Austria

Austria, in a few days

From the imperial palaces of Vienna to Salzburg and the alpine lakes of the Salzkammergut, by train and then by car: the map, what is worth booking, everything that costs nothing, and where to sleep at three budgets.

Day by day

1

Vienna

Days 1-3

The seat of the Habsburgs for more than six centuries. The Ringstrasse replaced the city walls in the nineteenth century, and the coffee houses still keep the pace of the old empire.

🎟️ Worth booking

• Schönbrunn Palace (ticket)2h · from €22
  The Habsburgs' summer palace has 1,441 rooms, of which the tour shows a few dozen; the gardens are free to walk.
• Classical music concertEvening · from €45
  Mozart and Strauss in a former palace or one of the great concert halls. Book with the venue rather than with a costumed seller in the street.

✦ Free to visit

• St Stephen's Cathedral
• The Ringstrasse on foot
• The Belvedere gardens
• Naschmarkt

📲 Book things to do in Vienna on GetYourGuide

2

Salzburg

Days 4-5 · 🚆 Train 2h30

The city of the prince-archbishops, where Mozart was born in 1756. A baroque old town, UNESCO-listed, under the walls of Hohensalzburg.

🎟️ Worth booking

• Hohensalzburg Fortress (ticket and funicular)2h · from €16
  Begun in 1077, and one of the largest medieval castles in Europe still standing intact. The funicular climbs to it in about a minute.
• Sound of Music tour and the lakesHalf day · from €45
  The filming locations of the 1965 musical, from the Mirabell Gardens to the church at Mondsee where the wedding scene was shot.

✦ Free to visit

• The old town and Getreidegasse
• Mirabell Gardens
• Mozart's birthplace (from outside)
• The banks of the Salzach

📲 Book things to do in Salzburg on GetYourGuide

3

Hallstatt and the Salzkammergut

Days 6-7 · 🚗 Car 1h15

A village squeezed between the lake and the mountain, where salt has been mined for some 7,000 years. Fewer than 800 people live here and around a million visit each year, so stay the night to see it quiet.

🎟️ Worth booking

• Hallstatt salt mine and skywalkHalf day · from €40
  A funicular up the mountain, the viewing platform 360 metres above the village, then the miners' slides inside the oldest known salt mine in the world.
• Cruise on Lake Hallstatt1h · from €15
  An hour on the water, looking back at the village the way it appears on postcards.

✦ Free to visit

• The classic view of the village
• Marktplatz
• The lakeside path
• The lakes of the Salzkammergut

📲 Book things to do in Hallstatt and the Salzkammergut on GetYourGuide

Worth sorting before you go

Train, then a car · Vienna to Salzburg is about two and a half hours by Railjet. From there, hire a car for the lakes: Hallstatt is roughly an hour and a quarter away.

📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly

🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta

🚗 Car hire
Compare the agencies before you land.
Compare · Booking

💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut

🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer

Some links are partner links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

Flavours & local habits

🍽️ Worth tasting

• Wiener Schnitzel: veal beaten thin, breaded and fried, served with a slice of lemon.
• Sachertorte: chocolate cake with a layer of apricot jam under a dark glaze, with unsweetened whipped cream on the side.
• Tafelspitz: boiled beef with apple and horseradish sauce, said to have been Emperor Franz Joseph's favourite.
• Apfelstrudel: paper-thin pastry rolled around apples, raisins, cinnamon and breadcrumbs.
• Kaiserschmarrn: a thick pancake torn into pieces, caramelised, dusted with icing sugar and served with plum compote.

⚠️ Best avoided

• Skip the cafés facing Stephansplatz in Vienna: you pay for the view, not the coffee.
• Tip around 5 to 10% in restaurants, and say the total as you pay rather than leaving coins on the table.
• A boxed Sachertorte from the supermarket is not the Hotel Sacher original.
• Stay off the marked cycle lanes in Vienna, where bikes come through fast.

Words that help

English ↔ German

✈️ Flight delayed by 3 hours or more, or cancelled? You may be owed up to €600. Check your flight on AirHelp.

The practical page

Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/austria

Packing checklist

Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.