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Austria: My Best Tips for an Artsy Trip

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So you’ve decided to visit Austria. Great choice! What words does Austria conjure up for you. Waltzing? Mozart? The Sound of Music? Mountains?

If music was one of the things that came to mind, then put Austria–and Vienna in particular–on your must-visit list.

As a life-long devotee of classical music (I’ve played piano since I was five!), I always enjoy visiting both Vienna and Salzburg. I get a thoroughly classical music hit touring the houses of some of my fave composers, enjoying concerts, and checking out the wonderful House of Music in Vienna.

And if you are a museum-goer, you’ll swoon in Vienna, which has some of the largest and most varied museums in Europe. And then there are mountains! Travel west from Vienna to experience mountain vistas in Salzburg and Innsbruck.

Austria Highlights at a Glance

• Explore the Tyrol and take a tour to Castle Neuschwanstein just over the border in Germany
• See a classical music concert in Vienna
• Stay in the Vienna and explore the amazing museums
• Visit Salzburg and commune with Mozart and The Sound of Music

Practical Tips for Travel in Austria

In this post, I cover some of the basics of visiting Austria–when to visit, checking events, transportation, accommodations, and food.

But first, a bit of trivia! Did you know that Vienna has been named the most livable city in the world for the past three years in a row (and several more years before that)? The city earned a rating of 98.4 out of a possible 100. Wow!

Another one of my favorite cities in Europe also made the cut– Copenhagen is #2. My home town of Vancouver is #7 which isn’t too shabby!

A Map of Austria

The map below includes the four places mentioned in my posts about Austria: Vienna (#1), Salzburg (#2), Innsbruck (#3), and tiny little Pinswang (#4) where we stayed on a driving trip through Austria on our way to Italy. Click a number to view links to more posts.

Practical Tips for Travel in Austria

Here’s where I cover some of the basics of visiting Austria–when to visit, checking events, transportation, accommodations, and food.

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Decide When to Visit

First off, decide when you want to visit. If you are hoping to enjoy cultural delights such as opera, festivals, and music events including performances by the Vienna Boys Choir, then visit between September and May.

I’ve visited Austria in both May and September and the weather was perfect for touring apart from the occasional day of rain.

Check Events and Exhibitions

Before you visit Austria, check online for exhibitions and performances. Also be on the lookout for local festivals.

You’ll definitely want to check what concerts are on while you’re in Vienna. Good websites to check include the Vienna Philharmonic, the Vienna Boys Choir and Concert Vienna.

Choose Your Transportation

Austria is not a large country and it’s easy to travel around. The drive from Vienna to Salzburg takes about three hours, four if you include a few stops.

Trains are also fast and efficient. Consider taking trains between cities (Vienna to Salzburg to Innsbruck) and then either renting a car to tour the countryside or booking a small group guided tour.

A good strategy when visiting Austria is to fly to Vienna, see the city for a few days, and then pick up a car to explore the rest of the country. We did that on one trip and found driving out of Vienna relatively stress-free compared to some other European cities such as Paris and Rome.

Public Transit

As a relatively small country, Austria is easy to explore by train. You can zip from Vienna to Salzburg in about 2 and a half hours. If you don’t want to drive, use the trains to get between the major cities (Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck) and then take day tours.

Small Group Tours

I highly recommend small group tours run by locals as a stress-free way to explore the countryside. If you enjoy driving, then by all means rent a car. But if you’d rather relax and leave the driving to someone else, consider day tours. I’ve sometimes left my car at my hotel and taken a small group tour of a particular region that I’d rather not drive through (e.g., tortuous Alpine roads).

Driving Through Austria

Often, I’ve driven through western Austria when traveling from Germany to Italy, crossing at the Brenner Pass.

On a recent trip, I stopped for the night just across the border in Austria from the town of Fussen, Germany. The town is famous for being close to “Mad Ludwig’s” castle, otherwise known as Neuschwanstein.

I spent the night in the tiny and impossibly charming village of Pinswang nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains. Called the Gutshof zum Schluxen, the 3-star bed-and-breakfast was everything a place in the fabled Austrian Tyrol should be.

The proprietor wore lederhosen, the wine was local, the dinner hearty and very Austrian, and the room with a view over the valley was comfortable and quiet.

If you’re staying in Munich and don’t have a car, see the castles on a guided day trip.

Safety in Austria

Austria is a safe country to travel in. I stayed on my own for several days in Vienna. Every evening, I walked around the city and took transit to my apartment and I never felt in danger.

But, as always, be aware of your surroundings and wear your money belt!

Check out my post about traveling solo in Vienna.

Staying in Austria

I found Austria, and Vienna in particular, expensive. Even the 3-star bed-and-breakfast we stayed at in the Tyrol, the Gutshof zum Schluxen mentioned earlier, cost about €140 for one night.

Expect to pay €250-400 or more for a centrally located, good-quality hotel room in Vienna. When you’re looking for accommodation in Vienna, choose places within the old city walls.

You could opt for a budget hotel on the outskirts but I don’t recommend doing so. You’ll waste too much time commuting through dreary suburbs into the wonderful city center. Spend the money and book a good hotel in the old city.

I made the mistake of being budget conscious to a fault on one trip to Vienna when I booked an apartment about a 40-minute tram ride from the city center. Sure, the place was inexpensive, but the hot water ran out on the second day and it was located in a nondescript neighborhood, kilometers from the action.

For a giggle, read about that misadventure in Robbie Bubble, an excerpt from Pastel & Pen: Travels in Europe that I wrote and Gregg illustrated.

Apartments can be a good bet in Vienna, but again, book one in the center of the city. You’ll find excellent ones listed on HomeAway and on Booking.com. Click on the map below to find hotels in Vienna.

Booking.com

Eating in Austria

Two words describe food in Austria–hearty and filling. If you like wiener schnitzel, you’ll have no trouble getting well fed in Austria. Every menu includes it along with other staples such as tafelspitz, which is boiled beef with root vegetables. The broth is flavorful but when I tried it in Vienna, I can’t say I was impressed.

For dessert, just try to resist Apple Strudel–layers and layers of flaky pastry, tender apples, powdered sugar–yeah, what’s not to like?

In Vienna, set aside an hour or two to drink coffee and eat a slice of sachertorte in one of the iconic coffee houses. Invented by Franz Sacher in 1832 for Prince Metternich in Vienna, a slice of sachertorte will slide down pretty darned smoothly–chocolate sponge cake, apricot, dark chocolate icing.

Sachertorte puts the ‘ee’ in sweet.

Apparently, December 5 is National Sachertorte Day in the United States. Who knew?

Conclusion

Have you traveled to Austria? Share your experiences and recommendations with other Artsy Travelers in the Comments below.

Here are more posts to read next to help you plan your Austria trip:

• Fascinating Vienna Museum Experiences that Appeal to the Artsy Traveler
• Compelling Novels Set in Austria Perfect for the Artsy Traveler
• Visit Vienna & Salzburg: Best Tips for Artsy Sightseeing Options
• A Music Lover’s Guide to Enjoying Music in Vienna