things to do in the rain in Salzburg, Vienna, and Prague?
 

Hi all -
Thanks to all your incredible tips and advice, we've got a great itinerary lined up for our trip to Salzburg, Vienna, and Prague, commencing in just a few days! Unfortunately, the forecast shows a lot of rain the entire time we're there, so all the wonderful things that require good weather (mountain vistas, gardens, hiking, bike tours) may be off the table.

So one last request from the faithful Fodorites: do you have any recommendations for rainy day alternatives in these 3 cities if our best-laid plans are thwarted by Mother Nature? Also, does spring rain in this region tend to be continual downpours for days like we get on the coast or is it more like quick pop-up showers that make way for sun within half an hour?

Thanks so much for all your help! We're determined to have a great time no matter what :)

The Hofburg (aka Hapsburg?) is the first thing that comes to mind in Vienna. There are other museums nearby. I'm tempted to recommend the Schonbrunn since that is also fab on the inside, however you can't enjoy the gardens in the rain so save that for a sunny day. In Vienna there is also the Treasury that has many fine jewels. Visit St. Stephen's Cathedral as well as the burial crypts for the royal family. Please do see the crypts regardless of the weather. It's really cool, in a creepy kind of way. There is a museum for Sigmund Freud if that is of interest.

BTW, it rained almost constantly while I was in Vienna, but we did get one sunny afternoon to enjoy the Schonbrunn. I'm not saying it's always that way, we just weren't lucky with weather on that trip.

I almost forgot--stop by a coffee house for dessert!! :-)

For Prague the number of indoor attraction around the castle area should keep you busy for a day, short walks betwwen them all but nothing major.Buy a day ticket for the trams and ride them for a while ,the No22 is known as the toursit tram and takes you round most of the main tourist sites, at weekends a Nostalgic tram runs and it is worth spending a couple of hours on that,can't remember the cost but basically peanuts.

In my opinion, Vienna is one of the best museum cities in the world. Between the Kunsthistorisches, all the museums with Secessionist art, the Belvedere...then add on the palaces (Hofburg and Schoenbrunn) and cafes with pastry and coffee and you've got a tailor made indoor destination!

In Salzburg we especially enjoyed the city history museum (www.salzburgmuseum.at -- quite new and one of the best of its type we have seen anywhere) and the modern art museum at the top of the city (http://www.museumdermoderne.at/en/th...m-moenchsberg/.

In Vienna there is currently some special exhibits celebrating Klimt's birthday 150 years. At the Secession, at the MAK and also at the Leopold museums. We will see them next week!

In Vienna the Spanish Riding School has 2-hour dressage rehearsals for the Lipizzaner Stallions. We enjoyed the setting, and it is certainly something we could not see at home. The reahersals are indoors in an extremely nice building (Think chandeliers and columns), and you watch from raised viewing balconies. No reservations needed, and the tickets to watch the rehearsals are not overly expensive. Watching the full 2 hours might be a bit much, but it is easy to leave whenever you would like.

Thanks for all the great ideas! Any thoughts on our 5 days in the Salzkammergut? I was really looking forward to seeing amazing scenery (mountains, lakes), kind of disappointed that it's supposed to rain so much next week.

- salt mines and ice cave in Werfen should still be do-able, right? (I assume we could walk up to the cave if the cable car was closed due to lightning)
- boat on Konigsee? Would it still be beautiful in the rain?
- SOM tour? (I do realize the luge would be out of the question).
- St. Gilgen and Hallstatt villages will still be lovely but I imagine the schafbergbahn would be a waste of time with low visibility, right?

Don't worry too much about the forecasts. Anything beyond 3 days in advance is pure voodoo in the mountain regions. The weather will take a dip down the next two days, but then the period of cold and rainy days of mid may (known as the Icy Saints) will be over.

Unless you get days of absolutely pouring rain - which is possible but not likely - I would just ignore the weather and do what you want. In spring you are more likely to get days of mist or drizzle - or on and off showers - and frankly I would do everthing but hiking or views from mountaintops in that.

We were stuck in Inerlaken for 3 days waiting for the top of the Jungfrau to open up and it really rained only one day (when we drive to Thun, toured the town and the Castle and had a lovely lunch). The other days were gray or on and off drizzle and we visited Brienz, Gruyere and a couple of other towns that had small museums or castles. There is never any lack of something interesting to do.

We live in Seattle so ... "what rain?". We just wear water resistant outer layers and make the best of it. If you find there's a downpour in Salzburg the Augustiner Brew Hall can be a fun place to hide from the weather.