We are going to Austria over Thanksgiving this year (flying in Wednesday flying out Monday). We want to do a little time in Vienna, but probably moreso in Salzburg. Wife wants to see Sound of Music stuff and Christmas market.

Thinking probably:

• Wednesday and Thursday night in Vienna
• Friday in town in Salzburg (Christmas market)
• Saturday and Sunday night maybe outside of town near Salzburg? I'm not sure how "city" Salzburg feels?
• We'd then need to drive or train back to Vienna for her flight out for work on Monday. I am going to stay Monday night solo in Vienna and adventure myself.

We would like to get a similar vibe as to when we were in Florence / Tuscany. I am roughly comparing Salzburg to Florence in terms of "urbanness" and size, whereas we'd like to experience it, but then get some time out in the countryside.

Am I offbase? Open to input here. But length of trip isn't flexible.

I like Insbruck. And it's an easy drive to Munich.

But we aren't going to Munich

Have you thought doing Vienna and Bratislava? It might be easier logistically than Vienna and Salzburg. But if SoM is the thing, I guess it's non negotiable.

In my opinion, Innsbruck/Salzburg would make more sense coming and going from Munich (I realize you're not flying in or out of there, just sharing the opinion). I also don't recommend going to Innsbruck unless you're looking to do skiing/hiking.

Vienna has a really awesome cafe culture. Great strudels and cakes and stuff. It's also got fantastic museums and an opera, a friends sister actually performs there. Highly recommends a show there if you're interested in that sort of thing.

Just did this trip last year. Vienna is a great city and the Christmas markets are open. You could spend the entire time in Vienna and not see everything.

Salzburg Christmas markets were not open completely (but we flew back on T-Day)

Salzburg is a nice city. Best bier hall in the world is there - Augustiner brau (not related to the Munich operation). By far the best bier hall. Full of locals.

Red Bull has a cool museum outside of town.

Munich is a short train ride away if you decide to add that.

Berchtesgaden has a nice little Christmas market and is just 20 minutes from Salzburg. Great close up of the Alps as well.

https://www.berchtesgaden.de/en/top-experiences/berchtesgaden-christmas-market

FancyKetchup14 said:

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Have you thought doing Vienna and Bratislava? It might be easier logistically than Vienna and Salzburg. But if SoM is the thing, I guess it's non negotiable.

In my opinion, Innsbruck/Salzburg would make more sense coming and going from Munich (I realize you're not flying in or out of there, just sharing the opinion). I also don't recommend going to Innsbruck unless you're looking to do skiing/hiking.

Vienna has a really awesome cafe culture. Great strudels and cakes and stuff. It's also got fantastic museums and an opera, a friends sister actually performs there. Highly recommends a show there if you're interested in that sort of thing.

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Thanks! Yeah we don't ski so Innsbruck probably not our cup of tea.

And we are definitely planning on seeing the Vienna Philharmonic as it is supposed to be one of the best and we enjoy the symphony.

It's a short trip…don't try to do too much. You'll be battling jet lag day one (Wednesday)…I assume you will arrive somewhere late AM or near lunch. Wait for bags, passport control, get to hotel…personally, for 4 full days, I would just stay in Vienna as hub.

You wouldn't need more than 2 days in Salzburg. If you do the Sound of Music tour it will already take you to many of the major sights, and also to some of the surrounding areas (Mondsee). Besides that, you can spend some time walking around the gardens in Mirabell (though in November everything will be dead) and the cathedral. Take the funicular (or walk up to) Hohensalzburg for a tour. They also do Mozart concerts up there in the evenings. Hellbrunn with its trick water fountains will be closed, but you'll at least see it because it's a stop along the Sound of Music tour.

There's not much "city" to Salzburg, it's very walkable and much of it is pedestrian mall. A tip would be to take the train from Vienna to Salzburg (only takes ~2.5 hours) which partly goes along the Danube, and you could also see the countryside along the way.

Take a day trip to Hallstat...very beautiful lake town.

Or go to Zell am See, a ski resort town on a lake and ride up the Gondola to the top for a really spectacular view.

Pre-pandemic I traveled to Austria (Wien and Graz) annually for business. You are traveling to Wien at the right time, during Advent. Lots of Christkindlmarkts (Christmas Markets) scattered throughout the city. Among the many, I suggest visiting the ones in Rathaus (City Hall) and in Schönbrunn Palace.

Suggest spending a lot of time in the 1st District (inside the inner ring that forms the City Center). The best shopping district is located at Graben, and the majestic Stephansdom (St. Peter's Cathedral) is located right in the center of it all.

Other suggestions:

1. I would take the Railjet (Austria's speed train line) to Salzburg (which is a relatively small city, not very urban at all). Munich is also a short train ride away. Can see all the small villages along the way, very picturesque.

2. Take the ÖBB (train) to Stift Melk (Melk Abbey), about 1 hr 20 minute train ride from Wien (via the Westbahnhof Station).

3. Have a traditional Austrian meal (which is really good due to the cultural influences from the former Austrian Empire) at Plachutta (the location (Address; Wollzeile 38) in the 1st District). Have the tafelspitz, which is my absolute favorite Austrian dish.

4. Should you have enough time, visiting Tyrol, and particularly, Innsbruck, would be great. An absolutely beautiful and charming city nestled in the Alps.