Day Trips from Vienna

Budapest of course.

To be honest, I would go stir crazy after 3 nights in Vienna, but that's just me.

I got a PM a few days ago from someone wanting to do a day trip from Vienna to Buddpest so I worked out the details and a plan for them. If the idea interests you I can forward it to you.

Depends what you are interested in. Vienna has much more to offer than 6 days being sufficent.
If you want to see some nice landscape, make a trip to Wachau valley. If you want to climb a mountain, go up Schneeberg using the cog wheel train.

I was in Vienna for 4 nights last week and went to Salzburg for one day. Took the 8.06 am train out and the 7:00 pm train back. It was fantastic. Many also seemed to be day tripping to Bratislava

Like James E favoring Budapest, I am favoring Vienna.

Both cities deserve a stay of several days, so a day trip is a bit of a hassle, given the travel time back and forth, but it is doable.

wmt1, I understand completely. It's why the world is so amazing, it talks to everyone differently. It's also why when possible I plan 2 totally different experiences on each trip and try and maintain some flexibility to cut something short if it isnt working for me. It's how I stumbled into Budapest over 15 years ago.

I use to think a day trip was nutz, but after planning one out, sort of works. I'd still say spend the night and take an early train back to Vienna, but either way it can work. I would also encourage a day trip from Budapest to Vienna if a person had a week planned in Budapest.

It all depends on what interests you. Vienna and the suburbs have many sights to see.
There are cities like Melk to the west, and even Salzburg doesn't take that long to get to.
Mauthausen concentration camp is also on the train line east of Linz.
We've also been to Bratislava, Slovakia which is only 39 miles from Vienna. It's a very interesting and pretty river town.

At the end of April the apricot trees in the Wachau will likely be in bloom. No question that would be my day trip. Wine, blossoms, medieval ruins, river, biking.

I totally love Vienna! I have been there twice and found tons of things to do in Vienna. I stayed 4 days each time after a RS tour. A whole week in Vienna would be wonderful and you could find enough things to do without leaving Vienna. Have you read the RS guide book section on Vienna? Also watch YouTube free videos on Vienna that Rick Steves has along with others who have vidoes on Vienna. Also look at the Tour scrapbooks on this forum that feature Vienna.

I went to the Schonbrunn Palace and spent the whole day there. There is also the Imperial Palace, Schmetterling Haus ( which is lovely butterfly house, huge and delightful). The Imperial Furniture Collection, Leopold museum, The Sucession Building, Karlskirche which is St Charles church and it is lovely. The amazing Kunsthistorisches Musuem ( spend most of my day there and lunch in their beautiful cafe), spent most of the day at the Belvedere Palace and gardens. Albertina museum is wonderful. I also saw the performance of the horses at the Spanish Riding School and went to several concerts and an opera in the evenings while in Vienna.

There are many cafes to have lunch and pastries. There is also the Third Man Museum and walking around the city is lovely. I also went to St Stephen's Cathedral, Hofburg Palace, St Peter's Church Sisi Musuem and Stadtpark and the MAK museum.

Exploring Vienna was wonderful and I found it to be a very beautiful, romantic and charming city. Easy to get around too. I loved all the museums, the streets, the buildings, the palaces, the cafes, the excellent concerts, the opera ( there was so much to choose from in terms of going to classical concerts, you could go to one every night of the week).

I know I did not see it all, but close to it maybe? There were a few other museums I did not get to. I know I did not list everything there is to see, but this was what I did in two visits I made to this city. The subway system is excellent and you can walk to many places too.

So I hope this helps in deciding if you should go on day trips. Of course day trip would be nice but also know if you have not been to Vienna, it has plenty to offer you and there is no need on a first time visit to leave Vienna, unless you want to.

Have a wonderful safe trip. Love to hear your thoughts on Vienna after you come back. It is one of my favorite cities up there with Paris & London!

Another possible outing is Eisenstadt, close to the Hungarian border. The main attraction is the palace of the immensely rich and powerful Esterhazy family, beyond which you'll find a nice park. It is easily reached from Vienna with an hourly direct train, taking some 1h15 (there is also another train, which involves a change), and a 15-min walk from the railway station.
Not so crowded as other attractions in and around Vienna, so perfect for a peaceful day out, if the weather cooperates.

Thank you one and all for your helpful input!

Hi, I also believe there's a lot in Vienna, depending upon your interests and how much time one can spend (or tolerate) within a large city.

I'm presently considering a day trip from Vienna to one of the following: Graz, Linz, Wachau. On a previous visit to Vienna, I visited the Slovakian capital city of Bratislava. Happy holidays and happy planning!