Europe Intenerary and Train from Salzburg

Re Train from Salzburg. There is a rail reconstruction project between Feldkirch, Austria and Buchs, Switzerland. Your choice is to take a very early train (6:56 am) that includes a train diversion to go direct to Zurich (thus a bit longer train ride) or a later train with a replacement bus between Feldkirch and Buchs.

In Aug/Sep 2025 my wife and I stayed in (for the first time) Budapest (4 nights), Vienna (5), Prague (5), Salzburg (3), Munich (3), and a few other locations. This included a 1 day trip from Salzburg to the Eagle's Nest by bus. Our first hand experiences are in our trip reports:

• Vienna, Salzburg, Munich: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-austria-bavaria-aug-sep-2025
• Budapest: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-hungary-aug-2025
• Prague: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-czechia-aug-2025

When I look up the train tickets it's routing us through Munich instead of Innsbruck ( assuming bc of the construction you're talking about). Should I change our itinerary to go to Prague, Salzburg and then Munich? It doesn't really seem to make sense to go from Prague to Munich to Salzburg and then get routed back through Munich on our way to Lucerne.

Thank you so much GeoffB! I'll look through your info. I'm sure that will help very much with our trip planing.

Everyone is different. So, there isn’t a right or wrong. With my interests and based on the size of the cities involved, well the size of the part of the cities that I am interested in:

Budapest would be 5 nights for me and if it is the first place you land then even that is tight relative to being balanced with the others. But at 5, not unduly so. No, not just because I live here. If Vienna were where you land, I would say 5 there and 4 in Budapest.
Vienna I would say 4 but do get an early train to Vienna so you get the most out of that first day. Very much a ching ching city.
Prague I have trouble going past 3 nights with. If you do a day trip out of town then maybe I could justify 4.
Munich, I just can’t be objective. Never been there. Probably will never go. Wonderful place I am sure but doesn’t light my fire. I would spend a few nights in Cesky Krumlov instead.
Salzburg, yea, I wouldn’t complain about 2 nights but 3 is probably fair. 4 nights? No, that would be testing me too much. I would rather spend 2 nights in Hallstatt and 2 in Salzburg.
Switzerland is another … never been. Depends on your plans in Switzerland (and your budget … ching ching).

Sorry, I didn’t help you any.

Should I change our itinerary to go to Prague, Salzburg and then Munich?

You can actually get from Prague to Salzburg in 1/2 hour less time than Prague to Munich, although you do have to do a train change in Linz. And Salzburg to Munich can be done with a Bayern Ticket on the direct regional train.

Mr. E, also really debating Munich bc to me it just sounds a big city that's possibly stressful and most things we want to do are excursions out of the city. Thank you for your input on all the above.

Sam, thank you for the alternative train options. Will look into that.

Frankly , your perception of Munich as a large , stressful city is rather unfounded . I have made numerous visits ( always two week stays , and going back for another two week stay this coming October ) The place has an intimate quality that is hard to beat and the boroughs surrounding the center are full of charm and bucolic beauty . A great cultural center with great art ,music . and history , it is one of my favorite places in Europe

Steven, very glad to hear bc it would be much easier to stick with our current itinerary. Do you have any specific suggestions for areas, restaurants and outings?

Yes , many ! Just sitting down for a latish dinner , I'll write back in about an hour .

Hello ! For starters , exploring the Altstadt ( Old Town Center ) is an obvious must . The main square ( Marienplatz ) and the area around it , is lively and colorful . The nearby Viktualienmarkt is filled with food stalls plus a beer garden . A few blocks north is Odeonsplatz , probably best remembered for the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch , when the NDSAP attempted to overthrow the Bavarian government . To the west of Odeonsplatz , in Maxvorstadt lie the museums - Alte Pinakothek , Neue Pinakothek and several others, Across the River Isar . in the district Au-Haidhausen is the Deutches Museum , a vast collection of Transportation and Science , a truly great assemblage . The districts of Schwabing , Bogenhausen . and Haidhausen sport wonderful architectural treasures ,with a great showing of Art Nouveau ( Jugendstil ) architecture . Aonther cute place to wander is the area around Wiener Platz in Haidhausen known locally as " Little Vienna " . Lest I forget . The Residenz , next to Odeonsplatz is the in town palace of The Wittlesbach Kings and , Nymphenurg Palace. a short tram ride to the west was the country palace . Both worth visiting . Grab a copy of Rick's guidebook and you can go into more detail about these sites . I also am very fond of musical performances there , and The Bavarian State Opera , and The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra perform there . > Last ,but not least , if you want to have dinner at a Beer Garden , Skip the famous Hofbrau House ( It's a loud , Disneyesque place ) The Augustiner Keller on Arnulfstrasse on the North side of the Hauptbahnhof is a much better choice

Needless to say .in retrospect , there was more that came to mind , so let me know if you have more questions

Thank you, I'll look into those. Always lots of options in the larger cities.