Ten days in Austria, in and out of Vienna, help on itinerary

Do you have any interest in Lipizzaner horses? The Piber stud farm is an hour away from Graz, and well worth a visit.

https://www.austria.info/us/austria/1000-years-of-imperial-history/home-of-the-lipizzan-horses

Never heard of them - very cool. Thank you so much for this suggestion - I will check it out. My girlfriend loves horses!

Then you need she might also consider watching a morning practice session at the Spanish Riding School while younare in Vienna. It is much less expensive than attending a performance, and very interesting.

Thank you!!

Under-rated city: Klagenfurt. Not many foreign tourists as it's quite isolated in transport terms, but there are some attractive buildings and nice lake and mountain scenery around.

Thank you, I will check it out.

Under-rated city: Klagenfurt.

Carinthia is mostly known for its numerous lakes (60+) as well as for the surrounding mountains.

If you go there make sure to visit the Pyramidenkogel tower. On a clear day you can see 20+ lakes from the top, they say. If you are tough you may climb up (450+ steps) and eventually rush down a slide. You may take the lift instead, of course.

https://www.pyramidenkogel.info/en/

Hallstatt - no.
Passau - yes.

Rent a car in Salzburg and drive to Innsbruck. South to 164, then west toward Innsbruck. Sankt Johann, Jenbach (Schloss Tratzberg) and even a short detour south to Kitzbuhl. Drop the car in Innsbruck, stay for as many days as you like then train back to Vienna.

Hi Alice, I love travelling in Austria! So much to see and do. I wouldn't worry about hiring a car as the trains are wonderful. It is so easy to catch a Westbahn train to Salzburg. If you are a Sound of Music fan you could stay at Hotel Schloss Leopoldskron where some scenes from the movie were filmed. It was one of the highlights of my trip to Austria in August 2017.
After that i would catch a bus from Salzburg to St Gilgen on Lake Wolfgang. From the bus stop you walk downhill a short way to the ferry wharf and catch a ferry to St Wolfgang. This is a delightful small lakeside town with many hotels, cafes, shops and restaurants. There are small electric boats to putt around the lake on and white swans serenely swim by. I purchased a week long ferry ticket and daily took the ferry to various places around the lake. There are bicycles to hire and you can transport them on the ferry. A small red steam train goes up the to the top of Mt Schafberg where you can have lunch and see the stunning views over the other lakes and alps nearby. Need i mention delicious Apple strudel, delicious layered chocolate cakes and of course wiener schnitzel!!!
From St Wolfgang it's an easy bus ride to Bad Ischl, where you can visit Emperor Franz Josephs Summer house and learn more about Empress Elisabeth( Princess Sissi) - the Princess Diana of her time. You can also catch the ferry back to St Gilgen and catch a vintage gondola up to the top of the mountain there- an unexpected highlight. You will need your swimmers as the lake is very clean and swimmable in Summer. Hope this helps you, cheers Virginia

Have you also considered stops along the Danube? https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/cruising-the-danubes-wachau-valley

Thank you all so much for your insight!
We are going to Vienna, Krems/Melk, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Ljubljana, and back to Vienna.
Trains and planes., and possibly a bus. 😄. I really appreciate your suggestions!

I love this question! 16 of my 22 vacations in Austria have been by car,. but also 11 days in Vienna. Austria is loaded with quaint villages and spectacular scenery, and, given the iffy EU weather, it makes it easy to adjust to good weather ( mountain scenery) or bad weather (villages, towns, museums). Drive to Salzburg to see the Wachau Valley, Krems, and Melk. The Abby Church at Melk is my pick for the top sight in Europe, but first go 6 miles beyond Melk on the N side of the Danube to see Maria Taferl Pilgrimage Church . Melk is Jakob Prandtauer's masterpiece. he warmed up by building Maria Taferl. If you see Maria Taferl first, you will leave the church thinking you have just seen the most beautiful building in the universe, and then Melk will make you forget it.

Skip Linz, but near Linz, don't miss Mathausen Lager, concentration death camp, (poorly marked road signs); St Florian Abby, Wilherring Abbey (Melk is the pinnacle of Baroque, Wilherring is the best of the Rococo)

Austria's best sights are concentrated in 1] an area defined by a clock face with Salzburg at 10:00; and west of Innsbruck.

Cute villages: Hallstatt; Admont; Bad Ausee {see Mahler's workshop & the 3 lakes); Bad Ischl; Hall in Tirol (near Innsbruck); Lienz & the Felbertauren road; Melk; Steyr; Zug; Krems; Admont, Radstadt; Lofer; St Johann am Tyrol; Ehrwald (great view of the Zugspitz); Zell am See: Solden and near Solden, Gurgl, Obergurgl (higher than Gurgl), & Hochgurgl (the highest Gurgl); the Salzkammergut towns.

Regarding Fussen: I assume you want to see Mad King Ludwig's castles. The road from Innsbruck is VERY slow going (unless they have improved it since 2009).

Regarding Hallstatt. Yeah, its a tourist trap, but it also a ** sight (below I will direct you to a nearby deserted **** sight). It is best by done by the approach from the south which I will describe later on.

Road trip to Hallstatt: Follow the river there the scenic Wachau Valley to Maria Taferl church, the second best work of the great Baroque archetect, Jakob Prandtaure. Then back track 6 miles to the Abbey at Melk, Prandtaure's masterpiece and in my book, the top sight in Europe. On to the Abbey Church just east of Linz where Bruckner is buried. Kids will be bummed out by the hundreds of skeletons stacked up in the church crypt. From Linz go north thru the Vlatavatal, (Moldau Velley) and lessen in classical music-- The Moldau is the second movement in Smetana's Ma Valast to Cesky Krumlov. Return to Linz. Go west along the river to the great Rococo church at Wilherring, then thru the Salzkammergut to Bad Ischl (Emperor's hunting lodge). Go up the mountain to Bad Ausee. Mahler did most of his composing in small shed (still there) on the shore of the first of three secnic lakes that run east of Bad Ausee. Continue south to the right turn for the road than runs along the north side of the mighty Dachstein. take the cable car up to the glacier and ice caves with great views of the Hallstattersee.

By approaching Hallstatt from the south, you can drive into town. The more common northern approach shunts you into a giant parking garage inside the mountain above the town.

From Hallstatt, go south to the base of the mighty Dachstein, turn right & right again to go north on the road parallel to the west side of the Hallstatersee, then left and left to the Gosausee. Once you see the Gosausee, you will forget about Hallstatt, a third rate scene in comparison. The Gosausee is the most spectacular Alpine lake in the universe, and nobody knows about it except the natives. There is a hotel on the shore and the lake view rooms are well worth the extra charge. The amazing scenic background for the Gosausee is the west side of the mighty Dachstein massif (the south side is the most scenic).

Essential tips on driving in Austria:

1] If you don't know how to drive straight stick, be sure you rent an automatic transmission.

2] Everybody in the car needs to master the International Road signs .

3] ABSOLUTE NECESSITY: The Michelin Green Guide to Austria, published before 2000-- really cheap on eBay.

4} A detailed road map, at least 1:500000, better is 1:200000

5] Do not make advanced hotel reservations. They will screw up your day. Exception: Salzburg-- you can always double back to continue your itinerary if you guessed wrong (and you will) on how long it will take to get to Salzburg.

If you do go into Germany (Fussen), there is an Austrian Valley that is only accessible by road from Germany. Something like a 3 day hike over the mountains from the nearest town in Austria. A visit here is an unique travel experience (been there, done that).

If you go driving, do not be tempted to do the Grossglocknerhaupstrasse. Its very expensive, slow going, dumps you off in the middle of nowhere, and there are more scenic mountain drives in Austria such as the Felbertauren Pass, circling the Dachstein, & the road through Solden.

You write "We are going to Vienna, Krems/Melk, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Ljubljana, and back to Vienna. " Bad idea. Ljubljana belongs toa tour of the Dalmation Coast or a day trip from Venice. When you get to Salzburg/Innsbruck, you are at the center of Alpine scenery (both natural & man made). Stay there.

Thank you all for your suggestions!
I have one more question:
We have one day and night between Vienna and Salzburg. We’d like to see Krems, Durnstein, and Melk. We will be taking a train from V to S.
Would like to bike, visit wineries, see Abbey in Melk, and we love to eat, drink, and shop! The logistics are killing me...we will have our luggage. Can we train to K, leave luggage at train station, rent a bike, ride to D, back to K, drop bike, train to M and stay over? Do I need a reservation in Melk in late August? Thank you again...so close to finishing the itinerary!

Can we train to K, leave luggage at train station, rent a bike, ride to D, back to K, drop bike, train to M and stay over?

Yes that would be possible.

Note that there are lockers for your luggage in K, but not in M. Both K and M are reachable by direct trains from Vienna.

Nextbike offers bikes for rent, they can be picked up in either M or K, and dropped in either K or M. Reservation required.

As the Danube river is flowing downwards, as all waters do, biking is much easier from M to D and further to K, as opposed biking upstream.

There is also the WL1 bus connecting M, D, and K.

Depending on your accommodation, the time you can check-in, etc., you must figure out what is best to do in which order.

I vote for Klagenfurt too, there is a direct train from Vienna to Klagenfurt. I took part of that ride last May, got off at Leoben (that stop I didn't know about), a pleasant surprise and decided to see of that place.

Whether or not you should make a reservation in late August depends on the school schedule, not just for Austria but also for UK, France,' 7 Germany. If schools are in session, you are probably OK without a reservation.

Fussen is one of my favorite places. I really enjoyed their museum and it's enjoyable to walk around the town.Although there's more to do in Salzburg, I enjoyed Fussen more.

KB1942 - it’s the folks from the Emirates and Gulf States who love to come to the Austrian Alps in August alongside the Dutch and Danes.

Emily-- No doubt for the same reason we used to do it when we lived in DC-- to cool off.