ultimatecubsfan

Hi!
I will be traveling to Austria next summer with my husband and son (who will be 15 months at the time of travel). We are already prepared to stay in Vienna for 5 days but would like to travel to the western part of Austria for another 5 days! Any advice? Keep in mind we are traveling with an infant so most of the transportation would have to be by train and/or bus! We need advice on where to stay (something centrally located perhaps) and where to take daytrips! We want a good "feel" for Austria! Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you-
Sarah

Travelnick

When I lived there I checked out around 20 hotels for when parents came to stay. We ended up choosing the Starlight Suites on Renngasse (there are 2 others not as well located). It is in the first district - which is the circular centre area, and definitely my preference as a tourist.Style wise it is fairly bland - bit Ikea-like, but space and cleanliness could not be beat. SS has small kitchen, separate bedroom and lounge. Hotel choices - for 5 star, Ambassador Hotel, Grand, Imperial, Sacher all are fine and expensive. For cheaper options, Kaiserin Elizabeth and Konig von Ungarn are both nice 4 star hotels. Pensions - Pertschy was the best we saw - style is a bit kitsch, pink and flowery which is pretty common in 3-4 star hotels in central Vienna. If your taste, great, if not, kitsch. We saw crap rooms in Pension Nossek and Suzanne which still seem to get recommendations by people. (Admittedly Nossek we saw the last room available and we were told was not typical, but Suzanne was really yuck - dark, gloomy, run down).
Meals - for me two places stood out over the 2 years we lived there: Thursday night at the Haus der Kunst (main art gallery) had a great value buffet (around Euro45 with entry cost) in majestic surroundings and in between courses you can go off and view the paintings. Book before hand - quite a few people dress up for it as well and Harrys Bar on An der Hulben.
You can eat pretty well at lunch at good prices in Vienna. Luncheon vouchers are given by many employers as tax efficient salary and it means a lot of places offer lunch menus which can be much better value than dinner prices. Bettelstudent is one of the best value and very popular with workers. But for amazing value Harrys Bar is my number 1 recommendation (albeit from 2003) - Euro18 for 5-6 courses (small size course 2 and 3) for lunch, Euro35-40 (cannot remember now) for eat the menu at dinner (main course choices gives you 2 lamb cutlets for example as opposed to 3 if chosen as main course). Still best value restaurant I have ever eaten in past 5 countries I have lived in. The other fantastic thing that central Vienna offers are restaurant stalls in front of the Rathaus. In the summer, city provides licenses to restaurants to set up stalls. Selection is great - the various world cuisines are all represented. The restaurants include some of the best in the city (and expensive) but the stall offers are cheaper (sometimes smaller portions). Buy what you want and then sit down at the open air tables. Why other cities have not followed the example, who knows.
Our favourite day trip from Vienna was to go down the Wachau from Krems to Melk - beautiful scenery, and stop off at the vineyards to sample the wine. Baden is a pretty town that is easy to get to by local train or tram services (train faster). Roman spa there that you can go to, I would imagine babies are welcome.
Heading west from Vienna to Salzburg, you should consider lake area (Salzkammergut)- towns like Hallstatt (train station on opposite side of lake to the town - go across by boat), and Gmunden (Traunsee) are very pretty, and I am sure lots of people will add their favourite towns.

Operaman

Where in western Austria do you have in mind? Do you prefer upscale places or B&B's that will really give you a feel for your area of visit.

jmw44

I've stayed in two small places and loved them both: St. Gilgen, which is on a lake and is very near Halstatt; and Seefeld, which is above Innsbruck toward Bavaria. J.

ultimatecubsfan

Wow! Thank you for your responses! I am now a little less stressed about finding the perfect places to stay and visit! It sounds like we would have a lot more fun if we were able to rent a car. . .does anyone know if there are carseats available through the rental companies, and if so, would you trust that situation?

MaureenB

We loved the Hotel Kaiserin Elisabeth, in the heart of old Vienna, on a nice relatively quiet side street very close to the Stephansdom. We had a quad or family room that would have plenty of space for a crib or baby bed, and a very nice breakfast included. We liked the feeling of the hotel-- like it was true and elegant old Austria.
I definitely wouldn't get a car while you're in the city. Completely unnecessary and would be more trouble than it's worth. Public transit is wonderful, and if you stay in the heart of Vienna you can walk to many of the attractions. There's also a U-Bahn stop about a block from the hotel.
The train system is also convenient to tour Austria, so you might not need a car at all, unless you are set on getting one.