Vienna, Graz and mountains in 5 days?
Sep 15th, 2017, 12:05 PM
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Vienna, Graz and mountains in 5 days?
We are visiting Austria for the first time in October but are only able to go for 5 days. We are staying in Vienna and plan to go to the armoury museum in Graz. Is it also possible to get a taste of Austria's stunning countryside as well in that short a space of time? Appreciate any advice.
Sep 15th, 2017, 12:16 PM
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You could take a day trip Vienna to Melk - famous abbey on Danube River and hop boats thru the gorgeous Wachau valley to Durnstein - cool old wine town and bus/train back from there to Vienna:
https://www.google.com/search?q=wach...w=1745&bih=863
https://www.vienna-unwrapped.com/wachau-boat-trip/
Buy an all-inclusive ticket in Vienna for train to Melk, boat and bus and train back to Vienna.
For more on trains -like getting cheap tickets to Graz and back check www.seat61.com -guru site for booking your own discounted tickets often at a discount; and for Wachau Valley- www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.
https://www.google.com/search?q=wach...w=1745&bih=863
https://www.vienna-unwrapped.com/wachau-boat-trip/
Buy an all-inclusive ticket in Vienna for train to Melk, boat and bus and train back to Vienna.
For more on trains -like getting cheap tickets to Graz and back check www.seat61.com -guru site for booking your own discounted tickets often at a discount; and for Wachau Valley- www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.
Sep 15th, 2017, 02:04 PM
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Sep 15th, 2017, 11:35 PM
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have been to vienna twice
once for three days and this year for just one day on the way from Krakow to Salzburg
we saw so much in vienna in one day
note that the Spanish horses don't perfom on Mondays
lots of things it seems in Europe close on Mondays so check
we loved going up in the hills of vienna
all easily accessible by public transport
once for three days and this year for just one day on the way from Krakow to Salzburg
we saw so much in vienna in one day
note that the Spanish horses don't perfom on Mondays
lots of things it seems in Europe close on Mondays so check
we loved going up in the hills of vienna
all easily accessible by public transport
Sep 16th, 2017, 05:26 AM
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With 5 days an Vienna and Graz as "locks" in your itinerary, I would suggest visiting South Styria. It has stunning hill and valley terrain and is Austria's finest wine region. It is not the Alps you might have been thinking of but it will make for a more compact trip.
Vienna, Graz and the Alps is doable but you have to head head back northwest from Graz to achieve it and it will take quite a few hours to do that and then get back to Vienna (or Munich if you open jaw). Graz to Salzburg to Vienna is about 6 hours driving, many more via train. You could see some decent Alpine areas by not going as far as Salzburg - perhaps a 5 hour trip.
I have been to Vienna and the area 4 times, most recently this spring, and visited Graz and South Styria for the first time (done the Wachau, etc.). Loved it and will probably be back some fall for the harvest festivals.
Like Tuscany, South Styria is best visited by car so you can drive the Sudsteirische Wienstrasse. It is less than an hour from Graz, so you could visit it very comfortably as a driving daytrip.
One way to look at it is that South Styria is very attractive but not that easy to get too. You will probably be back in the region of the Alps via Switzerland, France, Germany, or Italy, but one has to try to go to Graz, and unless you plane to be back for second visit (possible but it will probably be the region and not the armoury that will drive that
), or to visit Ljubljana, this might be your one chance for Styria.
Google south South Styria Wine and check it out.
A taste; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjNcmQLnJXk
Vienna, Graz and the Alps is doable but you have to head head back northwest from Graz to achieve it and it will take quite a few hours to do that and then get back to Vienna (or Munich if you open jaw). Graz to Salzburg to Vienna is about 6 hours driving, many more via train. You could see some decent Alpine areas by not going as far as Salzburg - perhaps a 5 hour trip.
I have been to Vienna and the area 4 times, most recently this spring, and visited Graz and South Styria for the first time (done the Wachau, etc.). Loved it and will probably be back some fall for the harvest festivals.
Like Tuscany, South Styria is best visited by car so you can drive the Sudsteirische Wienstrasse. It is less than an hour from Graz, so you could visit it very comfortably as a driving daytrip.
One way to look at it is that South Styria is very attractive but not that easy to get too. You will probably be back in the region of the Alps via Switzerland, France, Germany, or Italy, but one has to try to go to Graz, and unless you plane to be back for second visit (possible but it will probably be the region and not the armoury that will drive that
), or to visit Ljubljana, this might be your one chance for Styria.Google south South Styria Wine and check it out.
A taste; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjNcmQLnJXk
Sep 16th, 2017, 05:38 AM
#7
"Is it also possible to get a taste of Austria's stunning countryside as well in that short a space of time?"
The short answer is, "perhaps."
The long answer...Early to mid-October can be stunning with its colors, or the colors can be hidden behind low hanging clouds, particularly as one heads toward Graz in the Voralpen. By late October much of the color is gone. In our five years of living in Vienna we have had one or the other, with no consistency.
If you can be flexible with your schedule and travel to Graz on a fine weather day, you might be able to see the colors of the Wiener Wald (Vienna Woods) and a little bit of the Hochsteiermark (Styria) from the train.
As for the Wachau Valley in October...the grape harvest season (and the festivals) have ended, and many of the heuriger (wine taverns) are closed. The colors, of course, will depend on the weather.
The short answer is, "perhaps."
The long answer...Early to mid-October can be stunning with its colors, or the colors can be hidden behind low hanging clouds, particularly as one heads toward Graz in the Voralpen. By late October much of the color is gone. In our five years of living in Vienna we have had one or the other, with no consistency.
If you can be flexible with your schedule and travel to Graz on a fine weather day, you might be able to see the colors of the Wiener Wald (Vienna Woods) and a little bit of the Hochsteiermark (Styria) from the train.
As for the Wachau Valley in October...the grape harvest season (and the festivals) have ended, and many of the heuriger (wine taverns) are closed. The colors, of course, will depend on the weather.
