afj123

So I went to Switzerland last year, and wow, my god, what an exceptional place. From the cities of zurich, bern, lugano and lucerne, to the towns and villages of thun, wengen, murren, grindelwals and andermatt, and of course the magnificent alps and lakes, I couldn't imagine a more spectactular place.

However, the expense is real. Switzerland is just too expensive atm to think about doing again. I thought Austria seemed very comparable, if maybe not quite the same. I know lake hallstatt, st anton, salzburg and vienna are renowned. What could you recommend that might be a good match for what I saw in Switzerland? Is there anything that's similarly spectacular?

PalenQ

Going by trains or car? Austria, like Switzerland, has an excellent public transit system that can take you to all those places. Check Austrian Railways for schedules - ÖBB - Startseite or its low-cost competitor Willkommen (always cheap even at last minute) - general info trains and where to go with them: www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

My Austrian favorites were -Wachau Valley between Melk (famous abbey) and Krems - nice few-hour boat rides thru this awesome vineyard-clad Danube valley - easy day trip from Vienna if don't have car; The Sound of Music Country - really the Austrian Lakes District just east of Salzburg - fairytale towns like St Wolfgang - can take postal bus or drive from Salzburg and after go on to Hallstatt by bus/train; Salzburg and on and on.

thursdaysd

Definitely Innsbruck. Day trips to the Stubai glacier and up the Ziller valley, perhaps up to Achensee as well. Then Zell-am-See for the Krimml waterfall and the Grossglockner road (you may need to rent a car for that, I think the bus I used has been cancelled).

PalenQ

You can take the Krimmlbahn railway to Krimml Falls at least.

Sue81

Hi, I love Vienna. These are not mtn scenic areas, but there are of great interest to me. The Spanish Riding School has the Lippizaners stallions that you can see connected to the Hapsburg Palace, get tickets ahead, way ahead, for one of their shows. Also the Hapsburg Palace itself, and the history connected to it all. If you are into art, the Bellevedere Palace has some fine paintings, Klimpt, and some amazing still life paintings. There is a little gift shop connected to the Spanish Riding School and you can see a video of the US soldiers, many from the West/riding the stallions out of Vienna/Pattons soldiers I beleive, before the bombing of Vienna in WW II. Also the lovely church, near the riding school, forgot the name, quite a few years back, and of course all the very nice coffee shops. Much more to see here. Others will add to this. Sue

mnag

You have some good recommendations above. We've been to both. I doubt you will be disappointed. We enjoyed the Wachau valley, Hallstatt, Wolfgangsee (our fav), Salzburg (loved it). We really wanted to go through the Grossglockner pass but unfortunately could not because of snow (in the summer). We didn't like Zell Am (too touristy) and we had poor weather.

PalenQ

How much time do you have? Going by car or public transit?

Time especially is important as if I had to chose between say Innsbruck and Salzburg I too would chose Salzburg - Hallstatt will give you the awesome Alpine experience not Innsbruck - not right from town anyway in summer.

Sue81

HI again, If you go to Innsbruck, there is a small village above Innsbruck called Igls or (eagle). It was the site of the Olympic tobaggan slide some years back. There is a little train that goes up to Igls, about 15 min ride. The village is lovely, I think a ski area in Winter, A really lovely spot. i've stayed there a couple times, good place to spend the night/hotels there.

PalenQ

Yes the tram from Innsbruck up to Igls runs thru forests and lovely low Alpine scenery - Olympic Ski Jump was and is here. Nice hikes and Schloss Ambross on edge of Innsbruck on tram route it really neat too.