di2315

We will be spending the first two weeks of May in an apartment in Vienna, and will have the use of a car.

I am intersting in finding out about any day trips we can do into surrounding areas.

I'm aware of most of the 'popular tourist' activities, but if you know of anything a little off the beaten path in the city, that would be appreciated too.

We are in our early 60s, not into wine or restaurant meals, but enjoy to explore areas by foot and discover the local atmospheres.

Many thanks, Di

Mambo_

It's a fun day-trip to take the train/boat and go to Melk and Krems from Vienna. You can buy a CombiPass at the train depot, which is only about 39 euro per person. The CombiPass covers round-trip train and/or boat fare, plus entrance fee to the Melk Abbey (a must-see).

We took the train to Melk, visited the Abbey, took the boat up the Danube to Krems, and took the train back to Vienna. It was a beautiful day, and the vineyards along the river are picturesque. We wished we had more time, to visit another town along the way.
>-

thursdaysd

I didn't do either of these trips when I was in Vienna last year because I was limping, but I had planned to go to Sopron in Hungary - for an interesting old town, and to Semmering - for a train ride and hiking.

bettyk

Klosterneuburg Abbey

http://www.wien.info/article.asp?IDArticle=3064

Mayerling, et al

http://info.wien.at/article.asp?IDArticle=3252

Chicago_Heather

If you like Egon Schiele, the museum in Tulln is fantastic and the town is lovely. A stroll along the river is nice.

http://www.museum.com/jb/museum?id=927

Then, you could head on to Melk to visit the abbey, and do stop in at the lovely garden pavilion for a pastry and to enjoy the murals.

http://www.stiftmelk.at/englisch/index.html

I love the Wachau region and would go back every year but for a lengthy list of other destinations to visit.

And, it would be remiss not to mention my favorite chocolate shop Confiserie Altmann & Kühne in Vienna.

http://www.feinspitz.com/ak/text/info_us.html

I'll give this more thought overnight and post more tomorrow.

Chicago_Heather

Oops, meant to add that Tulln is nicknamed the city of flowers, and should be blossomed out in May. Also, Durnstein (if you're headed up to Melk) is a lovely spot to stop for lunch. There is a little wine bar/eatery in a lovely spot on the river. Not sure of the name, but turn left when entering the town and it is a very short walk and on the left side of the street. You walk through the bar/restaurant to get outside for the views. The best Wachau rolls I had. I know that you mentioned not being into wine, but the region has lovely wines and the whites are particularly easy to drink.

di2315

Many thanks to all of you for your suggestions. I wasn't aware of any of these, so will definitely be adding them to our list of 'must see/do' activities.

Thanks also for the websites - with all this info, and our trusty GPS, finding our way shouldn't be a problem (or is this a case of 'famous last words . . ')!

Happy travels, Di

aljames

I really recommend the Kunsthistorisches Museum: http://www.worldreviewer.com/experie...s-museum/1957/

molker

Less than one hour easy drive you can find Schlosshof- a recently restored summer palace with fantastic gardens and outbuildings - offering a good insight to life of the Royals.
Nice restaurant with a terrace for dining also.

www.schlosshof.at

not far away and across the Danube is the interesting area of Carnuntum- this was a former Roman outpost guarding the frontier- remains to be seen of roman life that many would not think to see in this area- also a very nice museum with roman articles found in that area.
This is also a district known for good wine - especially red - fun to stop for a test .
On the way back to Vienna - you could also stop at one of the fish restaurants found along the river.

Mambo_

Seeing the Royal Lippizzaner stallions perform in their winter arena is awesome. You can go to their website for details.

In May, they perform on Sundays, I think, so you could buy tickets for a full dress performance. Or, there's a Morning Exercise with Music, which is held also in the beautiful, intricately plastered, historic indoor arena. (I think it's got a distinction, like being the largest domed ceiling unsupported by columns, in Europe or anywhere.)

We went to the Morning Exercise. They bring about eight horses into the arena and each one is put through its paces. You won't see any of the legendary in tandem moves, and they usually don't do the leaps either at their exercises. Some horses you will see are 'green' and others are the true veterans.

But, still, if you love the horses, it's fun to see. I think it went on for about two hours, and is offered most mornings, but I don't remember for sure.

Also, we toured the stables, because we are horse people. So we saw the horses up close. Definitely a must-do on my list.
>-

di2315

Once again, thanks for these extra suggestions - there's certainly plenty of variety available!
Happy travels, Di

tomboy

Consider Eisenstadt, which holds one of the palaces of the Austrian kings (Hapsburg?), along with the home of Haydn. It was interesting to see the original documents of the music he wrote, and the piano he composed upon, and an 8-sided music stand (about 10 feet across) at which fellow musicians would play.