Packing for Austria in Late November, Early December

Rick Steves' packing recommendations are based on summer travel, when the majority of his readers visit the continent, so you can effectively ignore them.

The weather certainly won't be warm, but probably not as cold as you might fear, especially if you'll be in Vienna. For skiing, if you skied in Colorado, the same clothes should suffice in Austria. The coldest temperatures you will encounter by far will be in the mountains, so as long as you are prepared for Alpine weather, you won't need anything warmer for the cities.

For cities, I would bring long pants, a sweater or two and long sleeve shirts. Winter boots will be overkill, just wear normal closed toe shoes with warm socks. The hat, gloves and scarf you wear for skiing will suffice.

Thank you for the prompt reply. I was worried about footwear (slush, opera shoes, etc.). We've traveled a lot, just not to cold weather countries in the winter. We save those trips for when its in the 100's here.

We were in Bavaria last December, I took 7 long sleeved tees, two cardigans, jeans, a water resistant/wind resistant coat, a pair of cuddle duds, knit scarf, gloves, wicking socks, water proof hiking shoes and a hat.You will want something dressy for the opera. I ended up only needing the cuddle duds once. There were a few days I didn't even need the cardigan. We only had a few days that were below 32 degrees. It was more rainy than snowy. It may be different in Austria. The Gluhwein helped to warm us up :)

I was worried about footwear (slush, opera shoes, etc.).

Let me relate personal experience. I lived in Germany for 4 years. I hiked frequently, all 12 months of the year and walked my dog every day. I can count on one hand the number of times my shoes were soaked through to the feet. Once, when I had to jump into a canal to pull out my dog. And the second time, when I got caught out in the open near the summit of the Alpspitze in a sudden torrential thunderstorm. Normal everyday shoes are enough to keep your feet dry in the conditions you will likely encounter.

I wore Ecco lowcut hikers in lots of city snow on my Xmas market trip. I wore thin socks and very thick wool socks (a souvenir from Alaska), my feet were warm and dry, even when the snow got slushy. I found that a rain poncho was perfect when it snowed. My first day of snow, the snow melted on my outer clothes which got wet and I was pretty cold. After that, I tried the poncho and it was perfect.

Thank you all. These are very helpful ideas. I have a great source for mohair socks.

If you have a Costco membership I think they have their wool socks currently in stock and many people seem to like those. Smartwool are another brand of wool socks that are well reviewed and are what I have used. I found that the thinner/dressier Smartwool socks wear out quickly in the heel and toes but the thicker pairs have done well.

Costco also has packable down vests in stock right now and those are great because they add warmth but pack really small. I am from Houston and used mine frequently when we did Prague/Munich/Austria/Budapest in early October one year and had some cooler days.

I was in Vienna last year the exact same time you will be there. And for us Texas girls it was cold. I live in Houston. I had Sherpa lined boots, wool socks, gloves, knit hat, scarf and what I consider a heavy coat on all day. We were outside almost all day at the Christmas markets. Don't miss those. And Gluwein (sp?), And the gingerbread. It's not like the gingerbread we get at home. It rained a light rain while we were in Vienna which of course made it colder. We were on the Luftner River Cruise that departed from Vienna and went all the way up the Danube to Wurzberg. Then overland to Prague. Every city had a wonderful Christmas Market. My favorite place of the whole trip was Rothenberg. Lots of walking, drinking some good wine, eating, sightseeing. Wonderful trip.

Thank you so much. You sound like you know where I'm coming from. I'd bought the boots and was starting to worry that I was being foolish about bringing them. I think I might wear them in the plane if they won't fit in my suitcase.
Love the great details. We're not on a packaged tour so need all the advice we can get.

My husband and I were in Vienna and Salzburg last year over Christmas. We're from Detroit, so we found the weather to be warmer than we expected . :) We went to the Philharmonic and the Opera. Both times I wore leggings and a knit dress. You'll see other people dressed more formally, but I didn't feel out of place. Most days I wore a merino sweater and jeans. I splurged on an Eddie Bauer waterproof down coat with a hood because I knew I could use it again back home. If I were you, I'd buy one of those down jackets that pack into a little square (Landsend has them) and layer with a rain coat. Bring a big scarf you can wear with outerwear and your sweaters. As for footwear... I didn't take snow/rain boots. I had great luck with these boots in all weather (and they look great with leggings): http://www.teva.com/women-boots/de-la-vina-low/1003012.html I wore the same boots last year in Paris most of the time. I also brought knee height boots in gray http://www.zappos.com/rieker-79970-astrid-70 . Good luck! You'll have a fabulous time at Christmas. Austrians go all out for Christmas!