My wife and I were planning on going to Austria at the end of June. It now turns out that there is a really good chance that we will have to move the trip to the end of July. How much more crowded will it be? Is it like "Disney World" crowded (by that I mean Disney World on July 4 or Christmas Day). I know that June isn't exactly shoulder season, but I've heard it is generally much less crowded, so I'm just curious how accurate that is.
Thanks.
Well...we will be seeing Salzburg and Vienna :)
We'll also be venturing into Bavaria to visit some Nazi sites and the castles, which I imagine will very much feel like WDW in more ways than one!
I visited Salzburg and Vienna in July a couple of years ago and I didn't find it overwhelmingly busy. Prague, on the other hand was insanely crowded. One of the fun things to do in Vienna in the summer time is to go down to the Rathaus in the evening and watch concerts on the jumbotron. It sounds a bit weird, but it's actually quite nice. It's free and there a lots of food stands--reminded me of Taste of Chicago--so you can eat dinner while you listen.
Pam
Hi Cary
Last summer while we were there in July, in addition to negotiating the usual summer crowds, most Austrian schools get out around the 10th (there is a site that Jo from Germany directed me to for researching when exactly the specific areas of interest got out, but I can't remember the link).
Anyway, we found Vienna very easy to navigate while Salzburg was significantly more crowded. We didn't see any appreciable increase in volume after the school vacation date so I wouldn't worry in that regard. Mostly because most sights are in a smaller geographical area versus Vienna.
Even with the crowds, as Steve accurately points out, you're not talking space mountain kinds of crowds. We didn't encounter any lines for sights, even for places like Mozart's residences in Salzburg, museums in Vienna, etc... - really (except maybe for bathrooms).
But there definitely were alot were alot of people roaming the Getreidegasse. If you're trying to get isolated pictures without crowds at locations like the Do-Re-Mi steps at the Mirabell garden - go early. Biggest crowd was at the Augustiner Brewery. Still worth going there anyway.
Vienna in June: Nothing like Paris – The Hofburg and Schönbrunn can be easily visited sans overwhelming crowds of tourists.
Salzburg in June: Getreidegasse can be busy during the day, but you can still visit Mozart’s Geburtshaus with no crowds if you time it right.
Also no crowds in June: Hallstatt and Melk.
Neuschwanstein on July 4: Packed with American tourists, but the system with reserved tour times keeps any inconvenience and waiting to a minimum. It will feel a little like Disney because of the Americans and the waiting area immediately before the entrance that snakes around and has digital displays with tour time info. Still, it’s a must-see.
FYI, the Salzburg festival starts on July 25th and runs for about a month. It's a big classical music and drama festival and brings in a lot of tourists. We were there during the festival a couple of years ago. It will be more crowded then, but nowhere near Disney on July 4 or Christmas (I used to work there during school breaks, so I know how crowded that can get). We hardly had to wait in lines to see anything. But, with any sightseeing, know what to expect and go early to any of the big sights.
As has been mentioned before, June can be less crowded if the Austrian schools aren't out yet.
