Austria for kids
 

Hi

I posted this before but it seems to have disappeared.

We will be traveling with our 11 year old son in Vienna/Salzburg/Munich from Oct 8 - Nov 5. What are somethings that kids will enjoy in this area taking the weather into account? Thanks

Spanish Riding School in Vienna - rehearsals may be better for kids than formal event. Not always there but often.

I should have said Oct 28 - Nov 4. Unfortunately Spanish Riding school is closed during that period. Any other suggestions?

I suggest you get some pictorial guide books, then let your son look through them and pick out some things he wants to do. He will buy into the trip better if he has a part in the planning.

In Vienna I think the Schonbrunn and St. Stephens Cathedral can be enjoyed by people of all ages.

In Salzburg do not miss the Hellbrunn, which is a castle with trick water fountains. Great fun for all ages. Check this out:

http://www.hellbrunn.at/hellbrunn/en...tart/index.asp

Just a few quick ideas off the top of my head - The salt mine tour at Hallein just outside of Salzburg and the Deutches Museum in Munich.

Go to the Vienna Zoo. It's a very nice little zoo, with pandas and penguins and other cool critters. And some excellent "tropical houses" where birds fly right by your head.

Ups, it's called the Schönbrunn Zoo. Bah!

Vienna -
my sons (around that age at the time) loved the Arms and Armory Museum which is in the palace complex. they also loved the gardens behind Schoenbrunn (spelling?) palace, especially the large maze.

the natural history museum (near the art museum) is also very nice. It is rather "old fashioned" in it's layout, but the things on exhibit are good.

Salzburg - definitely go on a saltmine tour. My kids just liked walking around the old part of town because there were some interesting shops.

Great places - you should have fun!

There were tons of kids at the afternoon "Best of Mozart" performance at the Marionetten Theater in Salzburg. It lasts a little over an hour and my kids really enjoyed it. It's in German with English subtitles on the wall.

I agree with Hellbrun Castle - it's great for kids - and adults too! If you get the Salzburg pass, the 1/2 hour boat ride up the river to the castle is included. There is also a small zoo adjoining the castle grounds.

If you need a change for dinner, go to the Augustiner Brau Monastery for dinner. Everyone talks about the beer served by monks, but my kids enjoyed the Austrian food court and had fun selecting unusual dinners (although you can also get usual dinners there too). Bonus...it was very inexpensive. A fun evening!

My kids (who were 12, 12 and 17) also found Mozart's Birthhouse interesting.

The salt mine was the hit of Austria, especially the slides going down into the mines and the trainride out. We went to the one in Hallstatt so we could drive around the Lake District. The one in Berchesgarten was actually recommended to us more often by the locals. A few did say to go to that one instead of the one in Hallein. I think the one in Bertesg. had a boat ride on the underground lake in addition to the slide. No boat ride in Hallstatt.

Here's my thread to see my Salzburg and saltmine pix. The first url for the saltmine might not work, but scroll down to the second and it should be fine...

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...een_name=kwren

If you want to read the part of my trip report about Salzburg, here it is...just scroll down to the posts written on 8/17:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...een_name=kwren

Just a caution about the boats to Hellbrunn: if there's a few days of heavy rain, they probably won't run as the water gets too high. We were unable to take them during our late May/early June visit because of the rain. Too bad, we did want to take them.

Does your son like planning things? Maybe he can have the job of planning the train and postbus routes.

While in Salzburg, I would definitely recommend taking him out to Hohenwerfen to tour the castle and see the birds of prey exhibition. They will hold special falconry programs on October 21-22.
Werfen is easily reached from Salzburg by train. Postbus too, I think.

http://www.salzburg-burgen.at/en/werfen/rates.php You can download a pdf on the castle.

FYI, there is also a small zoo at Hellbrunn. It's behind the castle, up a bit of a hill.

Re Mozart, why not have you son research what Mozart was doing and where he was traveling when he was 11.

If he has a sweet tooth, ask him to research all those luscious pastries in Austria and get him to keep track of which ones everyone liked best and least.

In Munich, one of the weirdest and most interesting museums is the Zam museum, actually a collection of several quirky museums, including the Easter Bunny and peddle car museums. Some of those early Easter bunnies were pretty creepy looking!

Hi P,

Posts don't disappear, they just get buried.

Click on your name and they will all come up.

((I))

Are the salt mines open in early Nov? Thanks for all the help!

Oh - I didn't notice the Munich part...

Definitely hit the Science Museum! We only allotted about 2 or 3 hours and really could have stayed longer! It is fascinating!

I think the salt mines at Durrnberg, Hallein, should be open in November, although with somehat restricted hours. The one at Hallstatt will be closed.