Munich, Salzburg, Vienna Tour Feedback

I did not go on the 8 day Munich,Salzburg & Vienna tour but I did go in 2016 the 14 day GAS tour which covers all the same cities but we also went to Switzerland. For Munich, you have several options to do things in your free time, including going to the Viktualienmarkt. It won't have Christmas items but it is a markt with tons of stuff to buy and eat. Nice to see and walk around. I went to Dallmayr's to see the food hall and ate at the lovely restaurant for lunch upstairs. I highly recommend going to the Residenz ( palace in the city) which is amazing. Of course you will go to Marienplatz which is the main square and has the Glockenspiel not to be missed). I went on this visit ( been to Munich a few times) to the Neue Pinakothek which houses very nice paintings and loved it. There is also the Alte Pinakothek but i did not go to that musuem as it is being renovated but from what I read you could still see the paintings. By the time you go it may be finished. Tons of beer halls to go all day long into the evening. Tons of lovely shops and just a fun place to be. I am only really giving you the places I went to personally. And I did on another visit, go to some of the churches right in town. So there is plenty to see and do but time is limited so if it was me I would pick the Residenz over the museum, I went to the museum because I had already seen the Residenz on the BOE tour. Hope this helps. I will write more on the other cities.

Salzburg is a very nice city with a river that runs through it. Tons of beautiful shops and some very nice churches to visit. St. Peter's cemetery is beautiful and I really wanted to go to the Hohensalzburg Fortress but it did not work out. Mirabell Gardens are beautiful. Not much to say as my time there was short and it was rainy. But it was a lovely city. The Mozart concert was optional, but the same concert is included in your tour and is very nice! I enjoyed the music and the dinner was nice. I actually hope to do the 8 day tour again and loved every place you visit on this tour.

I loved Vienna and spent 4 extra days in Vienna, where I went to two concerts and an opera in the evening. There is much to see and do, even more so in Vienna than the other cities. So you have plenty to choose from. I went to the horse show on Sunday morning too. There is the Karlskirche Baroque church that looks like it should be in Rome, the Kunsthistorisches Musuem where I spent most of the day and had lunch at their beautiful cafe!! Belvedere Palace which has very nice art, lovely gardens and The Kiss by Kimt. The Albertina Musuem which is very nice and I did that while on the tour. St. Stephens's Cathedral which is a gothic church and in the middle of a huge shopping area. Tons of the most beautiful cafes for dinner, lunch and the best deserts. Demel which has wonderful deserts. These are just some of the things I did. I also went to the Leopold Museum ( I am a huge museum fan) but they only have one artist and I did not care for his art at all, so do check out what is offered before going to see if you like the artist in this musuem.

I have a long list of what I did not get to see and must see on my next visit! The subway system and tram system is excellent, everyone spoke English every where we went and every city was very nice and clean. I even needed directions in Vienna and the police were very nice and helpful.

Again I hope this helps. I will write on Hallstatt next.

Hallstatt is like a fairlytale. The boat ride is lovely, the lake is amazing, the scenery is wonderful. I actually did not get to see the town, church, or many wonderful shops. Saw a few shop. I climbed the huge, massive waterfall, tons of stairs, to see tons of water, waterfalls and it was nothing like I ever saw. The walk back to the hotel was very nice, quiet, all pretty houses, land, horses, before you even get into town. Hotel is the nicest one and it is the best ever. So there you have it. Again, this is what I did, but after the tour you will understand there is so much to see and do and with time limited, choose one or two things to do. That is why I would like to take this tour and see the stuff I did not get to see but thought I would! And the 14 day tour added other things and so by the time we got to Vienna you are dead tired and I still had another wonderful 4 days! If you are able do go to Munich at least the day before if not more days before the tour and stay in Vienna a few days. As you may be able to tell, I like Vienna more than Munich, and would spend more time there. Not to say Munich is not a nice city, it is. I just feel Vienna has a lot more to offer. But that is what I like, you will have the joy to decide for yourself what you like.

I would agree with everything that Ann stated. That is a beautiful part of Europe. I also took the GAS tour, so I have visited all those areas. Since I live in a small town, I tend to like smaller cities. Salzburg and Hallstatt are simply beautiful. The backdrop of the mountains around both these cities is gorgeous. Hallstatt is very small, but there is a lot to see. Since it is small, it is easy to walk around the town, so it is relaxing to visit. I wish we could have spent 2 nights there. I could sit on our balcony looking at the lake and the mountains for days. It's very beautiful.

Salzburg is also great. We were able to visit the fortress and the views from up there are stunning. Try to see a concert. We saw one at Mirabell palace and it was wonderful. There are lots of "Sound of Music" sites that are enjoyable.
There are tons of things to see in Vienna. My favorite memory is the "Apple Strudel" at the Mozart Cafe. It was "to die for". You will not run out of things to visit in Vienna. The Hofburg empire left many treasures and buildings to see. I didn't have time to see everything there is to see. Take some extra time there at the end of the tour to see more of this beautiful town.

The viktualienmarkt was my favorite spot in Munich. Our hotel was about 2-3 blocks from the market, so we walked around it a lot. We spent some time shopping for lederhosen and dirndl's so we didn't see some of the additional sites. If you're a beer drinker, you will be happy.
The German and Austrians were very friendly. The Austrians seemed to be a little more "pro-American", but that is purely my personal observation. I think you will have a wonderful trip.

John,
We really enjoyed the tour last nov/dec. Each of the cities visited have great things to do and see. Message me if you have more questions. We arrived two days early in Munich and stayed two extra nights in Vienna then spent two nights in Strasbourg and one last night in Cologne. Our extra cities are mainly to visit the Christmas markets so that won't apply to your trip. We enjoyed the Vienna Philharmonic as an extra in Vienna.