Vienna and Surroundings: cities you shouldn't miss | Vienna Travel Guide

1. What you must know before you come to Vienna
2. How best to travel to Vienna
3. Lodging in Vienna: the best options
4. What is there to see in Vienna
5. Means of transport in Vienna
6. Eating in Vienna
7. Evenings on the way in Vienna
8. Vienna and surroundings: cities you shouldn't miss

Vienna has a wonderful position if you're the sort of the person who likes to take short weekend trips to nearby cities, in Austria or without for Vienna is located in the very centre of Europe. The most fascinating about its location though is that despite the fact that you are living in a west European country you are a stone's throw from east European countries where the culture is truly interesting and well worth discovering.

And even if you'd like to visit the seaside you can drive to Italy or even Croatia (the second option takes a bit longer to get to, but is on the other hand cheaper than Italy).

In Austria

Good news for all Austria fans: the country is small, which translates to it being very easy to comb through all the better known cities and places regardless of whether you wish to do sightseeing or skiing. True enough driving to Tirol or Vorarlberg isn't exactly near, but that is in large part a consequence of mountains in the way which make it difficult to reach some places. The other federal states though are very easy to reach from Vienna.

I will now describe a tad more accurately the places which are in my opinion most worth a visit.

Around Vienna

If you're up for a small change, but have no time for longer journeys, no worries there is an abundance of beautiful places and tourist attractions in the near proximity of the capital suitable for a day's outing.

A tourist highlight is castle (german: Schloss) Esterházy in Burgenland. You can easily drive there view simply the castle and gardens or as part of a wonderful event like the Open-Air Opernauf guided tour in Römersteinbruch von St. Margarethen. From Vienna to Eisenstadt the drive is only about an hour long, ideal for a day trip. Part of the castle quarter is the medieval castle (Burg) Forchtenstein which shouldn't be missed!

Breath stealing atmosphere in Römersteinbruch in St. Margarethen

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Not far from Vienna, both situated westward, you will find Dioceses Klosterneuburg und Melk. The first is already over 900 years old and offers an enjoyable insight into the baroque glory of religious, sacred art. To the second, Melk, you will have the advantage of driving along the Donau river or you could even take one of the ships of the DDSG (Donaudampfschiffgesellschaft), lay back, relax and enjoy the journey. I would recommend making these trips in event of very good weather as both Klosterneuburg and Melk are located in the middle of Lower Austrian (Niederösterreich) nature and after you have managed the climb you might wish to enjoy a short walk.

In Melk you will find the perfect mixture of culture and nature!

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If you'd like to experience a change of surroundings you could drive to Baden. This small city is situated about a half hour's car ride south of Vienna. There is even a type of tram in Vienna called the Badner Bahn, which can take you from Karlsplatz into the centre of Baden in approximately an hour. The city is ideal for a stroll or shopping day, which can even be crowned with a casino visit.

I have good news for all water lovers among you - only an hour's long car ride from Vienna is Neusiedler See or Lake Neusiedl where you can enjoy a holiday atmosphere and a range of sporting activities. Especially nice in my opinion is renting a boat either a paddle- or a motorboat and making your way comfortably across the lake. All year around a world cup in surfing takes place in Podersdorf on lake Neusiedl where the entire Viennese youth gathers for one party weekend. I doubt however that this event truly revolves around the sport.

By day or night, the Lake Neusiedl is a spectacle to behold!

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Should worse come to worse and you have only a few hours to spare you could simply go for a long walk around the Viennese woods between Rehen and Wildschweinen. You won't even have to leave the city. Or you could drive to Laxenburg, south of Vienna, and visit one of the most delicious ice cream shops in the country then take a stroll in the castle park.

Other Austrian cities

Go onto ÖBB Homepage and search for train tickets to cities you would like to visit. There are always discount tickets available with which you could travel from Vienna to Graz for only 9 euros, but you will have to look a fair bit in advance for those because these are usually gone quickly. As an alternative option you could look up an opportunity to share the drive at BlaBlaCar.

Graz

A fantastic view over the city from Graz clock tower

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Graz is the biggest city in Austria after Vienna. It is the federal capital of Steiermark and draws a great many students from the whole country and even from internationally to it. Graz is actually renowned for its numerous students, which means there is an extremely cool atmosphere in the city for young people. In the city centre there are many bars where you can drink cheaply. Culturally too the city has much to offer: the clock tower on top of castle hill in the centre of the city, the art house, the architecture of which seems to originate from another era, the Murinsel and the Graz cathedral.

Salzburg

The city of Salzburg is in perfect harmony with nature.

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Due to its history and the fact that it is the birth place of the famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Salzburg is the most tourist famous and visited city in entire Austria except naturally for Vienna. Even so the subjective feeling is that there are more tourists in Salzburg than in Vienna. This, of course, is a consequence of Salzburg being much smaller than Vienna and the people therefore having less space to scatter themselves. For Mozart fans Salzburg offers various houses and museum to visit, but it doesn't restrict itself to only Mozart related attractions. The cathedral is beautiful as well as the Hohensalzburg fortress (german: Festung), which sits on top of a green hill in the centre of the city from where one can observe a wonderful view over Salzburg. Another interesting attraction is the modern museum, situated on a secluded hill, but which is still easily accessible with a lift from the centre.

Villach and Wörthersee

Explore the elegant youth style villas at Wörthersee!

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In the south of Austria, only a few minutes from the Italian border, is a small city called Villach. The capital city of the federal state of Kärnten is actually Klagenfurt, but Villach is much nicer and located in the region spotted with many thermal pools and wellness centres. The main attraction in this area however is the Wörthersee, one of the most famous Austrian lakes where many of the better known Austrian films have been filmed. Another point of interest are certainly the beguiling lake side villas from the turn of the century which can still be viewed today.

Outside of Austria

This small country is borders on eight countries: Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Due to its eastern location within the country, it is very easy and quickly to reach the eastern countries from Vienna.

In this case as well there are always discounted tickets available at ÖBB to visit the cities of the border countries. In the event that you are travelling as part of a group you could buy a Einfach-Raus-Gruppenticket (for 2-5 people) or drive there with a car and split the fuel costs. Just watch out for tolls in the event of driving with the car: in Austria a Vignette is mandatory (either a yearly or a weekly one, according to your needs). In other countries however, for example Italy, the tolls are very high and must be paid as you go. So keep the tolls i mind when you plan your trip.

Prague

Pure romance in the Czech capital

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Only 4 hours from Vienna is the Czech capital, which has a lot in common with Vienna. Once both cities were part of the same empire, something that can be observed to this day by looking at the architecture. Prague is relatively cheap, but elegant city, which should definitely be visited at least once in your life.

Budapest

The Donau river divides the city into two parts, the Buda and the Pest.

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The connection to Budapest is similar to that of Prague. The Hungarian capital was after all once part of the Austrian-Hungarian Monarchy and was along with Vienna the capital of the Empire. Budapest is fascinating and only two hours away from Vienna, so can be easily visited, but to my tastes it is very badly preserved. The splendour, still shining brightly in Vienna today, is completely faded in Budapest and only ruins of the monarchy are still visible. The city has an aura of decadence and melancholy, which is incredibly interesting to observe.

Bratislava

The castle Bratislava is also known under the name Pressburg.

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The so called romantic way to Bratislava is across the Donau river. There is a daily ship from Vienna (anchored at the Urania at Donaukanal), which will take you directly into the centre of Bratislava in one and a half hour. You can however alternatively take the bus, which takes only an hour and comes a bit cheaper as well. The city is nice for a day trip and unbelievably low-cost, but I wouldn't advise staying for longer because there isn't that much to see.

Italy

Now you have the torment of a choice: it takes three hours from Vienna to the Italian border (Tarvisio right after Villach) and then you can decide where you wish to go. You can drive to Venice and making a stopover on the way at Udine. At the laguna city you'll need five hours with a car, but you could experience problems with parking, so perhaps the train might be the better option for travel. Around Venice you can find many beloved bathing places like Jesolo, Caorle, Bibione or Lignano. You can treat yourself to a mini vacation there even if you only have 2-3 days time. Further east you'll come upon the beautiful Trieste, where you can, among other attractions, observe the wonderful Summer residence of Sissi, the castle Miramare and then still further east you'll come upon the Istria coast and along all the way to Slovenia.

Explore the labyrinthine alleys of Venice!

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You can travel from Tarvis in the direction of Lombardy and pass by Verona, where once Romeo and Julia loved one another, and then at lake Garda, a favourite bathing spot for families and campers. After the Garda lake you reach Bergamo or Mailand (but to Mailand its already eight hours drive). The land is at your feet, explore it as much as you can!

Munich

The Munich old town has much to offer!

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Four hours on the way from Vienna and you already reach the german Munich. Due to the near proximity and the language you will hardly notice the difference between Austria and Bavaria (at least southern Bavaria). Our culture and the traditions are very similar, but a trip to Munich can always be very nice if only for a football match, a museum visit or a shopping tour.

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