Hi All... Since there are no rooms in Vienna, how about Linz? It looks like an easy drive from Prague and we can do a day trip to Salzburg and Vienna(?). We can do four nights but then will have to drive over 250 miles to our next stop Budapest. Any feedback on the city of Linz? Thanks!

To be honest we just drove through Linz on our way from Salzburg to Cesky Krumlov, but from the looks of it I wouldn't want to stay there. There were lots of factories and it looked very industrial and not all that appealing for tourists.

If you are looking for a convenience location between Salzburg and Vienna, I would suggest maybe the Wachau Valley. About 2 hours or so from Salzburg and 1 hour from Vienna, this is a great area filled with charming little towns and lots of wineries set on the banks of the Danube. Check out the towns of Durnstein, Melk or Krems.

Tracy

I've visited relatives in Linz. It's a perfectly fine place to live, but I wouldn't stay there as a tourist. There must be small towns in the vicinity of Vienna that have lodging and would be close enough to see Vienna?

~Liz

I second the Wachau Valley suggestion. My travel guide says it is great, and says Linz has not much to recommend it - that is of course hearsay - not first hand experience.
We have not stayed in the Wachau Valley yet - we are due there on 26th June. All my research points to it being a great place to visit, and I gather about an hour from Vienna. We are booked into Stockingerhof (in Durnstein)- a winery along the Danube - sounds delightful. See www.stockingerhof.at
Hope you find somewhere you like.

PRLCH;
You'll love the Stockingerhof, it is just a short walk from the village and is situated next to a vineyard. Peter and his wife run a lovely place, make sure to try the wine they produce and some of the schnapps...wunderbar!

I haven't stayed at the Stockingerhof, but we did stop there to sample some schnapps and, as operman mentions above, they are wonderful and I'm usually not a big fan of schnapps. We biked all along the Wachaua Valley one delightful day and stopped there to sample some schnapps. We ended up purchasing several small bottles of apricot schnapps that was quite good.

Tracy

tcreath;
We stayed 2 days at Stockingerhof after biking down from Grein (another good village to stay at) The schnapps is an area specialty with many different varieties. We started our bike trip from Linz, then biked up to Aschach an der Donau, then back down to Wien. Stockingerhof was great and not an English word to be heard around the place. I hope they are still as non-touristy as they were then.

Well, I've got a different perspective of Linz. We spent a day there and thought it was very pleasant. Spent time in the city center, great little shops, restaurants; took the cog railway up to the castle/monestary and had a wonderful lunch with great views, and had a very nice relaxing time. No, I wouldn't spend several days there by itself, but if you're using it as a base for day trips, I wouldn't write it off.

The town center and main square are perfectly pleasant places to spend an hour or two but I don't recall anything impressive about the rest of the city. It is central to your proposed day trips. We also had lunch at a restaurant overlooking the city, with wonderful views, which was my favorite part of our day there.

Of course the old center of Linz is very nice and would make for a good hub for sightseeing. Many nice villages etc. very close. It is also home to the famed Linzer Torte. You could also try Enns which is a little smaller but has a very nice old city center. We stayed at the Zum Goldenen Schiff, a very good place right on the main square. You could also go a little further toward Germany and stay at the Faustschlössl in Aschach an der Donau...that is a really wonderful place:
http://tinyurl.com/363b3o
Great rooms that overlook the Danube and excellent food as well.

We were lucky enough to stay with friends who live in a small village in the Wachau Valley, near Krems. From there, we did day trips into Vienna - easily done and at most, only an hour away.

For somewhere pleasant, scenic and quiet that is commuting distance to Vienna, try Durnstein.

During the summer Durnstein may be quiet during the evening and night, but by day it is packed with tourists and anything but quiet.