Paris and Vienna/Salzburg

I have been to all 3 but have never connected Paris with Austria on the same trip.

My general rule is to END in the city you depart from. So I’d head to Vienna or Salzburg on arrival (use your jet lag time on a plane not trying to explore a city!). I find those random airport hotel nights (like you propose) a waste of time that psychologically end your trip early. Spend your last night in a hotel in a city you want to visit (Paris in your case) and head to the airport on departure morning.

So for you- Spend a few days in Vienna/Salzburg then head back to Paris for your last few days, then fly home. If you arrive in later evening I’d stay in an airport hotel on the FIRST night and then catch an early flight to Vienna or Salzburg (or Munich). Better is if you arrive in morning or afternoon and can fly to Vienna/Salzburg or Munich that day.

FYI getting from Munich to Salzburg is very easy. Salzburg also has an airport, not sure how connections to Paris are.

Just my 2 ¢, but you gain a day in the cities you're most interested in if you fly to Vienna on the day you arrive in Paris. You'll be mind numbed by jet lag that day anyway, so why not just keep going. Look for a flight departing from CDG at least 4 hours after your scheduled arrival. That gives you time to clear Immigrations, get your bags and check into your next flight, and have breakfast. Save your Paris touring for the end of the trip, and there will be no need to be stuck out by CDG the night before returning home.

Salzburg has flights to Paris ( check out skyscanner.com), but all require a connection. But Munich has multiple direct flights per day, after a train ride from Salzburg. Time wise it's a toss up.

Great idea! I hadn't thought of just flying to Vienna right away and visiting Paris last. I'm hoping we don't mind the jet lag too bad...we survived Australia just fine this past summer even though we were up at 3-4am most mornings for the first week :).

You could fly from Paris to Vienna, train to Salzburg, then fly. Salzburg to Paris. You trip is pretty short for three major cities. All this traveling back and forth will eat up a lot of time. I would choose either Salzburg or Vienna to allow you time to really experience those places.

Here is what I would do. I list the location by night:

Paris
Paris
Paris
Paris to Salzburg - fly
Salzburg - old town
Salzburg - salt mine/Berchtesgaden
Salzburg - Hallstatt
Salzburg to Paris - fly
Paris
Paris

If it were my trip, I would give a day from Salzburg to Paris, as you can see quite a bit of Salzburg in just a day or two. I would fly straight to Vienna from Paris and spend 4 nights there, giving you 3 days of sightseeing.

Then I would train to Salzburg in the morning and spend two nights there, giving you most of 2 days to sightsee there. You could spend your arrival day seeing the sights in the city and then maybe the next day seeing the mines or caves you are interested in? On the Germany, Austria and Switzerland tour we took we spent only a day and a half in Salzburg and I thought it was adequate for a first visit.

Then I think I would train in the AM to Munich to fly back to Paris. If you are interested in Munich you could take a train in the AM and spend a few hours in the city center before your flight to Paris in the evening. Then I would spend 4 nights in Paris, giving you 3 full days of sightseeing. This is fast paced, so may be too much for you depending on how you like to travel, but it's what I would do.

Whatever you decide, I hope you have a lovely trip!

It is unfortunate that you have to travel so far from Paris to Vienna. Paris normally would deserve at least five days, but you have to balance that with what you want to see in Austria.

I would go with Paris 4 nights, Vienna 3 and Salzburg 3.

Mozart's house is in Salzburg and you can see the main sights there in two full days. Vienna will take a bit more.

I'm going to be a radical and suggest you split your time evenly between Vienna (fly to from Paris on your day of arrival in Europe) and Paris. Take day trips as desired.

Both cities have more than enough to keep you occupied especially as a musician, and if you or your husband like art, archaeology, churches, architecture, food, shopping, history, etc you will find more than you need to keep yourself busy for 5 nights in each city. I was just in Austria for 3 nights and lamented that I didn't take more time, and that was my 3rd visit in a decade - I saw so many places I hadn't seen before AND YET missed so much more.

And I'm not suggesting 5 nights in Paris with the idea that you will have seen all you need to see in Paris, just that it might be a minimum to not feel like you missed too much.

Salzburg is lovely, but if you're definitely doing Paris and Vienna and care about seeing them both, trying to squeeze Salzburg in presents a time/money problem that is difficult to solve, especially since sights like the ice caves or the Eagle's Nest are not IN Salzburg but require additional transit to get to.

There are fantastic day trips, especially in summer, from Vienna and Paris that get out of the city easily and if you plan ahead, affordably to see something totally different, whether it's wine growing in the suburbs of Vienna or the Vienna Woods or going to Reims in Champagne in France.

Just a thought!