Salzburg or Vienna in winter?
 

I will be in Venice mid January and would like to take an overnight train to Austria for 4 days before I head home. I have never been to Austria but loved Salzburg after seeing the sound of music and loved Vienna after seeing Before sunrise. I am not sure if this will help but I am a lover of switzerland and Italy.

I would opt for Vienna. You could however see most of the highlights of Salzburg in a day. I don't mean to be a bubble buster, but the Sound of Music was a movie fabrication. Some of the city scenes do exist as shown, but it does not take long to see many of them.<BR><BR>As for Vienna, I think my perception of the place is influenced by my interest in operas. Vienna has both the Stadtsoper and the Volksoper, with the latter being a little less famous, but I have seen several very good presentations there, particularly performances featuring lighter fare such as The Merry Widow and Die Fledermaus.<BR>Sch&ouml;nbrunn Castle is the storied palace of the Hapburgs where Maria Theresia and Franz Josef lived most of the time.<BR>There is also the Hofburg complex in the city. <BR><BR>I am sure that the relative merits of both places could be debated at length, but one factor would influence my decision. There is more to do inside in Vienna, and in January that for me is a consideration!!<BR>