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7 day itinerary in Austria in October

Posted by (USA) on

Hi travelers,

I finally booked my flights to Vienna in October and am moving onto the next step of formulating skeletons of our itinerary to book hotels.

Could you review my itinerary and provide any tips or feedback? My priority is to enjoy, not completing checkboxes so please let me know if you recommend omitting any underwhelming places or expanding on impressive experience in fewer spots!
Thanks in advance.
Summary
Day 1–4: Vienna
Day 5 Train from Vienna to Salzburg
Day 5-6 Salzburg

Day 7: Day trip to St Wolfgang
Day 8: Salzburg to Prague
Day 8-11 Prague

Day 1 — Fly from Dulles airport
Day 2 — Arrive at Vienna airport next day 8am.
Spend time around hotel and wait for my mom(arriving @4pm) and friend(@12pm) .
Check into hotel (plan to book near Inner Stadt or Stadtpark)
Stroll Ringstrasse - Rathaus - Burgtheater- Parlamentsgrbaude- Justizpalast - Niue Burg - Wiener Staatsoper(or part of it)

Day 3

Schönbrunn Palace(undecided whether to do tour)
Belvedere Palace(Schloss Belvedere): View Klimt’s The Kiss and Relax in palace gardens
Cafe Sacher or Central (or alternatives if too crowded)

Day 4
St. Stephen’s Cathedral (Stephansplatz)
Walk the Graben + Kohlmarkt
Hofburg palace(enjoy exterior)
Austrian National Library (Österreichische Nationalbibliothek)
Swarovski store - mom wants to check out(closer than Innsbruck)
Optional— or go to Melk Abbey and Danube Cruise?undecided

Day 5— Vienna → Salzburg
ÖBB Railjet to Salzburg (2.5–3 hours)
Check into hotel
Mirabell Gardens
Mozart Wonhaus, Mozart Geburthaus, Getreidegasse(undecided whether to tour inside)
DomQuartier Saltzburg(museum complex) : stroll

Day 6— Salzburg
Split itinerary from prior day

Day 7- Saltzburg (Day trip to St Wolfgang)
Bus 150 from Salzburg Hauptbahnhof → St. Gilgen Busbahnhof
Arrive at St. Gilgen
Ferry St. Gilgen → St. Wolfgang
St.Wolfgang -> Schafberg via Schafberg cogwheel railway
Ride the Zwölferhorn cable car
Take the ferry across Lake Wolfgang to St. Wolfgang
Explore Lakeside walking paths, Souvenir shops & cafés
Ferry back → Bus to Salzburg (check the last time)

Day 8— Saltzburg to Prague
Train (fastest 5hours 15 minutes)

Posted by
59 posts

Your mom might enjoy the Vienna Naschmarkt. The Belvedere and Schonbrun are wonderful. If you like military history, visit the Museum of Military History which has the blood stained jacket of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the car in which he was riding when assassinated in Sarajevo.

Posted by
4489 posts

As you may know, Emily is one of our Vienna experts. Here is her take on cafes in a post from a 2023 thread:

I'll reiterate some fo the coffeehouses that I have recommended in the
past. Cafe Sperl - best apfelstrudel and the look that you are going
for. Cafe Diglas on Wollzeile - really excellent cakes. Vollpension -
run by grannies who bake their favorite cakes, fun for kids. Gerstner
- an uber-elegant cafe (be sure to go the upper floors) with amazing sour cherry strudel. Alt Wien Kaffee - really cosy, local vibe and new
to my list of favorites. Café Prückel - Breakfast at Tiffany's vibe,
good for lunch.

I will also share cafes to avoid - Sacher, Demel and Central. These
are all completely overtaken by Instagrammers and long lines. Sadly,
they used to be great, but now they are tourist factories.

I can endorse Vollpension. It's like sitting in grandma's living room. Regular food + big selection of cakes.

I traveled to Vienna with a 21-year-old who really, really, really wanted to try THE Sacher Torte. The wait at the Sacher hotel cafe for this was something like an hour. The nearby Hotel Bristol is owned by the same company and offers the exact same Sacher Torte -- minus the wait, so that's where we went. The 21-year-old took one bite, look disappointed, and said, "Not my favorite."

Posted by
1588 posts

""Ferry St. Gilgen → St. Wolfgang
St.Wolfgang -> Schafberg via Schafberg cogwheel railway
Ride the Zwölferhorn cable car
Take the ferry across Lake Wolfgang to St. Wolfgang"

This is probably a typo? You are in St. Wolfgang for the Schafberg cogwheel railway. The Zwölferhorn cable car is in St Gilgen and might be too much in that day.

Posted by
1014 posts

While waiting for Mom I suggest Rick's Ring Strasse or City Walk Audio Tours. You can get a feel for the city in advance of the rest of the group's arrival.

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