Vienna, Austria for 5 days in early June
Dec 5th, 2016, 09:09 PM
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Vienna, Austria for 5 days in early June
Hi everyone,
Myself and my husband (late 20's) are planning a trip to Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. The only thing we've booked so far is our international flights from LAX to Munich and then Vienna to LAX. We are thinking that we will do Germany for 5 days, fly to Zurich Switzerland, and then fly from Zurich to Vienna. So we would theoretically (unless we change something) have 5 full days to spend in Vienna. We are also interested in a day trip to Budapest. We are big foodies, we LOVE entertainment (listening to music, watching shows or traditional dance, we love comedy etc.), we love outdoor activities, nature, fun tours, and enjoying the culture in whatever way possible. Museums are not our favorite thing to do, but we do want to make sure we see some of the most prominent and important historical/cultural monuments, etc. We are open to any suggestions and recommendations, but we also greatly appreciate not shaming our choice to only spend 5 days there (due to work schedules we always only get about 15 full days abroad after flying time, and we always choose to visit 3 places for 5 days each: this time we are thinking 5 days Germany, 5 days Switzerland, 5 days Vienna with a 1 day-trip to Budapest, unless someone helps us plan something better). Thank you in advance for any and all advice and recommendations! (hotels/airbnbs/restaurants, etc would also be great).
Myself and my husband (late 20's) are planning a trip to Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. The only thing we've booked so far is our international flights from LAX to Munich and then Vienna to LAX. We are thinking that we will do Germany for 5 days, fly to Zurich Switzerland, and then fly from Zurich to Vienna. So we would theoretically (unless we change something) have 5 full days to spend in Vienna. We are also interested in a day trip to Budapest. We are big foodies, we LOVE entertainment (listening to music, watching shows or traditional dance, we love comedy etc.), we love outdoor activities, nature, fun tours, and enjoying the culture in whatever way possible. Museums are not our favorite thing to do, but we do want to make sure we see some of the most prominent and important historical/cultural monuments, etc. We are open to any suggestions and recommendations, but we also greatly appreciate not shaming our choice to only spend 5 days there (due to work schedules we always only get about 15 full days abroad after flying time, and we always choose to visit 3 places for 5 days each: this time we are thinking 5 days Germany, 5 days Switzerland, 5 days Vienna with a 1 day-trip to Budapest, unless someone helps us plan something better). Thank you in advance for any and all advice and recommendations! (hotels/airbnbs/restaurants, etc would also be great).
Dec 6th, 2016, 03:28 AM
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You should consider taking the train from Munich to Zurich. It can be done in 3:42, which will should beat the total time it takes you to travel to the airport (30 mins) to arrive 90 minutes before your 0:55 long flight, wait for luggage (20 mins) and travel to central Zurich (30 mins) It can also removes pain points in the journey, like airport security.
Bought early enough, it is only 19 Euros so that kills the airfare option as well.
I expect you probably want to move on to other destinations in Switzerland anyway so you have the ease of connecting right on through instead of stopping in Zurich. It would make sense to stop in Zurich (if you plan to stop here very long at all - not the most exciting destination in Switzerland and miles from the mountains) at the end of your Swiss portion of the portion, rather than the beginning because you want to be in Zurich to ensure quick easy access to your departing flight to Vienna.
Bought early enough, it is only 19 Euros so that kills the airfare option as well.
I expect you probably want to move on to other destinations in Switzerland anyway so you have the ease of connecting right on through instead of stopping in Zurich. It would make sense to stop in Zurich (if you plan to stop here very long at all - not the most exciting destination in Switzerland and miles from the mountains) at the end of your Swiss portion of the portion, rather than the beginning because you want to be in Zurich to ensure quick easy access to your departing flight to Vienna.
Dec 6th, 2016, 08:27 AM
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You have had many responses to your other threads.
Sticking with Vienna, consider Budapest as at least an overnight, arriving as early as possible and then leaving as late as possible - train travel in the dark is fine. The 06:39 arrives in Budapest at 09:24, the 07:39 at 10:19.
Going back, the 18:40 gets into Vienna at 21:21, the 20:40 at 23:21.
As to what to do and where to go - just use google and a guidebook from your local library.
Don't forget about nearby gems like Passau, Melk, Bratislava, Wachau (wineries),
Sticking with Vienna, consider Budapest as at least an overnight, arriving as early as possible and then leaving as late as possible - train travel in the dark is fine. The 06:39 arrives in Budapest at 09:24, the 07:39 at 10:19.
Going back, the 18:40 gets into Vienna at 21:21, the 20:40 at 23:21.
As to what to do and where to go - just use google and a guidebook from your local library.
Don't forget about nearby gems like Passau, Melk, Bratislava, Wachau (wineries),
Dec 6th, 2016, 08:32 AM
#4
I agree that you would want to do an overnight to Budapest, but you could easily go to Bratislava as a day trip, either on the train, the bus or by hydrofoil.
I wouldn't be too ambitious about day trips from Vienna - even 5 days is not too much by the time you've seen the Hofburg and Schoenbrunn palaces, the major museums, the Prater, the Hunderwasser Haus, spent a day touring the Heurige [wine taverns], following the path of Mozart and or Beethoven, done a day trip down the Wachau Valley and seen Melk Abbey - there is loads to see and do.
I wouldn't be too ambitious about day trips from Vienna - even 5 days is not too much by the time you've seen the Hofburg and Schoenbrunn palaces, the major museums, the Prater, the Hunderwasser Haus, spent a day touring the Heurige [wine taverns], following the path of Mozart and or Beethoven, done a day trip down the Wachau Valley and seen Melk Abbey - there is loads to see and do.
Dec 10th, 2016, 09:01 AM
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The day trip to Melk Abbey and the Wachau Valley (with a Danube river cruise) is great! It's a really long trip to Budapest - I don't think it could be considered a day trip. It was a toss up for us between a day trip to Bratislava or to go to Melk. I'm so glad we did the Melk trip because we didn't want another city. There are lots of posts on this trip on this forum - check out my post. June will be a great time to do this.
We also went hiking in the hills/mountains around Vienna. Easy to reach by public transportation (included in the Vienna transportation cards) and there are wine gardens called heurigers which also have live entertainment. We did this on a Sunday, so many of them were closed but there was an open air wine garden where we sat and drank wine and ate cheese while looking at the beautiful view of the vineyards, mountains and Vienna.
We also went hiking in the hills/mountains around Vienna. Easy to reach by public transportation (included in the Vienna transportation cards) and there are wine gardens called heurigers which also have live entertainment. We did this on a Sunday, so many of them were closed but there was an open air wine garden where we sat and drank wine and ate cheese while looking at the beautiful view of the vineyards, mountains and Vienna.
Dec 10th, 2016, 09:39 AM
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The Hundertwasserhaus (watch spelling) is officially now "Kunst Haus Wien - Museum Hundertwasser" - see www.kunsthauswien.com/en/museum
Dec 11th, 2016, 05:12 AM
#8
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rip-report.cfm
We visited Vienna for 5 days in Sept 2016 and here's my TR with some suggestions for you. I'll agree with some posters above that the trip to Melk (train-Abbey-lunch-boat-train) was excellent.
Pension Suzanne a great find thanks to Fodorites. Vienna has so much to offer.
We visited Vienna for 5 days in Sept 2016 and here's my TR with some suggestions for you. I'll agree with some posters above that the trip to Melk (train-Abbey-lunch-boat-train) was excellent.
Pension Suzanne a great find thanks to Fodorites. Vienna has so much to offer.
Dec 26th, 2016, 10:47 PM
#9
We spent 4 nights in Vienna last September, and found this adequate. This included a (highly recommended) full day-trip along the Wachau Valley (9am train to Melk, returned by 7pm train from Krems)– you can buy the OBB Wachau Kombiticket at the station itself which includes train connections, entrance to the Melk abbey and the ferry ride along the Danube <i>(tours will resume in April, 2017) </i>. We did not visit Bratislava <i>(close by; possible daytrip)</i> or Budapest <i>(much further away, not really a “daytrip”)</i>.
We enjoyed strolling around the old town (the Innere Stadt) and didn’t want to “overdo” the history/museum component either so restricted ourselves to
- the Schonbrunn Palace <i>(we bought the Classic Pass https://www.schoenbrunn.at/en/our-tickets-and-prices/all-tickets-prices/#classic-pass)</i>
- the Kunsthitoriches Museum and Imperial Treasury <i>(we bought the Combined Ticket „Treasures of the Habsburgs“ https://www.khm.at/en/explore/offers/combined-tickets/)</i>
Unfortunately, we were unable to attend a performance at the Spanish Riding School (see http://www.srs.at/en_US/start-en/ for the calendar) as there was nothing scheduled during our time there – a big miss. We were enthralled by a chamber music performance in the wonderfully intimate setting of the Mozarthaus (http://www.mozarthaus.at/), though you can check if the Vienna Philharmonic will be performing at at the Musikverein whilst there. <i>(Please completely avoid the tourist traps being peddled by folks in period costumes on Vienna's streets)</i>
Most tourists prefer to stay in the Innere Stadt itself (any hotel/pension with 1010 postal code), but we stayed just outside (but within walking distance) in the Museum Quartier (Hotel K&K Maria Theresia).
With regards to food, we enjoyed doing the touristy things (e.g. a sachertorte at Café Demel and Café Sacher) and the local experiences (e.g. open air dining at the Naschmarkt).
We enjoyed strolling around the old town (the Innere Stadt) and didn’t want to “overdo” the history/museum component either so restricted ourselves to
- the Schonbrunn Palace <i>(we bought the Classic Pass https://www.schoenbrunn.at/en/our-tickets-and-prices/all-tickets-prices/#classic-pass)</i>
- the Kunsthitoriches Museum and Imperial Treasury <i>(we bought the Combined Ticket „Treasures of the Habsburgs“ https://www.khm.at/en/explore/offers/combined-tickets/)</i>
Unfortunately, we were unable to attend a performance at the Spanish Riding School (see http://www.srs.at/en_US/start-en/ for the calendar) as there was nothing scheduled during our time there – a big miss. We were enthralled by a chamber music performance in the wonderfully intimate setting of the Mozarthaus (http://www.mozarthaus.at/), though you can check if the Vienna Philharmonic will be performing at at the Musikverein whilst there. <i>(Please completely avoid the tourist traps being peddled by folks in period costumes on Vienna's streets)</i>
Most tourists prefer to stay in the Innere Stadt itself (any hotel/pension with 1010 postal code), but we stayed just outside (but within walking distance) in the Museum Quartier (Hotel K&K Maria Theresia).
With regards to food, we enjoyed doing the touristy things (e.g. a sachertorte at Café Demel and Café Sacher) and the local experiences (e.g. open air dining at the Naschmarkt).
Dec 30th, 2016, 07:21 AM
#11
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If interested in regional food, try https://www.yelp.com/biz/stomach-wien
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