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4 nights in Vienna, 1 night in Bratislava -- thoughts on itinerary?

Hello everyone,

My wife and I are planning our first trip to Europe (we're both in our mid-20s, are not fazed by hot weather and walking, love to see beautiful architecture, and enjoy all kinds of food/beer/wine). Generally both very easy to please. We fly into Vienna on Tues., Aug. 18, arriving around 11am. Staying in the old town close to St. Stephen's Cathedral. We have a flight from Bratislava to Milan (to start a 2-week trip in Italy) on Sun., Aug. 23 around 6pm. Does the following itinerary look alright? Would love to get thoughts on things to add, delete, logistics to be aware of, etc.

Tues., Aug. 18 (afternoon) - Vienna
Weds., Aug. 19 - Vienna
Thurs., Aug. 20 - Vienna
Fri., Aug. 21 - Vienna-Salzburg day trip (http://www.vienna-alacarte.com/small-group-tour-to-salzburg)? Or we could visit the Neustift am Walde wine festival? (http://www.neustift-am-walde.at/aktiv.htm)
Sat., Aug. 22 - Lipizzaner show at Spanish Riding School at 11am (worth checking out?), train to Bratislava in the evening
Sun., Aug. 23 - explore Bratislava old town in the morning, visit Bratislava castle, flight departs 5:45pm

Thanks in advance for any thoughts on these plans!

Posted by
16893 posts

I have happily spent more than four days in Vienna on more than one occasion. There's so much to see that I would not plan a day trip to Salzburg. The wine festival is presumably a more flexible event that could allow time for another Vienna site in the morning.

Posted by
3 posts

I would say I would not choose to spend 4 nights in Vienna, 3 days in Vienna is more than sufficient. I actually covered almost everything in just one and a half days

Posted by
527 posts

We have been to Vienna many times, ranging from 10 days to 1 month. Still plenty to come back for. If it were me I would go for the wine festival in Neustift am Walde and skip a day trip to Salzburg. It is beautiful out in Neustift and Austrian wines are excellent!

Posted by
17908 posts

As you can see, everyone has different taste. Personally I would swap the Salzburg and Bratislava time for a few days in Budapest and then remain flexible. If Vienna isn't lighting your fire after 2 days, then move on.

I don't think you can even scratch the surface of either of these two towns in less than 5 days, but think of it as a sampler tray.