Austria must do/sees?

[daisycat]

I've booked a trip to go see my sister who has recently moved to Vienna.  Anything we should definitely do/see, either in Vienna itself, or not too far away (day or overnight trip)?

[gtkim]

Schonbrunn (sp?) Palace in Vienna is awesome. I'm interested in what other replies you get because we are going this summer.

[lolo]

Jan 8, 2014 22:43:12 GMT -5 gtkim said:

Schonbrunn (sp?) Palace in Vienna is awesome. I'm interested in what other replies you get because we are going this summer.

I enjoyed this too, and the zoo is quite near if you wanted to pair them. Stephansdom was really cool, especially the roof which is unlike anything I've seen.

You could visit Budapest, about a three hour train ride away. It's fantastic and relatively inexpensive.

[mdgirl]

I don't know that I'd call it a must, but if you're looking for a pretty town for an overnight trip Hallstatt is incredibly picturesque. You take the train to Salzburg then another train south. Just google it, and the pictures are just what it looks like.

[jennybee1018]

I love Vienna!!! We were there in May, and I would love to go back! I just put together some recs for a friend, so I'll paste the list here. We drank a lot when we were there, because it was May and pretty rainy :-P

So not sure if you need a hotel rec, but we stayed here for cheap and it was a cute little place, a few blocks from the metro.

Best Western

1516 Tavern – Loved this place! Really good beer, schnapps and ribs. We also loved this little Italian place called Salieri. It’s on the street across from 1516 Brewing.

7 Stern Brau – DH loved this place. It wasn’t directly off a metro stop and required a bit of a walk, but it was worth it! (You read German right? Just kidding – there’s a Union Jack flag on the page, click on it for English!)

I believe on our way to 7 Stern Brau – we stopped at the Naschmarket. This place is awesome! It’s like a big open air market with lots of good street food. Get the doner kebab!!!

The other place we really liked was Wieden Brau. Great beer and yummy food (including pretzels!). I love the Ratler – which is a mix of hefeweizen and a sort of lemonade apple drink!

Other fun things to check out are Schronbrunn Palace, Spanish Riding School, and DH loves the State Hall – Austrian National Library, because he likes books

We didn’t get to go when we were there, but I’ve heard great things about the Vienna Opera House. My IL's went to see a performance when we went, and said it was a great experience.

Also, a good friend of my sister’s recommended the hot dog cart adjacent to the Opera House. If you can find it, it sounds delicious! (He said: For the best hot dogs in your life, you have to check out this cart, which is adjacent to the opera house, not too far from the main walkway. they dig out half the bread and stuff the hot dog, which is cheese filled in it. )

I wanted to go to Salzburg to do the Sound of Music tour, but it ended up not happening. Next time hopefully!!!

Anyway, Vienna is an amazing city, you'll enjoy it no matter what you do!

[Deleted]

I remember loving Vienna but I went 25 years ago. I did a Christmas market in Salzburg probably 15 years ago and liked it as well.

Austria is a beautiful country. I think that's where I want to take the kids next Christmas, some sort of Bavaria/Austria/Prague train trip.

[Vespasia]

I remember finding the Imperial Crypts in Vienna fascinating. www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g190454-d590808-Reviews-Kapuziner_Crypt_Kapuzinergruft-Vienna.html

[wanderlustfoodie]

I went to Austria last summer. Here is our itinerary shorthand:

Vienna:
Sights: Belvedere Palace, Naschmarkt, Hofburg Palace/Imperial Treasury, Schonbrunn Palace, St. Stephen's, shopping on Mariahilferstrasse and Kartnerstrasse

Food: Meierei, Café Central, Café Demel for breakfast/pastries; Bitzinger Wurstl Stand for lunch; Gaumenspiel, Zum Finsteren Stern, Vestibul, Glacisbeisl, Poschl, Steirereck (currently #9 restaurant in world based on San Pellegrino ratings) for dinner. My parents had two extra days there and ate at Rudi's Beisl and Figmuller and liked both.

We stayed at the Hotel Imperial, which was very nice. ETA: Just saw you're staying with your sister so you likely won't need hotel reviews but I'll just keep this up for the other posters who are planning trips there.

For day trips we did the following. All of them were fantastic:
Salzburg: lots to see here

Bratislava, Slovakia: like Prague only with fewer tourists

Danube Valley: there's a combi-ticket you can buy at the train station that includes the following: the train ticket from Vienna to Melk, entrance to Melk Abbey (awesome), one way ticket down the Danube river past quaint river-side villages where you disembark at Krems to wander, then train ticket from Krems back to Vienna. It is an awesome deal. We have a friend who imports Austrian and German wines, so while we were in Krems we did some wine-tasting at private cellars our friend arranged for us. It was one of the most memorable days. So idyllic floating down the Danube.

[dearprudence]

I lived in Vienna for a summer and it's such a great city.  Your sister will probably have a lot of good suggestions.   Do you know what time of year you'll be there?  There are definitely some things that are available at certain times of years and not others (like the opera, or the summer festivals)

Also, what kinds of things do you like to do?  Within Vienna a trip to St. Stephen's is a must.  You can go down into the catacombs below, and when I was there you could also go up to the rooftop (I've heard a rumor you can't do that anymore, but I can't verify).  My favorite museum is the Belvedere, which was once the Winter Palace of the Hofburgs, but now holds Austrian Art dating from BC to modern, with a great Klimt exhibit.

During the summer there are great festivals - there's one in front of the Rathouse (city hall) every night where they hold concerts/show movies, and have food and drink stands.  They also do movie festivals at the Prater (the city's amusement park, which is another great place to tool around).

There's shopping on Stephensplatz, but more of the locals tend to head over the Mariahilferstrauss for shopping.

Just outside the city is Schonbrunn, which has been mentioned.  It's a definite must-do.  I think at least once a week while I lived there.  The palace is magnificent, the grounds are beautiful, and the zoo is one of my all-time favorites.  Just outside the city on the other side are the heuringers (winery/vineyards).  You can take the tram to Grinzing and have a classic Viennese meal - from roast pig to strudel, while sipping on the just released wine.

For daytrips, IMO, Salzburg is a must.  As much as I enjoyed Vienna, I LOVED Salzburg.  The Fortress is every medieval castle you studied in school, the Cathedral is simple yet, stunning, and there is music around every corner.  There's also a monastery beside the fortress which brews its own beer!  But I would spend longer than a day there - it's close, and certainly you can experience its charm in a day, but I'd want to stay longer.

Bratislava, suggested by wanderlustfoodie, is a great idea for a daytrip.  Prague is also nearby, but when I visited I was underwhelmed and actually preferred Bratislava, which, being less in the public eye, still feels fairy-tale like.  Prague felt a little touristy to me.

Speaking of fairy tales, Fussen also makes a wonderful nearby trip.  It is home to Nehwenstein Palace (Castle?)  which is perched atop a "mountain" across a swinging bridge, in a fairy tale forest.  It is supposedly what Walt Disney based his Sleeping Beauty Palace on.  The tourists come in literal trainloads, but it's still well worth it.

[daisycat]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions so far. I'll be going in a few weeks (nothing like a last minute trip) so this gives me some great ideas.