Austria

Where to Go

• Vienna: the Habsburg capital, with the Ringstrasse, the great museums, the State Opera and its coffee houses.
• Salzburg: Mozart's birthplace, a compact baroque old town under the fortress, and the Salzburg Festival every summer.
• The Wachau: a stretch of the Danube west of Vienna lined with vineyards, apricot orchards and abbeys, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Hohe Tauern National Park: the largest national park in Central Europe, covering about 1,856 km² across Salzburg, Carinthia and East Tyrol, around the Grossglockner, Austria's highest mountain at 3,798 m.
• The Arlberg: Lech and St. Anton, two of the best-known ski villages in the Alps.

What to Do

In Vienna and Salzburg, plan around concerts and museums, and leave time for long lunches. In the Wachau, cycle or drive between wineries and take a boat on the Danube. In Hohe Tauern, drive the Grossglockner High Alpine Road, which runs 48 km and climbs to about 2,500 m, and walk to the Krimml Waterfalls, which drop 380 m and are the highest in Austria. The Rauris valley is a good place to look for golden eagles and, in summer, griffon and bearded vultures. In winter, ski the Arlberg.

Best Time to Go

The cities work year round, and December brings the Christmas markets. For the mountains, June to September is best for walking and wildlife. The Grossglockner High Alpine Road is open from May to November, and closed in winter because of snow. Ski season in the Arlberg runs through the winter. Our guide to Europe in the shoulder season has more on timing.

Getting Around and How Long to Stay

Fly into Vienna, or into Salzburg or Munich for the mountains. Trains between Vienna and Salzburg take about two and a half hours. For Hohe Tauern and the valleys, a car or driver is easiest. We suggest eight to ten nights: three or four in Vienna, a night or two in the Wachau, two in Salzburg and two or three in the mountains.

Where to Stay

We do not yet have Austrian hotels on our list, but we know the main options well and can advise. In Vienna, Hotel Sacher, beside the State Opera, and Hotel Imperial on the Ringstrasse are the two classic choices. In Lech, Almhof Schneider is a long-standing family-run ski hotel.

Just across the border in Bavaria, Germany, Schloss Elmau near Garmisch-Partenkirchen is our favorite Alpine hotel for families and music lovers. It is not in Austria, but it fits easily into a trip that includes Salzburg or Innsbruck.

Pairing

Austria pairs naturally with Munich and Schloss Elmau, with Prague or Budapest by train from Vienna, and with the Swiss Alps in Switzerland.