Anyone who likes Salzburg far more than Vienna?

Isn't it "nice" that the world has provided different places for people of different tastes. I prefer not to describe all places in any region as being the same. For example, I found many of the smaller towns and villages near where I lived in Southern Bavaria to be just as "nice" if not "nicer" than Salzburg, even though I have always enjoyed my visits there. Your experiences with these places was obviously much different. As the saying goes - to each their own.

I spent a day in Salzburg and it’s a fine little city, but that was enough for me. I’ve been to Vienna twice for multiday visits and want to go back. As a former imperial capital, its wealth of history and art are world class. Plus great food and wonderful daytrips. The city that most reminds me of Salzburg is Ljubljana. A castle up on a hill, a river, Hapsburg architecture, somewhat similar in size although L is bigger, kind of a laid back ambiance (although S gets a lot more tourists), near the Alps, not much in terms of art but well worth a visit. You ask about countries where one major city appeals and another just doesn’t, for me that’s Spain, I love Madrid but I don’t love Barcelona.

Having visited Vienna several times, it just doesn't do it for me the
way Salzburg did.

Just the opposite for me. I enjoy Salzburg and I'm enthralled with Vienna. Going back to both in December. I agree with your perspective on the vibe. I just happen to prefer Vienna's to Salzburg's.

”Have you ever felt completely different about two different cities in the same country?”

Absolutely! And I’ve felt completely different about one city during subsequent trips.

Focusing on your Austria topic, we loved Salzburg, too! Such a pretty setting with the castle, the overhead signs on the street, great food, music and very walkable. One year we bought Salzburg Cards to proceeded to do as many items as possible. It was a nice way to see a variety of places in the city. The Christmas Markets were special there, too.

I do like Vienna a lot, also, but I’m typically partial to the smaller towns.

Interesting perspective. To each their own, I suppose. I visited Vienna for the museums (Kunsthistorisches, Belvedere, Albertina, and Leopold). Also, for the city's association with 'The Third Man' (I visited several of the film's locations, including the Ferris Wheel). While there, I was highly impressed by the public transportation system. On the other hand, Salzburg's neoclassical architecture (which Vienna has too) and overt promotion of music-related tourism were uninteresting, so I chose not to visit. Similarly, I visited Munich primarily for the Alte Pinakothek and the Deutsches Museum. Also, it was a good base for day trips to Augsburg and Nuremberg.

The point is that it's all a matter of personal preference. As for feeling different about 2 cities in the same country, absolutely. For example, I prefer Siena over Florence.

To be honest for an imperial capital I expected more from Vienna. Prague looked more imperial somehow. Idk why. Salzburg as well. I like landlocked cities slightly hilly I guess and almost all of the flat cities I like are coastal.
Anyway, what really put me off last time I went (July 2025) is I found the people got grumpier and outright hostile compared to the way they were back in 2017 and 2018.

I got on the train from the airport to the main train station and someone was sitting in the place I booked. I nicely told him and he indeed moved but reacted in a kind of jerky way. Started shouting "Okay, okay, okay, okay, I will move, I'll stay here just for one station", etc. His tone was really rude, like he was hurt or offended that I told him he's sitting in my place? I wasn't rude or did anything wrong to deserve such an agressive tone.

Then when flying out of VIE the people at the gate shouted really loudly. At first they wouldn't let us board and just kept us waiting due to a delay. Then they suddenly started shouting "GO GO GO". That's unacceptably rude behavior, I even wrote a formal complaint to the airport. They treated us as cattle, Idk if it's because we're Southeastern European (Bulgarian) but I don't remember the people being that way back in 2017-2018 when I lived in Bratislava and would visit Vienna often. If anything I was welcomed with smile by the first local person I saw at the airport after arriving, at passport control no less!

Does anyone have any idea if and why the hostility is booming there? Do the Covid pandemic and the 2020 Vienna attacks have something to do with the tone change of locals? I wonder if local people are on edge because they no longer feel safe and hence act less friendly than before with Eastern and Southern European foreigners? The whole vibe was more pleasant 8-9 years ago.

I was in Vienna in the summer of '24. I did not experience any hostility at all. By the way, I look and sound like the 'third-world immigrants' you mention. As a matter of fact, once on a tram, I got confused about how to pay the fare. I was in the middle, far from the operator. I asked a 'Western European' woman, with a baby stroller, what I needed to do. She smiled and helped. Also, is it fair to judge a people by the experience with airport staff? I have had airport staff 'bark' at me all over the world. I also encountered the nicest immigration officer at LHR. A person who is sitting in your reserved seat showed annoyance? I have sat in the wrong seat several times, and others have sat in my seat. Usually resolved politely with apologies. How is this a reflection on a whole group? Just curious.

Does anyone have any idea if and why the hostility is booming there?

What hostility? I was there in December of 2024 and found everyone to be uniformly pleasant and accommodating. I do have a sense that in general Vienna is a bit more formal and reserved than other cities, e.g Budapest.

... I expected more from Vienna. Prague looked more imperial somehow. Idk why.

Prague was not bombed during WW2, wheras in Vienna about 20% of all buildings were damaged, about 7% destroyed. During the reconstruction period in the 1950s a lot of old buildings were demolished to foster modernism, something which is regretted now in hindsight. This changed the appearance of the city.

... I found the people got grumpier ...

This is nothing to be taken seriously, grumpiness is part of the Vienneses' mentality, not aggressively offending, their version of friendliness. :-) Difficult for Americans to understand, though.

I got on the train from the airport to the main train station and someone was sitting in the place I booked. I nicely told him and he indeed moved but reacted in a kind of jerky way.

To insist on a reserved seat for a ride of 15 minutes when there is ample space is a bit over the top, IMHO.

Sooo, one grumpy old man on a train (who knew you needed to reserve a seat for a 15 min trip? But I digress) and airport gate attendants dealing with delayed boarding and a narrowing gate availability window who were less than what their ads depicted as they tried to board a couple hundred people in a shorter than normal period. From this it must follow that the entire population of Vienna is hostile and unwelcoming. Have I got that right? Certainly wasn't our experience a couple of years ago. But in Europe I dont expect the American fake grins and have a nice days. I expect civility and efficiency in return for the same attitude on my part. But again, to each their own.

It would appear from this, as well as your post from March, that large segments of European cities with their cathedrals, architecture, and art museums are now off your radar, as is participating in group tours. It is a wise person who knows their limits. In future, limiting your travels to smaller towns and villages would seem your best bet. But of course not in those countries you also find not nice or pretty enough for your taste.

You reserved a seat for a 15 minute train ride? Interesting.

Covid and the 2020 attack? No one thinks about that anymore here.

Vienna is famous for its grumpiness - long before Covid and modern problems.

The grumpiness even has a term that people use with pride - Wiener Grant.

I see the OP is from Bulgaria — a place where, like Vienna, the people are generally polite but don’t go around with big smiles on their faces for strangers. Unlike Vienna, I have been met with rudeness in Bulgaria — a woman who yelled at me for not leaving her a tip in a restroom (I would have been glad to have done so, but had no local currency). Rather than ascribe that to national character, however, I considered that elderly ladies who need to maintain public toilets to make ends meet, whether in Bulgaria or anywhere else, are not people on whom Dame Fortune has bestowed many gifts in the lottery of life, and they can be forgiven for grumpiness.