Under $400 roundtrip from Atlanta to Vienna
 

I noticed an extraordinarily low fare from Atlanta to Vienna listed in the New York Times Sunday travel section and checked with Austrian Airlines. The roundtrip fare is $397.50, Atlanta to Vienna as an introductory offer to Atlantans. It's apparently a code share with Delta though the plane is an Airbus which suggests its from the AA fleet rather than Delta's. <BR>Check the website cheaptickets for info.

Wes, <BR> <BR>My husband and I took advantage of this low fare to Vienna. We leave on 10/6 and plan to stay in Vienna for 7 days. We are looking forward to exploring this beautiful city. I would appreciate any info and suggestions you might have. I see your postings all the time and know that you are very well traveled. What is the best area to stay in and any suggestions for a hotel would be most helpful - however, not too expensive - ($100 - $150). Thanks for your input.

Peggy, <BR>This will be my first trip to Vienna so I can offer absolutely no first hand information about the city. Since we plan on taking a train to Budapest at least for one day,we're located in what appears to be a charming yet inexpensive hotel near the west train station. It's the Altwienerhof on Herklotzgasse 6 about three blocks south of the station. We reserved over the internet, confirmed via fax. Check this website: <BR>www.altwienerhof.at/gb/rooms.htm <BR>for info and rates

The Austrian Air special is only $440rt+tax from 9 southeastern US cities connecting through Atlanta. Good for travel Oct. 1-Dec. 7; 1 month max. stay. $440 fare good from DFW, FLL, IAH, MIA, MCO, JAX, West Palm Beach, RDU, and Tampa/St. Pete... to... Vienna, Innsbruck, Salzburg, Linz, Klagenfurt or Graz, Austria. Offer expires Sept. 24.

I was in Vienna last year and stayed in the 7th district which I think is a very good choice; it's central (walking distance to City Hall area and the major museums and palace) but not as touristy as the real central area where a lot of business and tourist hotels are (near the main pedestrian shopping street, Karntnerstrasse, which is very ugly), and it's cheaper there also. Also, it's right near a good artsy, ethnic restaurant area for eating dinner(Spittelburg or something, I forget); and it's very convenient to the train station if you're near a metro stop (I was just in front of the Volksoper one so could take metro direct to the train station when leaving for Salzburg). I went to Budapest for a day trip and might suggest to those interested in such a trip that I think taking an arranged day trip by tour company is better than doing it on your own by train. First, it's actually quicker for some reason, I believe (bus vs train) and it's very reasonable in cost. I signed up in a travel agency right on Karntnerstrasse, there are several; I can't recall tour company's name but it's the main one you'll find brochures from in the travel offices. Also, they had superb guides (fluent in German and English) and a good itinerary so you could really see a lot in one day, plus they pick up and deliver from your hotel/pension. It was only about $US100 as I recall, we left about 8 in morning (3 hr ride) and returned about 9 pm. Also, if you go by one of those arranged tour company day trips, your VISA is taken care of; I remember there were some VISA issues to Hungary for some people on the tour, not sure if that applies for Americans or not, and our bus was held up at the crossing point for passport/VISA checks. This tour company had a lot of other good day trips, also, the Vienna Woods, etc around there and also one to Prague (which is about same distance as Budapest, maybe a little farther), but I wanted something really different so chose Budapest. That's a very good fare; it's hard to find cheap fares to Vienna (I know as I looked) as there aren't very many airlines that fly there; it's regulated by Austria I think, so there's less competition for Austrian airlines (who rarely offer good deals). I stayed in the Pension Museum which I can recommend highly for location (a few feet from the Volksopera metro stop), great breakfast room and brekfast, very pleasant and efficient staff, and I had a room with a great view overlooking the domes of the museum. It was pretty cheap, about US$100 for a decent large double room with pretty good tiled bath. But, it's not a deluxe place if that bothers you; the mattress was good and there was a good duvet, and it was completely clean and professional; but the furniture was a tad on the tacky side (think Kmart), as was the color scheme (ie, chartreuse nylon bedspread) and the TV was broken and just a small portable but since there was no CNN cable, I don't know German anyway so didn't really care about that. It was a good budget pension in an excellent location, so I don't think you could ask for a lot more at that price, which was very reasonable.

I was in Vienna last year and stayed in the 7th district which I think is a very good choice; it's central (walking distance to City Hall area and the major museums and palace) but not as touristy as the real central area where a lot of business and tourist hotels are (near the main pedestrian shopping street, Karntnerstrasse, which is very ugly), and it's cheaper there also. Also, it's right near a good artsy, ethnic restaurant area for eating dinner(Spittelburg or something, I forget); and it's very convenient to the train station if you're near a metro stop (I was just in front of the Volksoper one so could take metro direct to the train station when leaving for Salzburg). I went to Budapest for a day trip and might suggest to those interested in such a trip that I think taking an arranged day trip by tour company is better than doing it on your own by train. First, it's actually quicker for some reason, I believe (bus vs train) and it's very reasonable in cost. I signed up in a travel agency right on Karntnerstrasse, there are several; I can't recall tour company's name but it's the main one you'll find brochures from in the travel offices. Also, they had superb guides (fluent in German and English) and a good itinerary so you could really see a lot in one day, plus they pick up and deliver from your hotel/pension. It was only about $US100 as I recall, we left about 8 in morning (3 hr ride) and returned about 9 pm. Also, if you go by one of those arranged tour company day trips, your VISA is taken care of; I remember there were some VISA issues to Hungary for some people on the tour, not sure if that applies for Americans or not, and our bus was held up at the crossing point for passport/VISA checks. This tour company had a lot of other good day trips, also, the Vienna Woods, etc around there and also one to Prague (which is about same distance as Budapest, maybe a little farther), but I wanted something really different so chose Budapest. That's a very good fare; it's hard to find cheap fares to Vienna (I know as I looked) as there aren't very many airlines that fly there; it's regulated by Austria I think, so there's less competition for Austrian airlines (who rarely offer good deals). I stayed in the Pension Museum which I can recommend highly for location (a few feet from the Volksopera metro stop), great breakfast room and brekfast, very pleasant and efficient staff, and I had a room with a great view overlooking the domes of the museum. It was pretty cheap, about US$100 for a decent large double room with pretty good tiled bath. But, it's not a deluxe place if that bothers you; the mattress was good and there was a good duvet, and it was completely clean and professional; but the furniture was a tad on the tacky side (think Kmart), as was the color scheme (ie, chartreuse nylon bedspread) and the TV was broken and just a small portable but since there was no CNN cable, I don't know German anyway so didn't really care about that. It was a good budget pension in an excellent location, so I don't think you could ask for a lot more at that price, which was very reasonable.