Day trip to Melk

When we went from Vienna to Bratislava we took the hydrofoil. It was not too long a ride, but very pleasant. Depending on your budget, you can use the Austrian company (expensive) or the Slovakian one (much less expensive). They both go the same route and take the same amount of time.

Is it Bratislava for which you're seeking sightseeing recommendations? I haven't made it there yet, but I pulled together a list of places to research in 2018 in case I had time to include it while visiting Hungary. Some of this info came from sources that are now very dated. Rick has a chapter on Bratislava in the Eastern Europe book as well as the Vienna-Salzburg-Tirol book, which I highly recommend for your trip. It's available in e-book from if you can't find a printed copy.

I enjoy art museums a lot, and it's clear from this list that I'll want to spend multiple days in Bratislava. This information is not organized geographically or by topic.

• Small historic area with fountains and sculptures: Hlavne namestie, Hviesdoslavovo Namestie (Main Sq), Panska, Michalska, Kapitulska. Stara Radnice (Old Town Hall), Primacialne namestie 3 houses Museum of City History (sounds good), through which one accesses tower (good views).

• St. Martin’s Cathedral: 15C. Interior more interesting than exterior.

• Arthur Fleischmann Museum, Biela 6: Ceramics and perspex sculpture.

• Botanical Garden of the Comenius University, Botanicka 3: Nice; not spectacular. Outside center.

• Bratislava Castle: Nothing special except for the views. Baroque garden is nice, though not spectacular, and free.

• Bunker BS-8 Hrbitov, Kopcianska Ulica: Unreliable opening schedule. Reportedly takes some time to reach from the city, but Trip Advisor maps shows it very near Petrzalka RR station.

• City Art Gallery (GMB): Two locations. http://www.gmb.sk/en/home

• Mirbach Palace, Frantiskanske Nam. 11:

• Palffy Palace, Panska 19.

• Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum, Vodne Dielo | Čunovo, 20 km south of Bratislava, near Hungary & Austria): On island in the Danube. Newish. Mostly E. European contemporary art and sculpture park. https://www.danubiana.sk/danubiana/o-nas

• Galeria Umelka, Dostojevskeho rad 2: Gallery of the Slovak Union of Visual Arts, showing paintings and other media.

• Holocaust Memorial, Rybne namestie 1

• Kostol Trinitarov Church, 11 Zupne Namestie:

• Mileticova Central Market, Mileticova 17: On outskirts of city center. Mainly produce; some street food.

• Muzeum Milana Dobesa, Zamochnicka 13: International contemporary art, mostly (neo-)constructivist.

• Nedbalka Gallery, Nedbalova 17: Modern Slovak art in nice building.

• Old Market Hall, Namestie SNP 25: Food market on Saturday mornings. Unclear what is there other days—maybe fast-food stands? Eiffel-like building.

• Primacialny palac (Primate’s Palace)

• St. Elisabeth’s Church (Blue Church), Bezrucova 2: Art Nouveau. About 15 min. from Old Town.

• Sigismund Gate, Alexandra Dubceka St., 1: On path from Old Town to castle.

• Slavin: Soviet war memorial with good views. Walk up through wealth residential/embassy district.

• Slovenska narodna galeria (Slovak National Gallery), Esterhazyho Palac, Razusovo nabrezie 2 (Riecna 1): Mostly paintings, heavy on Dutch artists. Check status; may be in restoration. www.sng.sk

• Slovenska Muzeum Dizajnu (Slovak Museum of Design): Two addresses online, possibly only one has exhbitions? Jakbovo nam. 12 and Kollarovo nam. 10. www.scd.sk

• Slovak National Museum (in Bratislava Castle): www.snm.sk

• Uprising Memorial, Namestie SNP 32: Memorial to those lost during the uprising against the Nazis in WW II: Attractive statues.

Dear Barbara and acraven,

Thanks so much for your comments on Bratislava. Such a wonderful list of resources! And the Slovakian ferry sounds like a great option!

Still looking for info on the ferry to Melk. I found some information from Rick, advising to take the train from Vienna to Melk, then the ferry back, with stops along the way; particularly Kerns. Sounds easy, but still looking for ferry info and cost, particularly any changes due to COVID, should anyone have information.

Also, any suggestions for things to do off the beaten track in Vienna and surroundings would be great!

Thanks again!

I had hoped someone would chime in with more recent info for you. We traveled from Vienna to Melk a good number of years ago. We took the train from Vienna (Franz Josef Bahnhof) to Krems and then caught the ferry to Melk from there. It is a short walk from the train station to the boat dock. The ferry was DDSG. You will be traveling upstream and it takes a few hours to get to Melk from Krems. I am sure the most recent RS guidebook will have a lot more info and maps but this is a starting point at any rate for your research.

There is only one shipping company connecting Vienna and Bratislava, so there is no choice regarding schedule and/or price. I would not suggest to use it, anyway. It is expensive and the trip is boring. The land on both sides of the Danube river is flat and mostly belonging to a national park, so you see green trees on the embankments 90% of the time.

Better is to go by train, it is faster and cheaper (and you may go on two different routes back and forth). Ask for the "Bratislover" return ticket; it includes one day free travel on public transport (bus and tram) in Bratislava. Trains run every half an hour.

The only beautiful part of the Danube river valley (near Vienna) is between Melk and Krems (about 22 miles). It is an absolute waste of time and money to go by ship from Vienna to Melk. Use a REX train (regional express) to go to Melk. After having visited the monastery, take a ship to Krems, and another REX train back to Vienna.

Wmt1 is giving you good advice. The Danube is a delight between Melk and Krems, otherwise it is a snooze.

This thread on the RS forum is from a few years ago but I don't think anything has changed (except maybe prices) as it's a very popular day trip from Vienna. There is some good advice in this thread from Emily who lives in Vienna (and others) regarding the trip. I certainly wouldn't want to take a boat all the way to/or from Vienna to Melk or Krems. I really enjoyed the round trip - train from Vienna to Melk, Danube cruise from Melk to Krems, and train from Krems back to Vienna. There is also the option of just taking the cruise from Melk to Durnstein, which is actually a more popular stop than Krems - from Durnstein there is a bus to Krems (short trip) to catch the train back to Vienna.

Thanks everyone! Great info! Would you say it's better to take the boat from Melk to Krems or vice versa? I found a post from Rick who calls Krems a gem. Thinking it would be nice to spend a few hours there. Your thoughts?

Emily's advice on the previous thread cited by Nancy is spot on. Dürnstein is a far more interesting stop than Krems, which is more a workaday town serving the local population. Dürnstein has a pretty Baroque church, monastery, access to the river and vineyards, castle ruins on the hill above where Richard the Lionheart was held prisoner with a fine view of the Danube, plus the usual gauntlet of shops and restaurants. It is a pleasant stop to enjoy the Wachau Valley.

Going upstream by boat, i.e. Krems-Melk, is very slow and a waste of time. Downstream, i.e. Melk-Krems, is faster and the view is the same.
Krems is very underrated. It has a beautiful city center and has earned a lot of reputation due its art mile.
https://www.lower-austria.info/city-krems-an-der-donau

Thanks again for your suggestions! I've checked Emily's posts and have sent her a PM to see if anything's changed regarding COVID. I will keep you posted!

Got your PM. Been on vacation in Greece.

Please don’t take the ferry from Vienna to Melk. Not scenic until you reach Krems. Just take the train to Melk, boat to Duernstein, bus to Krems, train to Vienna.

Thanks Emily. Your advice, and that of others, is dearly appreciated.

Hi All,

Just a brief summary of my trip to Melk, Durnstein and Krems, should anyone find it helpful in the future.

The train from Vienna to Melk took about an hour and cost €19. I only booked one-way, as I wanted to stay flexible regarding my time frame and where I returned from. I toured the Abbey and walked around the town for a bit, which I found sweet, but very touristic. What appealed more were the nature trails easily accessible from town, which looked gorgeous, but which I unfortunately didn't have time for.

The cruise lines are about a 10 minute walk from town. There were two to choose from: Brandner and DDSG. They both cost the same and offer a 20% discount to seniors. (Yay!)

The trip down the Danube was the highlight of the day. I got off in Durnstein, about a 1.5 hour trip from Melk, but wanted more time on the river. After speaking with two of DDSG's employees, I learned that I could get off at Durnstein, then get back on the boat when it returned from Krems, back track to Spitz, then cruise back down to Durnstein and Krems. I had no idea that was possible, and was so happy to have the option - which I took. In the end, I spent about 3.5 hours on the river.

Durnstein was sweet, though as someone else pointed out rather small - the historic center is one long block. I had an apricot and chocolate gelato, which was yummy. I found an hour more than enough to spend in town, which was also very touristic.

My favorite town among the three was Krems, which is much larger than Melk and Durnstein. I arrived late, so most of the stores were closed, but loved the town and would have liked spending more time there. I had a wonderful fried chicken and potato salad for dinner (not my usual fare!) at the beer garden, which was cheap and wonderful, and the beer was fresh, cold and tasty! (FMS Steinertor Gastronomie Betriebs (Sudirolerplatz2).

There are a lot of options for getting back to Vienna from Krems. I hopped on the train about 9PM. It was a perfect day.

I visited Melk, Durnstein, Vienna, Bratislava and other towns in fall of 2019 while on a Danube River cruise. I do have a recommendation for you for Bratislava . . . a private tour by Nora Grancay. She lead a small group from our ship around town and the tour was fabulous! I looked her up and she works for Martin Sloboda Expert Private Tours. Highly recommended.