xtra day in austria

Vienna in October has an average high of 56 and an average low of 44 degrees (Salzburg is similar). It's hard to predict weather, so you can always check www.weather.com, or another weather site, as the trip draws closer. Both cities are very beautiful, and really you could see both. Salzburg is small, charming, and easy to walk around. You could see the sights in one day. I would stay one night in Salzburg and spend the other three nights in the much larger and vibrant Vienna. If you preferred not to split your time between two places, you can easily spend 4 nights in Vienna alone and have plenty to do and see. Rick has a suggested 4 day itinerary for Vienna in our Vienna, Salzburg & Tirol guidebook (see http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/catalog/index.cfm?fuseaction=product&theParentId=159&id=392). I might skip Cesky Krumlov and save it for the next visit when there's more time to explore Eastern Europe. It is between 4.5-5 hours by train from both Vienna and Salzburg so you'd take a lot of time to get there. Vienna and Salzburg are easily connected by a 2 hour train ride.

I visited Vienna as a stop between Budapest and Prague. I had about 2-1/2 days and wished I'd had more. Salzburg was nice, but Vienna was terrific. Spend a day at the Schonbrun Palace and gardens alone.