My family (4 of us including two early teen girls) is finally able to take our pandemic delayed trip to Austria this July. So far we have 5 nights planned in Vienna before we rent a car and head to Lienz as our base in the Alps for a week. It is a fairly long drive from Vienna to Lienz , but is doable in a day (5hrs). But we are thinking of breaking it up and staying somewhere along the way. Thanks to my OP a few years ago we think we will hit the Zotter chocolate factory in Riegersburg, outside Graz and do that for a few hours then hop back in the car. My guess is we leave Zotter around 1300-1400. So we are looking for a place to stop and enjoy some lesser known places or culture. Along the A2 or not too far from it. We can't check on to our place in Lienz till 1500 the following day.
Our thoughts:
Graz: Looks appealing but the timing right after Vienna makes me wonder if we will enjoy it as much in that moment. Plus it leaves a longer drive the next day.
Klagenfurt: Looks pretty, but by the time we get there makes me doubt we really get much out of this stop.
Bled, Slovenia: Out of the way, looks touristy but something different.
Ljublana, Slovenia: Even more out of the way, leaving two drives that are longer. But get to see another capital.
Vienna: Stay another night and maybe go to Bratislava that day we were planning on leaving. This would leave a long drive the next day.
Other: We can skip Zotter and go a different route, but we have already experienced Salzburg multiple times as well as Hallstaat.
If anyone has some ideas or thoughts they would be greatly appreciated!