Vienna or Munich with Kids??

That’s a tough choice. Both cities are rich with music and history. Both cities have great possibilities for nearby hikes.

If you choose Munich you’ll have the wonderful Deutsches Museum which has an extensive musical instruments section, some of which is hands on. If any of your children are stringed instrument players you’d probably all like a day trip to Mittenwald where you can peek into many instrument maker’s workshops in the scenic town in the Alps. Munich also has the extensive kid friendly Englishergarten with streams for wading and a fast flowing section where you can watch “surfers” in the city. These are some things we’ve seen kids of all ages enjoy.

If you choose Vienna you’ll have music possibilities, the Lipizzaner horses, heuringer to walk to that often times have kid friendly activities, palaces, etc. EDIT: We thought the old fashioned Prater Park would be fun for kids who like a nostalgic theme park.

My instinct says Vienna, but I can't give a good explanation why.

I’d say Vienna has more options for kids (I have two myself), but I think that Vienna doesn’t fit logically with your route. Vienna would be quite a detour.

I agree with stan, with just reading your question I would say Vienna. But, after reading your post, I agree with Emily that Vienna is a bit far for your itinerary.

I would enjoy Munich, Salzburg, etc. to the fullest.

Thank you for the advice and input so far. I really appreciate everyone's views as my husband and I have not visited either country before!

When reading about both cities (which both sound wonderful and definitely need to be visited at some point!), my initial thoughts leaned more towards Vienna with my kids. I also wondered about the distance of Vienna from other areas we're visiting... if we dropped our rental car off in Salzburg and took a train to Vienna, it looked to me like it was only about a 2.5 hour train ride (unless I'm looking at it wrong). That doesn't seem too bad to me... especially if we decided to also sightsee around Melk/Danube/Wachau Valley... any thoughts on this? If we did that, we may have to decide between the Rhine Valley and Melk/Danube/Wachau area. Any opinions on one over the other if a choice has to be made?

Thanks again to all!

Yes, it’s a 2.5 hour train ride, but tack on about 1 to 1.5 hours on either end to get to the train station, check in/out of a hotel. I love the Wachau and go there often. I have not been to the Rhine, so cannot compare. In the Wachau, the kids would like Burg Aggstein (car required), the boat ride from Melk to Duernstein and the climb to the castle ruins in Duernstein, but I’d doubt they’d appreciate the cute towns and wineries that area is known for. I’d suggest riding bikes, but finding a kids bike to rent will be challenging.

I would vote for Munich. The Bavarian people are gregarious, visually I think kids would enjoy it and there's a fair amount for them to do. For example, the Deutsches Museum is like a miniature Smithsonian (interesting stuff but not too big) and I seem to recall there being a swim park nearby. And there are lots of good day trips or short overnights from Munich. I find Munich fun to visit. I found Vienna a bit formal, but then I don't know it as well as Emily.

I'd opt for Munich. Whilst it doesn't offer a huge amount of sights it does offer the opportunity to spend time at the various lakes surrounding the area. In the summer these are fantastic places to visit, clean, clear water from the mountains drains into the lakes which have been enhanced with diving pontoons, hotels, bars and restaurants meaning whole days can be spent playing in the water, sunbathing or relaxing in the shade of trees, lunch at a variety of restaurants and returning home tired but content.

Salzburg is also a very reasonable drive away and can be done in a day trip or preferably an overnighter or two.

There are also several family orientated beer gardens in Munich where there is a lot of focus on entertainment rather than simply quaffing steins of beer, very friendly atmosphere and wholly suitable for kids of all ages.

Ooh. I’m following this thread. We’re also traveling by train from Paris to Munich next summer with kids (12 & 11). And are planning to continue on to Salzburg and Vienna (flying out of Vienna). Very curious to hear what people recommend.