Schönbrunn Palace - this former Habsburg home features grand ceremonial rooms and beautiful gardens..
Getting there: U-Bahn 4, Schonbrunn stop.
St. Stephen's Cathedral - the most important religious building and the symbol of Vienna.
At 136 meters tall, it is Austria's tallest church, located in the city center..
Hofburg -is a “must see” palace. It contains a variety of museums, art galleries and prestigious collections.
It is the former imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty rulers (1438 until 1806) and now houses the President’s office.
Getting to the Hofburg: Take the U-Bahn 3, & exit at Herrengasse station OR a 12-minute walk from St.Stephen’s Cathedral. <route>
Make an effort to visit:
Imperial Treasury Vienna (Kaiserliche Schatzkammer Wien) - the world’s most important Treasury resides here.
Museum of Natural History Vienna - It is one of the most important natural history museums worldwide.
Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien (Art History Museum)-is one of the world’s finest art museums.
Its collection includes over 1.5 million works of art spanning 5,000 years of world culture.
Located directly across from the Museum of Natural History. <map>
The Spanish Riding School - located in the Hofburg, it’s the world’s only school with over 450 years of history; its trained horses have wowed audiences worldwide. <Tickets and Events>
Belvedere - is a historic building complex consisting of two Baroque palaces. A world-class museum with one of the most comprehensive painting collections. <tickets>
Getting there: Take the U-Bahn 1, exit at Hauptbahnhof station and walk 15 minutes to the palace, or catch the 18, O or D trams.
Naschmarkt - Vienna’s most popular food market. <street view> Have a tasty lunch and enjoy the lively vibe.
Getting there: Take the U-Bahn 4, get out at Kettenbrückengasse station OR take U1, U2, U4, getting off at the Karlsplatz station.
Vienna is one of the best destinations during the 🎅 Christmas season.
With the beautiful streets of Vienna as your backdrop, the Christmas markets are truly an age-old tradition. Enjoy hot wine, chestnuts, famed Viennese chocolates and handcrafted goods. <Read more>
The Best Cafes and Coffee Houses. You can expect wait times up to 90 minutes during peak times.
Our favorites: Cafe Landtmann, Cafe Sperl, Cafe Hawelka and Cafe Braunerhof.
Overnight: Vienna
DAY 4 and 5
Embark to Salzburg.
Salzburg is a charmingly preserved old town with magnificent gardens, Baroque churches, and one of Europe's largest intact medieval fortresses. <Brochures and Catalogs>
Highlights of Salzburg:
The Altstadt (Old Town) - A "time-capsule" area with narrow streets and Baroque squares. Best explored entirely by foot.
Visit Mozart's Birthplace - located on Getreidegasse 9, is the house where Mozart was born and lived.
Mozart’s apartment is now a museum. It shows manuscripts, documents, souvenirs, and a portrait of Mozart at the piano. Displayed: a concert piano, clavichord, concert violin, child’s violin, and viola.
Visit the Hohensalzburg Fortress. It’s a large medieval fortress 120 meters above Salzburg.
The castle museum provides insights into the fortress’s past.
Visit the uniquepuppet museum. It features many exhibits from the famous Salzburg Marionette Theatre.
During Christmas time, the courtyard houses a romantic Christmas market and daily Christmas dinner concert.
Visit theBrewery Augustiner Bräu. It is a popular beer hall about a 15 minute walk from Old Town.
Cash only.
Austria’s leading beers.
ℹ️ Across the Salzach from Old Town is Neustadt (“New Town”), known for its lively restaurants, bars, and clubs:
For evening activities: Visit Mirabell Palace. Located in “New Town” — its one of Austria’s most beautiful concert halls, hosting renowned artists and ensembles that carry on Mozart’s legacy. <Tickets>
<City Walks> <Boat Tours> <Guided Tours>
Overnight: Salzburg (2 nights)
For first-time visitors, Altstadt (Old Town) is generally the best place to stay. <accommodations>
Distance: Vienna —> Salzburg, 300km (180mi.) 3 hrs.
DAY 6
Depart Salzburg to another European destination or fly home from Salzburg or Vienna.
RAIL TRAVEL RESOURCES
Average Cost:
(EXCLUDING AIRFARE)
$$$ USD for two (2) people.
Budget: $1,500
Moderate: $2,300
Luxury: $3,000 +
🌤️ Climate
During the months of June, July and August is when you’re likely to experience pleasant weather.
The warmest months are May through September.
The coldest months are December, January and February.
Each month gets an average of 13-15 rainy days.
Snow is common December through early-March.
Austria Gallery
🎬 Video
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