Day Trips from Vienna

Budapest is only 3 hours away by train. That goes for Salzburg too. I have known people to do them as "day trips". However, if that's too much time on a train: Bratislava is a bit less than an hour away by train. It used to be the city where Hungarian kings were crowned. Its now the capital of Slovakia. Worth a day trip. Another idea is Durnstein in the Wachau valley, especially if you have a car. Wachau valley is dotted with little villages and you can take Danube river cruises from Krems. Only an hour and a half or so from Vienna. Baden is also an hour from Vienna... most famous for the old Roman Baths and casinos. Carnuntum is only a half hour away. Formerly the site of a big Roman city. If you are into archeology and roman stuff, it is pretty cool. If you want a glimpse of the alps, go to Puchberg am Schneeberg, about 2 hours from town. You can take a train to the top of the Schneeberg in summer. Very Alpine! Rust is on the Neusiedler See and is famous for its storks nests in summer. Its about an hour or so away. Closer to home: Hiking in the Vienna Woods or biking along the Danube are also favorite activities. Of course, depends what time of year you are going. Have a great trip!

What about a visit to Melk Abbey? We stopped off there on the way to Vienna and it was very impressive. I am pretty sure you can travel there by train. The library was magnificent and I enjoyed the rest of the tour and gardens as well. Lovely views of the river. http://www.sacred-destinations.com/austria/melk-abbey Pam

Jessica, I second the suggestions to do day trips to Budapest and Salzburg, that is, if you've never seen them before. Time-wise it can be done easily from Vienna. take the direct Railjet train from Westbahnhof. Two other places of interest I would suggest as very doable day trips are: Vienna to Graz, an interesting city in southeastern Austria. This other suggestion is more feasible if you have a rental car. Go south of Vienna to see another part of Austria... the region of Burgenland to see some of the villages...you won't see any Americans there.

Thank you all for the wonderful suggestions! -Jessica

Just got back from that area and a good day trip is a train to Melk, visit the Abbey in the morning and then take a cruise through the Wachau Valley down the Danube to Krems. You can spend time in smaller Melk and the larger Krems on either end of the cruise. Then take the train back to Vienna. Well worth it.