My sister and I will be in Vienna for two days in the first week in Sept. We are looking for great sites to see, tours and amazing food! We want to see all the sites in Vienna but we want to get to Salzbug to see the many amazing sites from Sound of Music. Any suggested tours that will get us there from Vienna? Again restaurants/food suggestions are welcome??
Posted by
Bellevue, WA, USA
811 posts
2 days in vienna is pretty short so you want to read about all the sites you want to visit and prioritize before you go. the schonbrum palace is pretty amazing at least you need 1/2 day, then at least another 1/2 day to walk around the cathedral area full of shops and restaurants. the royal palace + museums can easily take a whole day, so you really need 3-4 days to cover all major sites.
Posted by
Boston
380 posts
Two days is pretty short to see all the sites in Vienna and go to Salzburg too. I would forego going to Salzburg as that would take a whole day. When I lived in Vienna, I took the first morning train to Salzburg. Tour Mozart's house. Took a tour of the lake district which included the church from the wedding scene in the Sound of Music. Walked around town. Took a late train back to Vienna. Go to Schoenbrun for sure. After that, it depends on your interest. For me it was music and pastries. I went to Hayden's house, Mozart's Figaro house, and tour the Opera. I ate every day one to two pieces of pastries at Demel's. Went to Hotel Sachar to compare its' torte with Demel's. I prefer Demel's. But the service at Hotel Sachar was impressive.
You might also look on Tripadvisor.com.
Posted by
Brighton, MI, USA
13 posts
Try to spend a good amount of time at Schoenbrunn palace. Be sure to buy an entry into the palace and stroll the grounds, but you may also wish to see some of the other things there--the carriage museum, a zoo, a botanical greenhouse, to name a few. Plan on 1/2 day at least. Spend the rest of your time within the "ring". Don't bother with going to the Pratter. Go to a Vienna coffee shop. Take the train to Salzburg--I would spend the couple extra euros per ticket to get a reserved seat.
Posted by
Longmont, CO, USA
527 posts
2 days in Vienna is too short to even think about going to Salzburg. Save it for another trip, or just go to Salzburg and forget Vienna until you can devote the time it really deserves.
You do not need to reserve a seat on the train to Salzburg. Take the Westbahn train and pay the conductor on board, same price as purchasing in advance.
Posted by
Vienna, Austria
517 posts
Here are some recent message board discussions on Vienna that you might find helpful: http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/100642/what-to-do-in-vienna-for-4-days.html And http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm?topic=100110 Vienna is a great city. Have a good trip!
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8125 posts
Alyssa: I would suggest you go to your local library and checkout some travel books that cover Austria, and Vienna. I truly love both Vienna and Salzburg, but if I was on a short time frame my time would be spent in Vienna. The Schoenbrun Palace is absolutely fantastic, as is all of the Hapsburg's downtown palaces. The other museums inside the Ringstrasse are absolutely incredible. Last trip, we went out to the Vienna Woods for a glorious night dining in the wine gardens. Salzburg is a small town that could be covered in one day. And I hate to tell you but those mountain vistas in the movie were not filmed there. You've got to get farther out into the countryside around Salzburg.
Anytime you're wanting to find tours in a given city, look in the good travel books for suggestions. Or, just Google "Vienna tours" for many, many tour listings.