Can you tell me where the best place to stop when driving from Vienna to Munich?
We would like a "quaint" town to stop for lunch and take a walk around town.
The two locations I was thinking was either Dürnstein and Linz?
We are open to any suggestions.
Thank you.
Kim
Kim - Linz is an excellent town to do a stopover for lunch. The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
is magnificent and worth a visit and the Grottenbahn attraction up in the hills. Berchtesgaden is another location do a stopover as this quaint little town is picturesque and not far from Munich. You would enjoy a walk there.
Unless you get a late start, Linz is a little too close to Vienna for lunch. What I saw of it I wouldn't call quaint, either. Its nice, but a fairly large city.
I have not visited Dürnstein, but it's even closer to Vienna.
If you take the more southerly route, Salzburg might be around the halfway point, considering that traffic will slow down considerably once you cross the border into Germany (the A8 along this section is very scenic, but also extremely congested). Bad Reichenhall is a nice little spa resort town right over the border, if you would prefer not to drive into a larger city like Salzburg. Further along the route, Rosenheim is a pleasant town, but by the time you reached here, it would likely be quite a bit later than lunchtime. This route also takes you by Priem am Chiemsee, but this (and Herrenchiemsee island) would likely make a better daytrip from Munich than a stop-over.
If you took a more northerly route, you could stop off in Burghausen. The quaint old section of town here isn't very big, but it boasts one of the world's largest castles.
I haven't visited, but your route also takes you directly by Melk abbey, which is even visible from the Autobahn.
@RJean
Thanks for your comments about Linz. That sounds like a wonderful place. I will look into it.
@Tom
Thanks Tom for all of the detailed information. I will map everything out that you offered and take it from there. Great info! I appreciate it!
Kim - The town of Berchtesgaden is also another option and a wonderful little quaint town. It's along the way to Munich less then 2 hours from Munich.
https://www.uncommon-travel-germany.com/berchtesgaden-germany.html
Linz is the third largest city in Austria, so hardly a "quaint" town. It is a largish industrial city and it will be hard to navigate for a pit stop, in my opinion. Duernstein is practically in Vienna, so not really a logical place to stop.
I would recommend stopping in Steyr.
Overall, this is a terrible drive and I highly recommend taking the train.
Kim, I hope this is part of a longer trip where you are picking up the rental car in Germany ... otherwise check out the (often substantial) dropoff fees for returning a car to another country.
Stop for lunch at one of the Salzburg suburbs; Eugendorf or Wals would be fine.
Stop in Linz, visit the Ars Electronica Center - the museum of the future -, have lunch in Linz' historic city center. If you have spare time go up the Pöstlingberg riding on the world's steepest light rail train.
Thank you everyone for your suggestions! I greatly appreciate it!
kim - There is a little city halfway between Vienna and Munich near linz that is an absolute gem and may deter you from stopping over in linz. it's called Wels Austria.
@RJean
I just looked up that town and I LOVE all of those colorful buildings!!! Thanks for the suggestion...looks adorable!
You are very welcome Kim. Make a stop in Wels along the way. It will be a rewarding experience.
