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Please critique my Austria itinerary

I'm ready to start booking hotels, but first I want to make sure I'm on the right track.  Would you please look this over and give me your thoughts?  We are 70, in good shape, but don't have the energy that we used to.  We have never been to Austria.  We are going to continue on to Switzerland for 6 nights after Salzburg.  How does this look?  Too much down time?  Not enough down time?  I so appreciate your advice! 

Thursday 9/10/26 ORD to Vienna
Arrive 8:20am
​​​​​​​Vienna - 5 nights

Day 1 – Fri 9/11
Morning/Afternoon: Check in (and hopefully store luggage) at Hotel Altstadt Vienna. Explore the 7th district and MuseumsQuartier.

Visit the Leopold Museum.

Optional chamber concert at St. Peter’s Church or Mozarthaus if we can stay awake for it.  Otherwise do this another night.

Day 2 – Sat 9/12
Morning: Attend the Spanish Riding School Morning Exercise (10:00–11:00).
Visit Kunsthistorisches Museum. Lunch at the museum café.  
State Opera performance

Day 3 Sun 9/13
Morning: Attend 10:00 AM Mass at Augustine Church with choral music.
Afternoon: Visit Belvedere Palace

Day 4 – Mon 9/14
Day trip to Melk Abbey, then take a Danube cruise
Return to Vienna early evening.

Day 5 – Tues 9/15
Morning: Take U4 metro to Schönbrunn Palace. Strudel demonstration?
Classical concert at Schönbrunn Orangery?

Day 6 – Wed 9/16
Train to Salzburg (2 nights)
Concert at Marabelle Palace
Marionette show
Walking tour of Old Town

Posted by
340 posts

In Aug this year my wife and I (60s) visited Austria for the first time: Vienna (5 nights) and Salzburg (3 nights). We did some of the activities you are planning: Leopold Museum, Kunsthistorisches Museum (with lunch at the museum café), Belvedere, Schönbrunn Palace, Concert at Marabelle Palace, etc. Our trip report might be useful reference for your planning (parts 1-6): https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-austria-bavaria-aug-sep-2025

Posted by
2623 posts

Skip the Spanish Riding School. Morning exercise means that you will see white horses walking around. This is not a performance.

Posted by
2 posts

Thank you so much for sharing this very detailed helpful report! It sounds like a fantastic trip. I need to study up on Klimt to better appreciate what I'll be seeing.

I'm going to go back and tweak my itinerary to try and include a performance at the Spanish Riding School rather than just morning exercise.

I'm also going to try and include an apple strudel cooking class in Salzburg. My grandmother was from Czechoslovakia (escaped during the war) and my mother often talked about helping her make strudel on the weekends.

Thanks again for your help.
Laurie