Austria itinerary, day by day

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.

🗓️ 3, 7 or 14 days📍 3 stops☀️ Best time: May to September (skiing: December to March)

Hallstatt · Photo Ahmet AZAKLI / Pexels

Route map (numbers = order of the stops).

Austria in 3 days

2 stops · 12 things to do · ≈ 295 km

1Vienna

Days 1-2

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.
Book on GetYourGuide →
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.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

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

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Wombat's Vienna (€44 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Sans Souci (€190 a night) · Luxury: Hotel Sacher Wien (€450 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Dom Schnitzel ★ 4.9 · 8184 reviews
SIXTA ★ 4.9 · 2616 reviews · €€
Dom Schnitzel (Stadtgarten Graben) ★ 4.9 · 223 reviews
Restaurant Vienne ★ 4.8 · 9932 reviews · €€
Bauernbräu ★ 4.8 · 4049 reviews · €€

Photo Cristian Salinas Cisternas / Pexels

🚆 Train · 2h30 · 295 km

2Salzburg

Day 3

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.
Book on GetYourGuide →
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.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

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

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: YoHo Hostel (€42 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel & Villa Auersperg (€170 a night) · Luxury: Hotel Sacher Salzburg (€390 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Meet2Eat ★ 4.9 · 1374 reviews · €€
Restaurant Jakob's Esskultur ★ 4.9 · 216 reviews
Coquette Weinbar ★ 4.9 · 216 reviews
Restaurant Brunnauer ★ 4.8 · 540 reviews · €€€
The Glass Garden ★ 4.8 · 217 reviews · €€€€

Photo Pexels

Austria in 7 days

3 stops · 18 things to do · ≈ 370 km

1Vienna

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.
Book on GetYourGuide →
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.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

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

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Wombat's Vienna (€44 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Sans Souci (€190 a night) · Luxury: Hotel Sacher Wien (€450 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Cristian Salinas Cisternas / Pexels

🚆 Train · 2h30 · 295 km

2Salzburg

Days 4-5

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.
Book on GetYourGuide →
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.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

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

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: YoHo Hostel (€42 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel & Villa Auersperg (€170 a night) · Luxury: Hotel Sacher Salzburg (€390 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Pexels

🚗 Car · 1h15 · 75 km

3Hallstatt and the Salzkammergut

Days 6-7

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.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Cruise on Lake Hallstatt1h · from €15
An hour on the water, looking back at the village the way it appears on postcards.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

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

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Gasthof Simony (€110 a night) · Mid-range: Heritage Hotel Hallstatt (€180 a night) · Luxury: Seehotel Grüner Baum (€290 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Uferwirt Seeraunzn ★ 4.8 · 1272 reviews · €€
Taglich Frisch Gebacken ★ 4.6 · 208 reviews
Welterbe-Wirtshaus Steegwirt ★ 4.5 · 3408 reviews · €€
Seecafé Hallstatt ★ 4.5 · 1614 reviews · €
Zum Bader Gastwirtschaft ★ 4.4 · 577 reviews

Photo Pexels

Austria in 14 days

4 stops · 24 things to do · ≈ 740 km

1Vienna

Days 1-4

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.
Book on GetYourGuide →
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.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

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

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Wombat's Vienna (€44 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Sans Souci (€190 a night) · Luxury: Hotel Sacher Wien (€450 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Cristian Salinas Cisternas / Pexels

🚆 Train · 2h30 · 295 km

2Salzburg

Days 5-8

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.
Book on GetYourGuide →
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.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

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

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: YoHo Hostel (€42 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel & Villa Auersperg (€170 a night) · Luxury: Hotel Sacher Salzburg (€390 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Pexels

🚗 Car · 1h15 · 75 km

3Hallstatt and the Salzkammergut

Days 9-12

🎟️ 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.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Cruise on Lake Hallstatt1h · from €15
An hour on the water, looking back at the village the way it appears on postcards.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

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

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Gasthof Simony (€110 a night) · Mid-range: Heritage Hotel Hallstatt (€180 a night) · Luxury: Seehotel Grüner Baum (€290 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Pexels

🚗 Car · 1h15 · 75 km (back to the airport)

4Salzburg

Days 13-14

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.
Book on GetYourGuide →
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.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

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

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: YoHo Hostel (€42 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel & Villa Auersperg (€170 a night) · Luxury: Hotel Sacher Salzburg (€390 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Pexels

Hotel prices are per room per night, activity prices per person, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide): we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

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Good to know before you go

🍽️ What to eat

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.

⚠️ What to avoid

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.

Plan this trip

📒 The free printable Austria guide→ 🗓️ Best time to visit Austria, month by month→ 🎟️ What to book before you go→

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