Timing for Vienna, Salzburg, Munich

We have been to Vienna n Salzburg twice. Totally different cities! We love them both!! I think you could do 2 days in Vienna n one in Salzburg depending on weather and your travel philosophy (we get going early, skip museums n enjoy wandering/cafes). If you drive between the two cities you will go through the Wachau region outside Vienna, which is beautiful and full of little villages and vineyards!

Hi Marni,
We just spent 3 nights in Salzburg and 2 in Vienna. We liked Vienna very much but loved Salzburg. With your hectic schedule that includes several big European cities, you could skip Vienna and just relax in Salzburg for 3 days. Salzburg is a quick 2-2.5 hour train ride from Munich. Just another option to consider!

Skip Vienna? No way! See Salzburg? Definitely. Agree with the above '2 days in Vienna and 1 day in Salzburg' recommendation. I also agree with you that 2 days is too brief for Vienna, but to miss it altogether would be worse, in my opinion. I lived in Vienna for 15 months. It is a fantastic city full of historical sites, palaces, beautiful churches, museums, music venues (Staatsopera, Volksopera, Musikverein, etc.), excellent food, and the best public transportation system in Europe. Since you don't plan to return for 'a long time', if you skip Vienna, you will regret it. If you want to relax, you can do so in a coffee house or at a wine tavern (heuriger) - many are open in the winter. If you luck out with the weather, and there is no snow cover, you could even take a walk in the Vienna Woods if you are so inclined. Except for the 'Sound of Music' sites, most of the major sites in Salzburg (churches, Hohensalzburg Fortress, Mozart's birthhouse) are all within the comparatively small city center and walkable.

I just got back from 3 days in Vienna and 3 days in Salzburg (1 of the days to Berchtesgarden and Eagles Nest) and I wouldn't miss either city. With 3 days I would spend 2 in Vienna and one in Salzburg. Vienna sites priority Schonbrunn Castle and tour Hapsburg area. You don't have time to see them all. Great Wiener Schnitzel at Figmuller's 105 year old restaurant by St. Stephens. In Salzburg tour the Fortress and take Rick's walk in his book. There is a really good Mozart dinner/concert next to St. Peter's Church. It was spendy, about 51 euros, but well worth it for the quality entertainment in an intimate setting. I agree with the Vienna transportation system. It was great.

Marni, Sounds like a great trip. I agree with the comments above I would include Salzburg, if at all possible. My wife and I were in Prague, Vienna and Salzburg in May of 2009. We have not been to Budapest so I can't comment on all cities based upon personal experience. That said, is there a reason why you are starting in Budapest? Geographically, it seems to me that the more logical flow would be Prague, Budepest, Vienna, Salzburg, Muinich. In my opinion, for what it is worth, I would cut a day, if I had to, in Budapest to make sure that I had at least 1.5 days in Salzburg not just one day. For example, taking the train from Vienna to Salzburg in the morning so that you can arrive before noon to leave you the rest of that day and all of the next before moving on th Munich. This would give you a day and a half in Salzburg (2 nights). It is a beautiful city and the church bells are glorious. Tom

I am thinking of a similar trip what advice could be recommended for trains between these cities and the best way to obtain tickets? I would not skip Salzberg or Halstett (course maybe both are better in the summer) but given the season Nuremberg is inviting as well. Cheers, Jeff

Like Tom, I have been to Prague, Vienna, Salzburg, and Munich, but not Budapest. I have heard wonderful things about Budapest. However, given the Vienna, Salzburg, and Munich swing, geographically is worth considering dropping either Budapest or Prague. Having seen Prague, I would not recommend dropping it. oebb.at is the webpage for Austrian rail. Time from Vienna to Salzburg is scheduled at approximately 3 hours. On a trip to Switzerland, Austria, and Prague, we found the Austrian trains to run at least an hour late on all runs.

we found the Austrian trains to run at least an hour late on all runs. In many years of traveling to Austria over about 40 years I have noticed the opposite, almost all Austrian trains I have run into have been right time or very nearly so. It sounds like you may have had a run of bad luck or perhaps an incident or engineering works?

Perhaps so. Certainly your sample size is far larger than mine. We had about 2 weeks in Switzerland where all trains were on time, to the minute. Over a weeks time on three runs from Switzerland to Salzburg, Salzburg to Vienna, and Vienna to Prague, all three had delays, two of the three at least an hour.