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.

I skip the big cities. I love the Mountainous areas of Austria. I enjoy the areas around Wein... Waldviertel, Neusiedler See etc. I have visited Wein and Salzburg several times. Just look at the geographic locations, cultural area and climate to see a difference. I'm happier in Tuxertal or Rust. Each to their own.

I love both Vienna and Salzburg, and we spent a full week in Salzburg last summer. Plenty to do and see, from my perspective. Don't miss the Augustiner Bräu Mülln; the beer and the food are delicious.

I have a soft spot in my heart for Salzburg... my first real trip to Europe started in Salzburg. Vienna is cool, but not as cool to me.

Vienna was my favourite European city (having visited several times from the 70s to late 90s), but was a bit disappointed on my last visit in 2025. The cobblestones in the inner city have been replaced by large pavers, there is now a MacDonalds and unlike before, found some of the waiters rather rude and aggressive when asking for tips. Salzburg for scenery, Vienna for art. Love Krakow, thought Katowice was pretty awful (but it was 1993) Love Jerusalem, Tel Aviv not so much.

I agree completely with your love of Salzburg! We visited in November 2024, and within a few hours of arriving, knew we wanted to come back. It's just our kind of city.

Vienna on the other hand was beautiful and we're glad we went, but it just didn't click with us like Salzburg did.

PQ

Actually for a long time Salzburg was a different country; it was annexed to Austria only in 1816. Salzburg was ruled by its bishop-princes, and if you think about it there are not many Hapsburg memories because Hapsburg really never lived there.

Yeah and it shows. As far as I know the old town of Salzburg was rebuilt in the 16th or 17th century by Italian and Austrian architects that taught in Italy. While many of the old architecture in Vienna is only from the 18th and 19th centuries and in a slightly different style.
I like how green Vienna is, so many parks but it shows it saw some war destruction but I guess I just don't vibe with it and it's okay. I also found most sites too spread out, I prefer cities where most sites are closer to one another.

My experience from 2025 also agrees with Susie they've become less friendly than they were. I don't know why but 8-9 years ago the Viennese were far friendlier. Back then I was greeted with a smile by the passport check clerk at the airport, it was my first time visiting Central Europe and I felt welcomed.
Last year the passengers for my plane to Sofia got shouted really rudely by the airport gate staff, and the guy that was seated at my booked seat on the subway from the airport to the city was apologetic but in a rude way. I asked him nicely but he raised his voice in a passive agressive way, so strange. A change due to the pandemic? Then again I visited Salzburg in 2023, also after the pandemic.

Anyway, one of the most striking things about Salzburg is I had the rare "I totally could see myself living here!" feeling. I literally looked at the ground and it felt so welcoming. I also somehow intuitively knew which way to go from the train station to reach the old town. I've only felt this excitement and feeling like I could live there in Dublin and London. Prague as well but slightly less.

I have to check out the Nordic and Baltic countries next but so far Ireland, the UK and the Salzburg area of Austria have felt the most livable for me with "it feels cozy and I could see myself immigrating here" vibes. Ironically I never felt that for Vienna, even 8-9 years ago when the people acted less rude than during my last visit and a local girl flirted with me in the subway. It felt like I got the Before Sunrise movie experience, but I wish I kept the memories and didn't have to get disappointed by my recent visit.

I agree Bulgarian staff and people can be rude. Honestly, the main reason I've so far visited 17 countries (a big number for a Balkan person) is I'm looking for greener pastures where to move to. A place where you won't have people cause useless drama and act passive agressive, so the countries in Southern Europe I've been to, but also Vienna and Bratislava are out. :P

Bitex. New Zealand is green, scenic, people are friendly, easy to get around, mild temperatures and best of all, no snakes - either venomous or harmless. Also has a good wine industry