As everywhere else in Europe, July August is peak tourist season. It was very hot when we were there, but then you get lots of clear, sunny days during this time. Additional advantage is that you have very long days, sun starts setting by 9 PM, but then most of the attractions close by 4.30 or 5 PM.
Pro Tip: If you are going from one city to another to stay there, try to schedule your journey towards the end of the day when all the attractions have anyways closed. This way you save the day-time when there are attractions open to explore.
Public/School Holidayshttps://www.schoolholidayseurope.eu/austria.html
Currency/ForexEuro works.
Time Difference (from India)Vienna and Salzburg both are three and half hours behind IST (Indian Standard Time).
Taking Cabs/TaxiUntil and unless multiple people are sharing cost, cabs are quite expensive in Europe, but the good news is you can do without them for the most-part, the public transport system is so good.
How to go aroundVienna has an extensive and well-connected network of U-Bahn (their subway) and buses. Salzburg has a very good and extensive network of buses.
LanguageGerman is the primary language, but almost everyone understands English to a certain extent, at least in the Tourist circles.
Travelling Companions2 Adults, both Vegetarians.
Total CostINR 1.50 lakhs per head
Popular Desserts
- Sachertorte - This rich cake, covered with apricot jam then coated with chocolate,
- Apple strudel / Apfelstrudel - The Strudel dough has to be very thin and is then sprinkled with sliced apples, cinnamon, raisins and icing sugar. Strudel is either served warm or cold and is eaten both as a dessert and as a main dish in Austrian homes.
- Salzburger Nockerln
- Topfennockerl
- Topfengolatsche - These puff pastries are filled with curd cheese and dusted with icing sugar.
- Vanilla Kipferl
- Kardinalschnitte
- Gugelhupf - Like circular Bundt. With almonds, cocoa or chocolate icing, this cake has numerous variations – its name refers to its characteristic shape, baked in a fluted ring mould.
- Dobostorte - Eight separate layers of light sponge cake are joined together with chocolate cream, while the top layer, glazed with caramel and cut into segments, forms the decoration.
- Linzertorte/Linzer Torte - There are various versions but it is essentially an almond pastry filled with raspberry or redcurrant jam. As decoration, strips of the pastry are arranged in a grid on top of the cake.
- Malakofftorte - This rather heavy cake is made of high-calorie ingredients. Unlike most cakes which are baked, the Malakofftorte is simply set together with cream and sponge biscuits drenched in rum. In today’s health-conscious environment, the traditional butter cream is often substituted with a lower fat option.
- Esterhazytorte - Marbled black-and-white icing is the characteristic element of an Esterhazytorte, which is made up of almond sponge layers filled with cream. The very sweet cake is served either in square or wedge-shaped slices.
- Rehrücken - This chocolate cake is shaped like a saddle of deer, although no one now knows the origin of this. The sponge is usually filled with apricot jam, then glazed with chocolate and studded with almonds, although there are variations.
- Schwarzwälderkirschtorte - Black Forest Cake is another rich chocolate cake where layers of sponge cake are sandwiched together with cream and sour cherries. It is then lavishly decorated with crowns of whipped cream, more sour cherries and grated chocolate.
- Cremeschnitte - This cake consists of two layers of crispy puff pastry, filled with a thick layer of vanillaflavoured whipped cream and topped with sugared icing.
- Palatschinken - The Austrian pancake is thicker than its French relative and is served with fillings ranging from jam to ice cream, chocolate or curd cheese.
- Mohr im Hemd - A juicy chocolate-walnut cake served hot with chocolate sauce and whipped cream.
- Zimtschnecke - The rolled puff pastry takes its name from the shape of a snail and is filled with cinnamon and raisins.
- Marillenknödel - Apricots are hidden inside curd cheese dumplings, covered in breadcrumbs then roasted in butter.
- Buchteln - Little yeast cakes filled with plum jam are baked in a large pan so that they stick together. They are usually served with vanilla sauce.
- Powideltascherl - The little pockets of sweet potato dough are filled with plum jam and simmered in water before being covered with roasted breadcrumbs.
- Mohnnudeln - The same dough as in Powideltascherl is prepared in the shape of noodles and served with poppy seeds.
- Nusskipferl - A moon-shaped pastry with a walnut or poppy seed filling.
- Mirabel Mozart chocolate (Mozartkugel (marzipan/chocolate balls))
- Milka chocolate
- Manner Mozart
- Heindl Mozart
- Aida
- Lindt
- Demel
- Victor Schmidt Austria Mozart
- Suchard
- Leschanz
- Bensdorp
- Toblerone
- Papillon
- Vienna’s best gifts are chocolates in pretty boxes, such as the worldfamous Mozart balls or the Sisi Taler. Many Konditoreien (cake shops) offer Sachertorte packed in a wooden case to take home.
- 1. White Wines - Austria’s superb sweet dessert wines are among the world’s best. Vienna is the only capital in the world that produces wine. The main varieties are Grüner Veltliner and Weissburgunder.
- 2. Red Wines - Austria’s excellent red wines include Zweigelt, Blaufränkisch and Blauer Portugieser.
- 3. Sparkling Wines - The Austrian sparkling wine Sekt is increasingly popular.
- 4. Soft Drinks - Apple juice and grape juice mixed (gespritzt) with sparkling water is popular, as is Almdudler, a herbal lemonade.
- 5. Schnaps - A distilled eau de vie made from fruits such as apricots or juniper berries.
- 1. Melange - This is a blend of coffee and hot milk, served with foamed milk or whipped cream on the top.
- 2. Grosser Brauner - A large cup of black coffee is served with a tiny jug of coffee-flavoured cream.
- 3. Kleiner Brauner - This is the smaller version of the Grosser Brauner but also served with cream.
- 4. Grosser Schwarzer - The drink for real coffee addicts – a very large, strong cup of black coffee with no accompaniment.
- 5. Kleiner Schwarzer - As the smaller version of the Grosser Schwarzer, this is simply just a small cup of black coffee.
- 6. Verlängerter - This is the “lengthened” variety of a Brauner, weakened slightly with hot water and served with milk instead of cream.
- 7. Kaisermelange - Not to everybody’s taste, this is a large black coffee mixed with egg yolk, honey and Cognac.
- 8. Einspänner - In this version, strong coffee is served in a glass with a crown of whipped cream on top.
- 9. Fiaker - A large cup of coffee is refined with rum. Named after the city’s famous horsedrawn carriages.
- 10. Eiskaffee - Cold coffee accompanied by vanilla ice cream and whipped cream is served in a tall glass.
Not a sovereign person here, but maybe Snow Globes. Chocolates for sure, and maybe Austrian White-Wine; I got a Grüner Veltliner.
Useful Android Applications for Transport
- Wiener Linien : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.tickeos.mobile.android.wienerlinien
- qando Salzburg : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fluidtime.android.salzburgag
- qando Vienna : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fluidtime.qando
- ÖBB Scotty : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.hafas.android.oebb
- LineNetwork Vienna : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.dieEinsteiger.LiniennetzeAW
- Vienna Subway & Bus : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=maplabs.viavienna
- German English Dictionary : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ascendo.android.dictionary.de.free
- German English Dictionary & Translator : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bravolang.dictionary.german
- Learn German. Speak German : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.atistudios.italk.de
Most Important for all the routes related info in Salzburg: http://fahrplan.oebb.at/bin/query.exe/en?
Visa (for Indian Passport Holders)- Austria is one of the Schengen European countries, so we need is a Schengen Visa
- Download all the required forms from VFS Website. They have a Checklist in there which lists all the documents that you need to submit, as applicable.
- Gather all the required documents as applicable, eg last 3 years IT Returns, last 3 months bank statements, last 3 months payslips, flight tickets, hotel bookings etc. the usual stuff.
- There is a mandatory Travel medical insurance for EUR 30 000 that needs to be bought from one of the approved vendors. I took Bajaj Allianz General Insurance for the entire duration of the travel (13 days) and it cost me INR 952 (depends on the country you are going to, the duration, your own age etc). I used the TravelPrimeSilver(US$50000), took a print-out of the soft-copy and used it; if you are using something else, make sure the insurance has Repatriation clause.
- VOE (Verification of Employment) letter is provided by the HR Dept of your organization.
- You will need 2 photographs with the required specifications (most of the photo-studios know what is required for Schengen Visa so you can just tell them), apparently VFS at Bangalore has a photo booth within their premises, so you can get it done there as well.
- Apparently, for self-sponsored trips, Guarantee Letter is not required, but just to be on the safer side just take a print out of it along with you when you go. It is one of the forms that you download from website.
- For bank statement, login via netbanking and pull the report for your last three months bank statement in continuation and get it attested by bank. Avoid using the print-outs of the monthly bank statements that we get over email.
- Check out VFS’ holiday calendar, they have a different set of holidays as compared to what we in India have.
- Schedule your appointment online for application submission.
- VFS takes only cash, credit-card will not do. For me it came upto INR 5780 but I think it varies slightly with the country/countries you are applying Visa for. They will give you an Invoice cum Receipt as a proof of your submission.
- They do validate the documents before submission to inform you upfront if you do not comply with any of the obvious requirements like document missing or not in correct format etc. Bio-metrics collection will happen on the same day.
- In case of any confusion or query, you can call their Customer Care in Mumbai, I did that and found them useful, knowledgeable and polite.
- With application submission they will keep your original current and older passports. And will give you an option if you want your passport to be returned via Courier from Delhi. Not sure how reliable this option is, but just to be on the safer side I opted for self pick-up from VFS centre here in Bangalore. But, in hind-sight, getting via post is a good idea, I was just being paranoid.
- After the submission you can track your application on their website. And you will receive updates on SMS as well.
- Once done, they will send you a SMS to come and pickup your Visa and Passport, do checkwith them for the timings as to when you can come for pick-up by maybe calling them.
- Carry the receipt voucher-cum-bill they handed you after submission.
http://viennamap360.com/vienna-metro-map#.WX89Pen-tPY
Free InternetFree Internet in available in a lot of places in Austria, for instance most, but not all, train stations have free wifi, trains have free-wifi. WESTbahn, City Airport Train (CAT) has free wifi. A lot of tourist attractions have free wifi.
Bird's Eye View of the Plan
Got return tickets booked on 8th April, 2017.
Flight from Bangalore to Vienna and back
- Took the Air India flight from Bangalore Airport to Vienna via layover at Delhi.
- The luggage was taken over by Air India in Bangalore and was handed over in Vienna.
- Went through Immigration in Delhi.
- Checked baggage allowance (Economy): 2PC /23Kgs Each
- Hand Baggage (Carry-On Baggage): The maximum permitted weight for Hand Baggage is 8 Kgs per passenger. In addition to one piece of cabin baggage or package, you may also be permitted to carry one following personal item: A Lady's hand bag, A camera or binoculars, A Laptop.
- Power Banks cannot be carried in Checked Baggage but can be carried in Hand Baggage.
- Loose battery cells / dry cells carried in the hand baggage are liable to be removed and the airline would not be in a position to hand over the same at the destination. Please carry the same in the checked baggage.
- Passenger travelling on Air India domestic sector and connecting to Air India International sector or vice versa on the same ticket, the Free Baggage Allowance of International sector will be applicable.
- Delhi Terminal 3 - 2 Floors. The bottom floor is dedicated to arrivals, the top floor is dedicated to departures.
- Flight from Bangalore to Delhi lands in Terminal 3 and the flight to Vienna takes off from Terminal 3 in Delhi, so no need to go out of the airport, which can be very trickey in Delhi. For those who don't know Terminal 2 is not even in the same premises as Terminal 3 in Delhi.
- While going Air India handled it well, while disembarking from BLR flight at the airport gates, we were told to stand aside and then taken via some fast track imigration and luggage-checking onto next flight to Vienna. While we were in-line for immigration the Air-India personnel also announced the gates from which our flights were supposed to fly. All very well-handled.
- While returning, immigration happened at Delhi.
- At Delhi, we ourselves had to take our luggage at the International Terminal and check it in again on Domestic. Both were in Terminal 3, but yes we had to deal with our luggage at Delhi as it did not move transparently to our final destination Bangalore.
- Total Cost: INR 56056 per person
- Date: Wednesday, 28 Jun 2017
- Airlines: Air India
- Fight No: AI505
- Depart Bengaluru (BLR) - Bengaluru - Bengaluru Intl - 10:00 AM.
- Arrive Delhi (DEL) - Indira Gandhi Airport - Terminal 3 - 12:45PM
- Breakfast in Delhi flight. No in-flight entertainment provided.
- Duration: 2 hrs 45 mins
- Layover for 1h 20m, Change of planes
- Fight No: AI153
- Depart Delhi (DEL) – 14:05.
- Arrive Vienna (VIE) - 18:45, Terminal 3.
- Duration: 8 hrs 10 mins
- 3 meals (Drinks(hard & Soft) + Snacks + Main Meal) in Vienna Flight, in-flight entertainment and blanket provided.
- Meal Request: Vegetarian Hindu Meal
- Date: Sunday, 9 July 2017
- Airlines: Air India
- Fight No: AI154
- Depart Vienna (VIE) - 22:45/10.45 PM. Seat No. 12D. Terminal 3.
- Arrive Delhi (DEL) – Monday 10th July - @ 9.25AM. Terminal 3.
- Duration: 7 hrs 10 mins
- 3 meals (Drinks(hard & Soft) + Snacks + Main Meal) in Vienna Flight, in-flight entertainment and blanket provided.
- Layover – 4 hours, Change of flights.
- Flight No. AI502
- Depart Delhi (DEL) – 13:25. Seat no. 31G.
- Arrive Bangalore – 16.15
- Duration: 2 hrs 50 mins
- Breakfast in Delhi flight. No in-flight entertainment provided.
- Meal Request: Vegetarian Hindu Meal
Try to use hotels.com instead of booking.com. Hotels.com display the exact amount that will be debited from your credit card in INR, that saves you all the multiple credit card fees charged for making a transaction in foreign curency; learnt it the hard way.
Hotel in Vienna - Austria Trend Parkhotel Schönbrunn
- Address: Hietzinger Hauptstrasse 10-14, Vienna, 1130, AT
- Check in: Wednesday, June 28, 2017 (3 PM)
- Check out: Sunday, July 2, 2017 (noon)
- Duration: 4 nights, 1 room
- Room: Deluxe Room
- Facilities: 2 single beds. Free Wifi. Private bathroom, a hair dryer, and a shower/tub combination. Air conditioning and daily housekeeping. Non-Smoking
- Cost: INR 24207
- Website used for booking: hotels.com
- Address: Sterneckstrasse 20, Salzburg, 5020, AT +436628820310
- Check in: Sunday, July 2, 2017 (3 PM)
- Check out: Friday, July 7, 2017 (11 AM)
- Duration: 5 nights, 1 room
- Room: Superior Double Room
- Facilities: Free Wifi. Coffee/tea maker. Private bathroom, bathtub or shower, free toiletries, and a hair dryer and a detachable shower. Air conditioning and daily housekeeping. Non-Smoking
- Cost: INR 30843
- Website used for booking: hotels.com
- Address: Hietzinger Hauptstrasse 10-14, Vienna, 1130, AT
- Check in: Friday, July 7, 2017 (3 PM)
- Check out: Sunday, July 9, 2017 (noon)
- Duration: 2 nights, 1 room
- Room: Deluxe Room
- Facilities: 2 single beds. Free Wifi. Private bathroom, a hair dryer, and a shower/tub combination. Air conditioning and daily housekeeping. Non-Smoking
- Cost: INR 13262
- Website used for booking: hotels.com
- Took a cab from home to KIAL Airport
- Took a flight to Vienna with layover at Delhi.
- Picked up Vienna Pass at the airport.
- Went from Airport to Hotel in Vienna via CAT and then U-Bahn (subway).
- Check-in in the hotel in Vienna.
Took a pre-booked OLA cab from Sarjapur Road to KIAL Airport. Cost: INR 714
Free Wifi at Vienna Airport/Wien-FlughafenFree wifi is available.
They offer advice and assistance for passengers at two information desks on the departure level (Terminal 1, Terminal 3) and one information desk in the arrivals hall.
Vienna Pass (Yellow One)We bought a 3-day Vienna Pass online and picked it up from Airport Driver Desk. Cost 89 Euros per person.
- Top Vienna Attractions Free with the Vienna PASS - https://www.viennapass.com/vienna-attractions/
- It not only provided free entry to almost all the attractions we wanted see but also fast and streamlined entry to those places. Jump-the-Queue at some attractions.
- This is NOT Vienna Card. Vienna Card lets you access the subways and buses free-of-cost, but Vienna Pass does not.
- The Vienna PASS is an all-inclusive sightseeing card for 1, 2, 3 or 6 consecutive calendar days available as an adult or a junior pass, starting with the first use at an attraction or HOP ON HOP OFF bus.
- For your Vienna PASS to be valid, you must sign and date it. Please write the validity period (valid from - to) on the card and sign on the signature strip.
- It‘s best to start using your pass in the morning to make the most out of the product. You can visit each attraction once and use the Vienna SightSeeing HOP ON HOP OFF buses as often as you wish during the validity of your Vienna PASS.
- Prices for Adults: 1-day pass: 59 Euro, 2-day pass: 79 Euro, 3-day pass: 99 Euro, 6-day pass: 124 Euro. Create an account at their website some days before buying, they send mails with which you can get additional 10%-20% discounts.
- Vienna Pass can be picked-up from the Airport Driver Desk at the airport.
- Airport Driver Desk is at new Arrivals Hall, Level 0, next to exit to OBB (Austrian National Railway) and Car Park P4.
- Until May 31st the airport office remains open daily from 9 am to 4 pm. From June 1st on the collection of your Vienna PASS orders purchased on www.viennapass.com will be possible until midnight.
- Just print your Vienna PASS email voucher containing your unique order number and take it to one of the two Redemption Desks. Your email voucher will be sent to you upon purchase and confirmation of the order. Please note that if you are picking up for others, you will need a photocopy of their passports with you, along with the receipts.
- Vienna Pass is a very good deal, if you know how to make the best use of it and can plan your itinerary beforehand. It may not be that lucrative for people who linger around or mostly people-watch on their vacation. Depending on the kind of person you are, it may or may not work in your favor, so do your maths. We bought it for three days and made really good use of it.
- The pocket guide was helpful in providing information, timing, location, a map (including bus timetables) and how to reach any attraction. You can even download this booklet from their website, free of cost. Even if you are not planing to buy Vienna Pass, I'll suggest do download this Guidebook, it has very comprehensive and detailed information on how to reach those attractions, opening times and other very useful information. For each attraction it provides a description in 3 languages. It clearly indicates the bus stop, what is included (entry, tour, etc), and also provides the address and what subway and/or bus station to use, assuming you go that way.
- Pay careful attention to end times- a bit to early!
- I also interacted with the Vienna Pass people a couple of times via email. They responded in a timely manner and provided thorough answers. Email: info@viennapass.com
- Note, the Pass works as per Calendar days, meaning if you use it at 3pm it will expiry by midnight on same day (if you have bought 1 day) or midnight of the next day ( if you have bought the 2 days). Considering that almost everything close down in Vienna by 5 pm and you have started using it at 3 pm you have used the pass for only 2 hours. So if you buy the pass start using it in the morning .
- There are up to six routes with a total of 50 stops. The buses provide free audio guides in 16 languages, a children's channel in German and English, and free Wi-Fi.
- We used the Red and the Yellow lines and found the frequency good and they were on-time and clean.
- The Bus Stops for HOHO are marked well.
- Another thing to remember is that buses only run in one direction so if you are at bus stop 12 and want to get to stop 4 you cannot just get a bus on the other side of the street: you need to get the bus to the end of the line and then go to stop 1 to get to stop 4 - this can make your trip quite lengthy.
- Website: https://www.cityairporttrain.com/en/home
- Email: info@cityairporttrain.com
- The Airport Express Train called CAT offers convenient ride from Airport to Wien Mitte U-Bahn station (also known as Landstrasse) in Central Vienna. Takes 16 mins and is Non-Stop.
- The airport express CAT offers you free high-speed WIFI as well as power outlets and USB ports on the trains. And there is enough space for luggage.
- The CAT-platform at the airport is a five-minute-footwalk away from the Check-In hall and the baggage claims – please follow the signage. Location of CAT at Wien Mitte is glaringly well-marked, timetable is easy to remember: every half an hour .09 and .39 (09/39 to Vienna and 06/36 to the airport)
- CAT Return Ticket bought Online - Valid for 6 months - Costs 19 Euros (https://www.cityairporttrain.com/en/home). Take a print out, you do not need to exchange it for a hard-copy of the ticket. The printout can be used everywhere. You can go and sit straight on the train, once the train starts a ticket-checker will come to check your ticket. You can even show him the ticket on the mobile, even a print-out is not required.
- You can event get the tickets in the baggage claim area at the airport. There are machines for tickets as well as ticket-stand there where you can get service if you don't have correct change.
- Single Trip Euro 11.
- Takes you from Airport to Wien Mitte. Wien Mitte is on Lines U3 and U4 of the U-bahn so onward travel in the centre of Vienna is very easy. The underground trains (U-Bahn) run from about 5:00 a.m. in the morning to about midnight. Vienna's subway lines operate 24 hours a day on Friday night, Saturday night and on the nights before holidays. The trains run at 15-minute intervals.
- CAT train is indeed expensive, you pay more than 8 euro for one trip. And then in Vienna you have to buy another ticket if you wanna continue with the underground or other public transport. Instead, you can take the normal train (OBB Schnellbahn S7) from the airport. It's less than half the price 3.90 euro it's only 4 minutes slower to city center and runs every 30 mins and you can use same ticket to continue wherever you want to within the city. So it's around 12 euro with the city train against 3.90 euro with the normal fast train which is only 4 minutes slower. My advice: if you have plenty of time and on budget, use S7. If you need to plan your time, do not wish to spend time to look for train, lines, for buying S-bahn tickets, also want a comfortable travel with enough space for luggage, choose CAT. Keep in mind though that ÖBB tickets must be bought in advance before you get on the train (use the RED vending machines!).
- A great bonus with the train is that you can check in including your luggage at Wien Mitte if you are flying a Star Alliance partner airline.
- A cab from Airport to Hietzing costs 30 Euros.
- Wien Mitte also has a mall attached, and there is a Spar within wherein you can buy some necessities.
Once in Wien Mitte buy a separate Single Trip Ticket (2.20 Euros) from subway station. Take U4 Green Line going in the direction of Hutteldorf and get down at Hietzing.
From Hietzing Subway station, it is just a short walk to hotel Austria Trend Parkhotel Schönbrunn.
Austria Trend Parkhotel Schönbrunn
- Website: https://www.austria-trend.at/en/hotels/parkhotel-schonbrunn
- Email: reservierung.parkhotel.schoenbrunn@austria-trend.at
- Check-in time 3 PM. Check-out time is noon.
- Austria Trend Parkhotel Schönbrunn is very close to Hietzing Station on U4 Green U-Bahn Line.
- From Hietzing Subway station, it is just a short walk to hotel Austria Trend Parkhotel Schönbrunn. There are two ways to reach after getting off the train from subway station:
- if you are coming via escalator: you will find two gates in the opposite direction one named Hadikgasse and another one named Hietzinger Hauptstrasse. Take the Hietzinger Hauptstrasse to leave the subway and head towards the church spire that you will see at a distance. On the way, you will pass Erste Bank, Cafe named Della Lucia, popular bakery Anker on the same side of the road and then you will reach Austria Trend Parkhotel Schönbrunn.
- if you are coming from the station via elevator: with this you will land up not at the subway station but a little off the station with some tram-lines running in between, follow the same church spire and you will see the same row of shops and then the hotel.
- The hotel is a building with some flags hoisted on it.
- Luggage Storage facility is available at no additional cost, we left a part of our luggage when we went to Salzburg for 5 days, as we were suppossed to come back to Vienna for a further 2 day stay.
- Internet is available, though the speed is very poor.
- Bathroom - Private bathroom, a hair dryer, and a shower/tub combination
- Private, en-suite bathrooms but there are some rooms in which the toilet is with the bath, and in some it is separate. In the second room where we stayed it was combined and was too small to even move around, there were no towel rails either.
- Detachable head-shower was there. The room was generous sized, especially by European standards.
- No bottled drinking water was provided, but aparently in Austria the tap water is considered good quality and everyone drinks that.
- Schonbrunn Palace is bang opposite the hotel, but not the main gate of Schonbrunn Palace. Instead you enter in the area via Hietzinger Tor which leads you to Palm House, Japanese Garden and Tiergarten Schönbrunn/Schönbrunn Zoo which are within the Schonbrunn Palace premises. However the main palace entrance is definitely within walking distance.
- This hotel is part of the old imperial guest lodgings for Schonbrunn itself, and it still bears some traces of yesteryear, though now converted to modern requirements.
- The hotel is very big, quite spread-out. Clean, nice-decor with excellent staff and very well located with walking distance to Hietzing Station on U4 Green Line. Locality also has good shops, cafes and restaurants like Della Lucia (fabulous ice-cream), Anker Cafe, Strock Bakery at Hietzing Station itself. There is a Spar and Billa super-market nearby, a McDonald (you can get vegetarian options here). Costly options like Café Dommayer. There is a local chinese place nearby for vegetarian options too.
- The downstairs of the hotel is beautiful, a huge board room, beautiful ceilings, lighting and paintings on the walls.
- Desk staff are very friendly and fluent in English (as are any hotel staff in Vienna).
- The lobby toilets were palace like too with chandelier and gold accessories and mirrors! Also very clean!
- Ours was an interior facing room, so no great view.
- There is no tea-coffee making facility like electric kettle in the room, if you give them a call they can usually arrange one, but it's only kettle; no cups, tea-coffee bags etc. And be careful, the kettle that arrived in our case was hopelessly dirty. Tea-Coffee making facility is a basic these days, not sure why it is not a part of the room and you have to additionally ask for it.
- House-keeping was clean, but if something got over they never checked for it to refill it, like the liquid hand-wash, tissues etc.
- The hotel is a couple of stairs up, so you have to haul your own luggage these flight of steps, something that needs to be kept in mind if you are carrying big suit-cases.
- Overall, value for money.
- The rooms have a small booklet called Shopping Guide by Carre Hietzing which gives you a map of the area along with points of interests like Cafes, Restaurant, Bars, shops etc. nearby. Very useful.
Take a walk from Austria Trend Parkhotel Schönbrunn to Tiergarten Schönbrunn/Schönbrunn Zoo.
Entire day is included in the Vienna Pass.
Complete (in the order mentioned here):
- Take a walk from Austria Trend Parkhotel Schönbrunn to Hietzinger Tor
- Wüstenhaus Schönbrunn/Desert Experience House
- Palmenhaus Schönbrunn/Palm House Schönbrunn
- Japanischer Garten/Japanese Garden, left of main entrance to the zoo
- Tiergarten Schönbrunn/Schönbrunn Zoo, exit the Zoo via Neptune Exit
- Neptunbrunnen/Neptune Fountain, between the palace and Gloriette
- Irrgarten Schönbrunn/The Maze At Schönbrunn
- Römische Ruine/Roman Ruin
- Engelsbrunnen/Angel's Well and Der Schöne Brunnen/The Beautiful Well (Only if time permits)
- Obeliskbrunnen/Obelisk Fountain
- From Obelisk Fountain (Stop 8) take Schönbrunner Panoramabahn/Schönbrunn Panorama Train and go to Schloss Schonbrunn (Stop 1)
- Complete Schloss Schönbrunn - Grand Tour
- Take Schönbrunner Panoramabahn/Schönbrunn Panorama Train from Schloss Schonbrunn (Stop 1) and go to Gloriette Schönbrunn (Stop 6)
- From Gloriette Schönbrunn (Stop 6) Take Schönbrunner Panoramabahn/Schönbrunn Panorama Train and get down at Schloss Schonbrunn (Stop 1)
- Kronprinzengarten/Privy Garden/Crown Prince Rudolf Garden
- Orangeriegarten/Orangery Garden
- Kaiserliche Wagenburg Wien/Imperial Carriage Museum Vienna (Only if time permits)
- Rosarium/Rose Garden (Only if time permits)
- Walk to Hietzinger Tor and walk to Hotel
Keep a close watch on the closing times of every attraction that you want to visit, the complex is huge. They claim to remain open till 5.30 PM in June, but both the Kronprinzengarten/Privy Garden/Crown Prince Rudolf Garden and Orangeriegarten/Orangery Garden got closed by the time we arrived there a little after 4.30 PM.
Schönbrunn Palace
- Website: https://www.schoenbrunn.at/en/
- Timings:
- 1st April to 30th June - 8.00 am - 5.30 pm
- 1st July to 31st August - 8.00 am - 6.30 pm
- 1st September to 5th November - 8.00 am - 5.30 pm
- 1th November to 30th March - 8.00 am - 5.00 pm
- How to Reach: Public transport lines which take you directly to the palace
- Underground: U4, Schönbrunn station
- Trams: 10 and 58, Schönbrunn station
- Bus: 10A, Schönbrunn station
- Photos for private purposes can be taken in the Palace Park without prior notification and free of charge. However, no photography is permitted in the Palace.
- You can enter the Palace Park free of charge during opening hours. If you wish to visit to the Schönbrunn special attractions, such as the Privy Garden, the Orangery Garden or the Maze, you need to purchase individual admission tickets.
- Not only are the grounds out of this world but the grandeur of the palace rooms is unbelievable.
- This is a nice palace but, just to set the expectations, if you've seen Versailles you will be underwhelmed. The grounds look like they would be beautiful in the summer but not appealing during winters.
- A good number of complexes within the site are closed during winter, so you may not be able to appreciate it fully. Additionally they claim to remain open till 5.30 PM in June, but both the Kronprinzengarten/Privy Garden/Crown Prince Rudolf Garden and Orangeriegarten/Orangery Garden got closed by the time we arrived there a little after 4.30 PM.
- Free Entry with Vienna Pass includes:
- Schloss Schönbrunn - Grand Tour
- Irrgarten Schönbrunn / The Maze At Schönbrunn
- Gloriette Schönbrunn
- Orangeriegarten / Orangery Garden
- Kronprinzengarten/Privy Garden / Crown Prince Rudolf Garden
- Apple Strudel Show
- Kaiserliche Wagenburg Wien/Imperial Carriage Museum Vienna
- Kindermuseum Schönbrunn/Children´S Museum At Schönbrunn Palace
- Palmenhaus Schönbrunn/Palm House Schönbrunn
- Tiergarten Schönbrunn/Schönbrunn Zoo
- Wüstenhaus Schönbrunn/Desert Experience House
- Schönbrunner Panoramabahn/Schönbrunn Panorama Train
- Desert House Opening Hours
- January–April 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
- May–September 9 a.m.–6 p.m.
- October–December 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
- Please scan your Vienna PASS directly at the turnstile!
- The highlights include the 70 m glass tube labyrinth of the naked mole rats, and the black-tailed rattlesnakes, which are found in the US and can reach a length of up to 1.3 metres. The botanical highlights include numerous cacti and other succulents.
With a length of 111 metres, a width of 28 metres and a height of 25 metres, it is the largest glasshouse of its kind in continental Europe. Linked by tunnel-like passages, the pavilions contain different climatic zones: a ‘cold’ house to the north, a temperate zone in the central pavilion and a tropical zone in the south pavilion, which house over 4,000 Mediterranean, tropical and subtropical plants from the collection of the Austrian Federal Gardens. The collection includes the largest water lily in the world, which blooms in summer, and an impressive Wollemia tree, a living fossil from Australia.
Schönbrunn Palace-Grand Tour
- 1 Grand Gallery - The 40-m (130-ft) long has a stunning Rococo design of tall windows, splendid crystal mirrors, chandeliers and white-andgold stucco.
- 2 Mirror Room - With its magnificent white-and-gold Rococo decoration and crystal mirrors
- 3 Millions’ Room - The name derives from the room’s rosewood panelling. In the panels Indo- Persian miniatures illustrate scenes from the lives of the Mogul rulers of India in the 16th and 17th centuries.
- 4 Napoleon’s Room -
- 5 Vieux-Laque Room - The interior of this room unites Rococo elements with Chinese art: black lacquer panels from Beijing show landscapes, birds and flowers embellished in gold.
- 6 Blue Chinese Salon - Blue wallpaper (made of rice paper), Japanese vases and pieces of lacquer furniture create an Oriental theme here.
- 7 Empress Elisabeth Salon -
- 8 Porcelain Room - The walls of Maria Theresa’s former study are covered with carved wooden frames that are painted blue and white to imitate porcelain.
- 9 Bergl Rooms - The garden rooms were painted to satisfy Maria Theresa’s taste for exotic landscapes. They give an illusion of wild nature. (No longer open to the public.)
- 10 Chapel - The marble altar. the ceiling fresco The Marriage of the Virgin.
- Claimed to be world’s oldest zoo and home to some 750 wild and domestic animals.
- Website: http://www.zoovienna.at/en/zoo-and-visitors/visitor-information/
- Opening hours
- Open daily from 9 a.m. – 365 days a year – also on public holidays. Closing time varies according to the seasons and is between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. The ticket office closes 30 minutes before closing time – this is also the latest entry time for the zoo.
- January 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
- February 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
- March 9 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
- April–September 9 a.m.–6:30 p.m.
- October (until daylight saving time ends) 9 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
- November–December 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
- The Aquarium-Terrarium House and the Tyrolean farm house close at the end of visiting hours, the Bird House closes an hour before, and all other animal houses close half an hour before.
- Tickets: Adult: € 18,50. Free with Vienna Pass.
- Schönbrunn Zoo is in the grounds of Schönbrunn Palace. In order to reach the main entrance to the zoo please use the park entrance gate „Hietzinger Tor“.
- You can pick up your free plan of the zoo at the ticket offices or at one of the folder racks in the zoo. It shows where to find which animals, their feeding times and useful information about the infrastructure.
- Schönbrunn Zoo has three entrances.
- The main entrance “Hietzing” is close to the U4 underground station Hietzing. The Schönbrunn Palace Gardens are reached via the Hietzinger Tor and then you just follow the pathway between the Palm House and the Desert House.
- The entrance “Tirolerhof” is next to the free parking area on the Seckendorff-Gudent-Weg and is up on a hill close to the Gloriette in the Schönbrunn Palace Gardens (about 5 minutes walking distance).
- The entrance “Neptun” is in the Palace Gardens at the side of the Palace building close to the Neptune Fountain.
- There are 9 drinking fountains with Viennese mountain spring water in the zoo grounds. Their locations are indicated on the zoo plan. These fountains are not available in winter. At times, they are a separate faucet in the toilets, just be aware of that, that may not be visible from outside. Moreover there are numerous catering establishments in the zoo area.
- Pandas, polar bear, penguins, Koalas, wolves, rhinos, lions, tigers and lemurs were there
- The zoo also has a tree top walkway
- Situated at the summit of the park’s hill, the magnificent Gloriette is its most prominent feature. The arcaded edifice was once used as a dining hall before it became a viewing point, then later a café called Glorietta tea house.
- The walk from Palace to Glorietta is uphill, keep that in mind.
- Lovely view from Gloriette at the top of the park to the view back to the Palace.
- There are paid toilets on the right side of the Gloriette (2 Euros)
- A tour through the palace park stops at nine stations, and at a speed of 10 to 15 km/h, lasts about fifty minutes.
- Thanks to the Panorama Train, the Gloriette Hill poses no obstacle for families
- Trains run daily from 10:00 am to 18:00 (6:00 pm). They stop every hour and every half-hour at the Gloriette Hill and the Schönbrunn Palace.
- A day pass costs €7.00 for adults. Free with Vienna Pass
- With ticket and hand stamps, passengers can get on and off the train as often as they like.
- The stations of the Panorama Train:
- 1: Schönbrunn Palace
- 2: Wagenburg
- 3: Hietzinger Gate
- 4: Zoo/Palm House
- 5: Tirolergarten Tavern
- 6: Gloriette Hill
- 7: Hohenbergstraße/Tivoli
- 8: Obelisk Fountain /Schönbrunn Spa
- 9: Meidlinger Gate
Complete Hofburg Palace including Heroes’ Square (Heldenplatz), Imperial Apartments/Kaiserapartments, Sisi Museum, Imperial Silver Collection, Kaiserliche Schatzkammer or Imperial Treasury of Vienna, Prunksaal Der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek/State Hall Of The Austrian National Library and Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien (KHM) & Natural History Museum (Naturhistorisches Museum/NHM).
Take a walk from Austria Trend Parkhotel Schönbrunn to front gate/main entrance of Schonbrunn (HOHO Yellow Line Stop 28 – Schloss Schonbrunn). The first bus lands at this stop at 9.45 AM.
From here take the HOHO Yellow Line itself, this takes a circular tour and get down at Stop 2 Kunsthistorisches Museum/Heldenplatz(Heroes’ Square); from here it’s a 5 minutes walk to Hofburg Palace. Takes almost 30 mins.
Or, from the hotel itself you can take the (1) U4 from Heitzing going in the direction of Heiligenstadt and get down at Karlsplatz, (2) from there take the Red U1 Line going in the direction of Leopoldau and get down at get down at Stephansplatz, (3) then take the U3 Orange Line going in the direction of Ottakring and get down at Herrengasse Stop. From here it is a three minutes walk to the palace.
Imperial/Hofburg Palace
- Website: http://www.hofburg-wien.at/en/plan-your-visit/opening-hours.html
- Opening hours - Imperial Apartments | Sisi Museum | Silver Collection
- The Imperial Apartments, the Sisi Museum and the Imperial Silver Collection are open daily, including public holidays!
- September to June 9.00 am to 5.30 pm
- July and August 9.00 am to 6.00 pm
- Visitors are not allowed to bring in bulky objects or luggage of any kind - suitcases, bags, scooters, etc. Please note as well that there are no options available for left-luggage storage. Backpacks and Camera (DSLR) bags also need to be deposited before entering the palace.
- The ticket price includes admission to the Imperial Apartments, the Sisi Museum and the Silver Collection.
- Adults
- Admission with audio guide € 13,90
- Admission with guide € 16,90
- Sisi Ticket € 29,90
- Free with Vienna Pass: Kaiserappartments/Imperial Apartments, Sisi Museum, Silberkammer/Imperial Silver Collection, Kaiserliche Schatzkammer Wien/Imperial Treasury Vienna, Prunksaal Der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek/State Hall Of The Austrian National Library
- How to reach: Public transport lines which take you directly to the Hofburg
- Underground: U3 (orange), alight at Herrengasse
- Trams: 1, 2, D and J, alight at Burgring
- Bus: 2A and 3A, alight at Hofburg
- Is illuminated at night.
- The self-audioguide of Silberkammer takes you through the Imperial silver, glass, and porcelain collections. The audioguide also includes the Imperial Apartments and Sisi Museum.
- The Silver Collection - an impressive and unique collection of objects used by the imperial household. Part of the collection are the Far Eastern porcelain, The “Mundzeug” famous personal utensil used by Empress Maria Theresa , The Minton – equally famous Dessert Service, Old French centre pieces and the amazing 30 meters long Milan table centerpiece. Also there are lots of dinnerware used when the Court was on the move and the napkin arranged in the elaborate “Imperial Fold” which seems to be a secret known these days by only 2 persons.
- Sisi Museum - A real life size statue of the empress welcomes you when you enter this part of the Museum. With over 300 items on display, including numerous personal items that once belonged to Elisabeth like parasols, her beauty recipes, boxes, gloves, her death mask, the Hungarian coronation dress, the black coat used to cover Elisabeth after the assassination, mourning jewelry, this museum is definitely worth the visit as you can learn a bit more about this controversial figure, that was Empress Sisi
- Imperial Apartments - Hofburg was also the winter residence of the imperial family and here you can visit the apartments of Franz Joseph and Elisabeth, including the bedroom of Emperor Franz Joseph and Sisi’s dressing and exercise room
- You might want to watch the three Sissi Movies (Sisi Trilogy - Sissi, Sissi - The Young Empress, Sissi - The Fateful Years of an Empress) before going.
- The area around the Hofburg, along with some of its outlying buildings, houses a number of other attractions, including the Imperial Chapel (Burgkapelle), the Natural History Museum (Naturhistorisches Museum), the Austrian National Library, and the Spanish Riding School.
- Top 10 Features
- 1 Imperial Apartments - The private apartments (Kaiserapartments). Six rooms are dedicated to her as the Sisi Museum.
- 2 Swiss Gate - Renaissance gate
- 3 Imperial Silver Collection - This collection of elaborate table decorations, serving bowls and silverware
- 4 Secular and Ecclesiastical Treasuries - Magnificent artifacts are on display here, such as lavish monstrances. Sixteen rooms are dedicated to the gems and relics of both the Austrian and the Holy Roman Empires.
- 5 Imperial Chapel - Nothing major
- 6 National Library - The Baroque library is considered to be among the world’s finest, with invaluable historic manuscripts in walnutwood bookcases.
- 7 Heroes’ Square - Heroes’ Square (Heldenplatz), just statues.
- 8 Museums - The semi-circular Neue Burg, with its vast colonnaded façade, is home to a collection of musical instruments as well as an assemblage of arms and armour. Also here are the Ethnological and the Ephesus Museums
- 9 Burggarten and Volksgarten - Gardens
- 10 Michaeler Gate - The majestic semicircular Michaeler Gate is the main entrance into the complex, and its imposing dome with golden decorations looms over Michaelerplatz.
- Artistic Treasures in the Palace:
- Silverware and Porcelain - Silberkammer
- Crown of the Holy Roman Empire
- Austrian Sceptre and Orb
- Cradle of the King of Rome
- The Golden Fleece
- Captain Cook Artifacts
- Historic Globes
- National Library Frescoes - The statue in the middle of the room represents the emperor as the centre of the universe, holding a balance between war and peace.
- Aztec Feather Headpiece
- Portrait of Empress Elisabeth - It hangs in one of the rooms of the Sisi Museum
- The Silver Collection - an impressive and unique collection of objects used by the imperial household. Part of the collection are the Far Eastern porcelain, The “Mundzeug” famous personal utensil used by Empress Maria Theresa , The Minton – equally famous Dessert Service, Old French centre pieces and the amazing 30 meters long Milan table centerpiece.
- Also there are lots of dinnerware used when the Court was on the move and the napkin arranged in the elaborate “Imperial Fold” which seems to be a secret known these days by only 2 persons.
- Free with Vienna Pass.
- Silberkammer/Imperial Silver Collection was the highlight for me, awesome silver and tableware.
- Silver, glass, and porcelain collections. An endless collection of dishes, silverware, and table service that shows the opulent variety of place settings that were used. I love dishes, and this was the most amazing collection I have seen in one place.
- Wonderful variety, and displayed to allow for close examination, even behind glass.
- Free with Vienna Pass.
- Website: http://www.hofburg-wien.at/en/things-to-know/sisi-museum.html
- The Sisi museum is in the same building as the Spanish Riding School. It is in Heroes Square.
- Sisi Museum - A real life size statue of the empress welcomes you when you enter this part of the Museum. With over 300 items on display, including numerous personal items that once belonged to Elisabeth like parasols, her beauty recipes, boxes, gloves, her death mask, the Hungarian coronation dress, the black coat used to cover Elisabeth after the assassination, mourning jewelry, this museum is definitely worth the visit as you can learn a bit more about this controversial figure, that was Empress Sisi
- You are allowed to take photos in the cutlery section but no photos or videos in Sisi's appartments on second floor
- The workmanship in her gowns are amazing. As always, make sure you get the audio, which is free.
- The Sisi Museum displays a collection of Elisabeth’s personal items, illustrating her personal life inside the imperial world. The Empress was known for a beauty that had captivated the empire, and likely the most beautiful of all of Europe. Her story is of cult status during her reign, from her ascension until her assassination in Geneva.
- Free with Vienna Pass.
- In the inner courtyard of the Hofburg is the original main entrance to the palace, known as Schweizertor, or the Swiss Gate. This gate predates back to the Renaissance and its red black and golden colour stands out among the baroque architecture of its surrounding. Pass through the ornately decorated gate and you'll reach the Swiss Wing and the chapel. Through the Swiss Gate and into the Schweizerhof, is the entrance to the Imperial Treasury, the home of the imperial crown. Treasures and jewels from the entire reign of the Habsburg are on display here, including the Imperial Crown, Orb and Sceptre of the Holy Roman Empire, an agate bowl (the holy grail) the largest cut emerald in the world of one of the most powerful empires of Europe.
- Highlights include Charlemagne's crown, the Spear of Destiny, Piece of the Cross, and Napoleon's baptistery. This requires about two hours minimum to truly enjoy the full collection. hughe emerald from Columbia! 280kg of silver for Napoleon's son's cradle...
- The religious artifacts include a piece of Christ's loin cloth and a piece of the table cloth from the last supper. There are pieces of the cross, and allegedly the nail that pierced Christ's right hand.
- Free with Vienna Pass.
- Make sure you also see the Prunksaal (State Hall), once was the Imperial Library and it is magnificent.
- You can access the Modern Library (reading rooms, loans, interlibrary loans, information services) via our entrance at Heldenplatz.
- Transport connections:
- Tram lines 1, 2, 71, D – Burgring stop
- Underground lines U2, U3 – Volkstheater station (exit Burgring)
- All year-round: Mon-Sun: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Tickets: State Hall: 7.00. Free with Vienna Pass.
- The grandest library I have ever seen in my life! The murals on the ceiling have great detail in them. Can be done in approx about 30 mins at the max.
- It is also known as, Prunksaal or State Hall.
- Camera's allowed (with no flash).
- This library constructed for Franz Joseph is abolultely magnificent with frescos painted all over the ceilings. It's is immense in scale and books line the walls several stories high. Large globes, statues and other artworks are placed around the room. A truly remarkable building. This library reminded me of the one that is in beauty and the beast, with the beautiful painted ceiling, the shelves and shelves of books with ladders to reach them.
- Well worth a visit to see the magnificent walnut floor to ceiling bookcases filled with historic books. The ceiling is beautiful too.
- Website: http://www.srs.at/en_US/start-en/
- Houses the Winter Riding School where the elegant white Lipizzaner stallions of the Spanish Riding School perform; no performances in July.
- Website: http://www.nhm-wien.ac.at/en
- Opening hours:
- thursday - monday : 9 a.m - 6.30 p.m.
- wednesday 9 a.m. - 9 p.m.
- closed: tuesday
- How to reach:
- By subway - U2 “Museumsquartier” U3 “Volkstheater”
- Tram D, 1, 2 | Bus 2A, 57A “Burgring”
- Ticket: Adults € 10. Free Entry and Jump the Queue with Vienna pass.
- Tickets for the planetarium you get at the information desk or online. (http://www.nhm-wien.ac.at/en/online_ticketing)
- More than the artifacts inside, I found the interiors of the building absolutely amazing, the interior surpasses any expectation. The stairway in the entrance hall is really beautiful.
- A moving, roaring robotic dinosaur is highlight for the kids.
- Spread on two floors. Takes about 1.5-2hrs to visit depending on time spent in each section.
- The famous (4A) Venus of Willendorf is a fertility goddess statuette that dates back to 28,000 b.c. Alongside this piece of ancient art, you’ll find other fascinating and unique specimens of natural history. The digital (4B) planetarium was added in 2015 and features full dome projection technology, with shows ranging from the big bang to dinosaurs and catastrophes in the cosmos. Showings are in both German and English, so check the program. The (4C) prehistory section contains the world’s largest display of human skulls. Kids love the mezzanine floor and especially (4D) Room 10 with its massive dinosaur skeletons, including a Diplodocus—the longest terrestrial vertebrate that has ever lived at 27m (90 ft.). In (4E) Room VII, a fossil of the world’s largest spider is not for the squeamish. The upper floor covers ecology, with room after room of every type of (4F) stuffed animal imaginable, including numerous species now extremely endangered or extinct.
- The largest collection of meteorites in the world, the ores and geodes; huge collection of insects, birds, and dinosaurs. The museum has a large collection of minerals and precious stones exhibited in several rooms. If you like stones, you will definitely love exhibits from all over the world, including rather big pieces of amethysts, quartz and crystals. And huge pieces of salt, weighting over a ton.
- Get a map of the museum as you enter from the Info Point.
- Website: http://www.khm.at/en/
- Collections of the Kunsthistorisches Museum:
- Egyptian and Near Eastern Collection
- Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities
- Picture Gallery
- Kunstkammer Vienna
- Coin Collection
- Opening hours:
- June to August - Daily, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Thu, 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.
- September to May - Tue – Sun, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Thu, 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.
- Admission till half an hour before closing time.
- Adults € 15. Free Entry and Jump the Queue with Vienna Pass.
- How to reach:
- To reach the museum from the Westbahnhof: Take subway train U3 to the Volkstheater station.
- To reach the museum from the Hauptbahnhof: Take street car D to the Burgring/Kunsthistorisches Museum stop.
- Public transportation: U2, U3, D, 1, 2, 2A, 57A
- Beautiful Museum with coat and bag check. Clean free bathroom facilities.
- It has Ground, First & Second floor.
- A stunning building mirrored by its twin across the square in the excellent Natural History museum.
- The main entrance is on Maria-Theresien-Platz – the square between the Natural History Museum and Museum of Fine Arts. As you enter, collect a map to guide you through the exhibition. On the ground floor are the Egyptian Collection and the Greek and Roman Antiquities to your right, while the left wing hosts the Collection of Sculpture and Decorative Arts. The staircase takes you to the first floor where the Picture Gallery with the most famous paintings is located. The Coin Cabinet is on the second floor.
- The interiors of the building is absolutely stunning. Lots of photo opportunities. The building itself, inside and out, it’s a wonder showing amazing architecture, with marble columns and staircases, and decorative ceilings. Each large room has ample seating for those are unable to stand for long periods or who just need a break.
- 40 rooms of Paintings at least. Many are biblical, coming from 1500s onward. Huge paintings by Dürer.
- I'm not an art enthusiast, but they had Vermeer, Rembrandt, Raphael. Among the most famed is the painting Breugels, Titian, Rembrandt, Tower of Babel and Raphael's Madonna in the Meadow.
- The Picture Gallery is one of the largest in the world. Major European artwork, displaying Raphael, Velazquez, Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Rubens, Titian and Tintoretto to name a few.
- This museum houses one of the largest collections of Italian Renaissance paintings including at least 12 pieces by Titian. There are also many Caravaggio and Raphael paintings. Each large room has information in German and English about the primary artist and the historical setting.
- The Museum is also home of Cellini Salt Cellar (Saliera).
- In addition to paintings, the museum also has a sizable collection of Ancient Greek and Egyptian pieces from antiquity including pottery, sarcophagi, sculptures, and papyrus. Amazing treasures from cultures long past: The Egyptian and Near Eastern Collection , Greek and Roman Antiquities (the unique antique cameos, including the famous Gemma Augustea); one of the biggest Coin Collection in the world, The Collection of Historic Musical Instruments
- A nice looking cafe is located in the upper level between the Italian Renaissance and Northern European Wings. Don’t miss the spectacular view of the white marble floor with black patterns from the café on the first floor. The café has veg options.
- Start in the (6A) Ancient Egyptian collection, to see the mummies (Room I), Ka-Ni-Nisut’s ancient tomb (Room II), the statue of King Thutmosis III, and a charming blue ceramic hippopotamus (both Room IX). In (6B) Greek and Roman Antiquities, look out for the impressive 2nd-century mosaic of Theseus and the Minotaur (Room XII), exquisite Roman cameos (Room XVI), and rare textiles (Room XVIII). The picture gallery upstairs represents all the major schools of European art and many of the world’s greatest artists too. (6C) German, Flemish, and Dutch paintings include Brueghel the Elder’s The Seasons cycle (Room X), Dürer’s Madonna with the Pear (Room 16), Rembrandt’s Large Self-Portrait (Room 21), and Vermeer’s The Art of Painting (Room 22). (6D) Italian and Spanish paintings feature Archimboldo’s extraordinary Seasons and Elements paintings (Room 7), and Velázquez’s portrait of the 8-year-old Infanta Margarita Teresa in Blue Dress (Room 10), who married Leopold I just 7 years later. The paintings of early 18th-century imperial palaces and Viennese views by Canaletto’s nephew Bellotto commissioned for the Empress Maria Theresa (Room VII) are especially fascinating. The top floor contains one of the world’s most extensive (6E) coin collections and over 1,000 (6F) miniature portraits collected by Emperor Ferdinand II.
- Top 10 Works of Art
- 1 The Fur - Its a painting
- 2 Large Self-Portrait - Its a painting
- Peasant Wedding - Its a painting
- 4 Madonna of the Cherries - Its a painting
- 5 Virgin and Child with a Pear - Its a painting
- 6 Summer - Its a painting
- 7 Maria Theresa’s Breakfast Service - Crafted in Vienna, this elegant, pure gold set, belonged to the empress and consists of 70 pieces.
- 8 Blue hippo - Figurines of hippos are often found in Middle Kingdom tombs (c.2000 BC) of Ancient Egypt, and this example has images of its habitat painted on its body.
- 9 Stela of Ha-hat, Thebes - The stela (stone slab),
- 10 St Gregory with the Scribes -
Take a walk from Naturhistorisches Museum to HOHO Stop 2 Kunsthistorisches Museum/Heldenplatz (Heroes’ Square). Take the HOHO Yellow line and go to Stop 28 Schloss Schonbrunn. From there walk to Hotel, the same way as you came in the morning.
Or, take a walk from Naturhistorisches Museum to U3 station Volkstheater, from Volkstheater take the U2 Purple Line going in the direction of Karlsplatz and get down at Karlsplatz. From Karlsplatz, take the U4 Green line going in the direction of Hutteldorf and get down at Hietzing.
Day 3 – 1st July 2017 – SaturdayComplete (in the order mentioned here):
- Take a walk from Austria Trend Parkhotel Schönbrunn to HOHO Yellow Line Stop 28-Schloss Schonbrunn.
- Take the HOHO Yellow Line and get down at HOHO Yellow Stop 32-Schloss Belvedere (Belvedere Palace).
- Complete Oberes Belvedere/Upper Belvedere, Lower Cascade, Upper Cascade, Kammergarten/Privy Garden, Unteres Belvedere/Lower Belvedere.
- From Lower Belvedere take a walk to HOHO Yellow Bus Stop 33-Schwarzenberg Platz (Lower Belvedere); Get onto HOHO Yellow Bus and get down at HOHO Yellow Bus Stop 1-Staatsoper (State Opera). Takes about 15 mins.
- Complete State Opera House/Staatsoper
- Take a subway from Karlsplatz to Stephansdom /St. Stephen's Cathedral/Stephansplatz
- Complete Stephansdom /St. Stephen's Cathedral
- Take a walk from Stephansdom /St. Stephen's Cathedral to St. Peter's Church
- Complete St. Peter's Church
- Take a walk from St. Peter's Church to Winterpalais (7 mins, 600 m)
- Complete Winterpalais
- From Winterpalais, take a walk to "Stephansplatz" subway stop.
- Take the subway from Stephansplatz and go to Hietzing and walk to hotel.
Take a walk from Austria Trend Parkhotel Schönbrunn to front gate/main entrance of Schonbrunn (HOHO Yellow Line Stop 28 – Schloss Schonbrunn). The first bus lands at this stop at 9.45 AM and leaves at 9.49 AM.
Get on to this HOHO Yellow bus and get down at HOHO Yellow Stop 32-Schloss Belvedere (Belvedere Palace). Walk to Belvedere Palace Upper
Belvedere Palace Museum
- Website: http://www.belvedere.at/en
- Timings: Mon – Fri (except on holidays) 9 am to 5 pm
- Free entry with the Vienna PASS
- Both Oberes Belvedere/Upper Belvedere and Unteres Belvedere/Lower Belvedere are in the same complex. The upper and lower Belvedere seperated by a wonderful stretch of park and garden. It makes sense to do Upper first, because from there you can walk downhill to Lower. Winterpalais is a different complex altogether.
- Was not very impressed with either Upper or Lower Belvedere, the gardens somewhat justified going there. Out of the two, the Upper was still better, the lower was an utter disappointment.
- Belvedere in Vienna includes the Upper and Lower Belvedere, the Orangery and the Palace Stables. The Buildings are surounded by a beautiful Baroque Park. The view from Upper Belvedere towards Lower Belvedere and Vienna is fantastic.
- Have to pay .50 cents for bathroom usage even after buying the expensive ticket, huge turn-off.
- Upper Belvedere - Daily 10 am to 6 pm
- How to reach:
- Station "Schloss Belvedere" Tram D
- Station "Quartier Belvedere" Bahn & S-Bahn Tram 18, O Bus 69A
- Station "Südtirolerplatz" + walkway around 15 minutes Underground U1
- Highlights
- Sala Terrena
- Grand Staircase
- Carlone Hall
- Marble Hall - Occupying two storeys
- Palace Chapel
- World’s Largest Collection of Gustav Klimt’s Paintings - Highlight: Kiss (Lovers). There is a selfie copy of The Kiss (Klimt) in a well-lit room overlooking the garden that slopes away down to the lower palace. The original hangs in comparative darkness in the next room.
- Garden and Parks: Palace Gardens, Kammergarten (Privy Garden), Alpengarten (Alpine Garden)
- ou are alowed to take photographs of some paintings, but not all.
- You can be round the whole gallery in an hour or less if you don't dawdle. Obviously if you wish to linger on every painting it will take considerable more, but it is only two and a half floors.
- Artworks in the Belvedere (Upper)
- 1. The Kiss
- 2. Death and the Maiden
- 3. Still Life with Dead Lamb
- 4. Laughing Self-Portrait
- 5. Cliff Landscape in the Elb Sandstone Mountains
- 6. Character Heads
- 7. Napoleon at the Saint Bernard Pass
- 8. The Chef
- 9. Znaimer Altarpiece
- 10. Farmhouse in Upper Austria
- Lower Belvedere / Orangery - Daily 10 am to 6 pm; Wednesday 10 am to 9 pm; Palace Stables Daily 10 am to noon
- How to reach:
- Station "Unteres Belvedere" Tram 71
- Station "Schwarzenbergplatz" Tram D, 2
- Lower Belvedere
- Marble Hall
- Marble Gallery
- Hall of Grotesques
- Gold Cabinet
From Lower Belvedere take a walk to HOHO Yellow Bus Stop 33-Schwarzenberg Platz (Lower Belvedere).
Get onto HOHO Yellow Bus and get down at HOHO Yellow Bus Stop 1-Staatsoper (State Opera). Takes about 15 mins. Get down and walk to State Opera House.
State Opera House/Staatsoper
- Website: http://www.wiener-staatsoper.at/en/
- Guided Opera Tour (Monday to Sunday) - Adults: EUR 7.50. Not included in Vienna Pass.
- 40-minute Guided tour, offered in German, English and Spanish at all indicated times.
- From the foyer, we take the grand staircase to the state rooms (Tea Salon, Marble Hall, Schwind Foyer, Gustav Mahler Hall) before we reach the auditorium (catching a look at the stage).
- You do not need to book or register in advance, just present yourself at the entrance located on the corner of Opernring / Operngasse 15 minutes before the scheduled start of any guided tour. You will find the sales office at the same location.
- For dates/time of guided tours, please check http://relaunch.staatsoper.at/en/your-visit/guided-tours/
- How to reach by public transport:
- Underground: U1, U2, U4 – Stop at KARLSPLATZ
- Trams: 1, 2, D, 62, 71 – Stop at OPERNRING
- Bus: 59A
- We did not see the performance, but took the tour. The place is gorgeous, and our english guide was excellent, she made it a very enjoyable experience.
- The bronze statues, placed in the five arches of the loggia, are a creation of Ernst Julius Hähnel (1876) and are allegories of heroism, drama, fantasy, comedy and love, as seen from left to right.
- The two fountains on each side of the opera house. They represent two worlds: music, dance and joy on the left, and the siren Lorelei supported by sorrow, love and vengeance on the right.
- The magnificent marble staircase, decorated with frescoes, mirrors and chandeliers, leads to the auditorium. Placed in the arches are more statues by Josef Gasser, illustrating the seven liberal arts: architecture, sculpture, poetry, dance, art, music and drama.
- Reliefs of Opera and Ballet - Painting show the two genres performed in the house: opera and ballet
From State Opera Hous take a walk to Karlsplatz Subway Station and from there take the Red U1 Line going in the direction of Leopoldau and get down at the very next station Stephansplatz.
Stephansdom/St. Stephen's Cathedral
- Website: http://www.stephansdom.or.at/index.jsp?langid=2&menuekeyvalue=-1
- How to reach: Underground: U1, U3: Stephansplatz.
- Opening Hours:
- Monday to Saturday - 6 am - 10 pm
- Sundays and Public Holidays - 7 am - 10 pm
- Cathedral Tour - Audioguide * Catacombs * South-Tower * North-Tower * Treasure - Tour fees: 1 Adult - EUR 17,90. If you don't take the Guided Tour, entry is free.
- Free entry to St. Stephen’s Cathedral Treasury with Vienna PASS
- Of all the church that we visited in this trip, this was the worst. Too crowded, too dark and extremely commercial-oriented. Instead of doing this, I'd suggest do the lesser popular St. Peter's Church which is just a couple of steps away from this.
- A trip up the North tower via elevator for the view of the surrounding city will cost additional 5 Euros. The elevator doesn't go as high as the stairs but there are approximately 300 steps to consider.
- The Cathedral is standing in the middle of a tourist zone, with a ton of shops and food options. Watch out for thieves.
- You can visit Cafe Aida set on the corner of the square at the junction of three streets. Normally two cakes and two coffees or teas came to around 10/11 Euros.
- No vistas and difficult to get photos of the DOM except from one place near the subway entrance.
- Adm: South Tower (climb 343 steps) €3.50; North Tower (uses elevator), €4.50. spiral staircase as you'd expect, very high and tiring.
- Multi-coloured mosaic Tiled Roof - The impressive roof is covered with almost 250,000 colourful tiles – a double-headed eagle wearing the emperor’s crown and the Golden Fleece.
- Windows - The five colourful medieval windows behind the high altar.
- Giant’s Door (Riesentor) - The main gate into the cathedral
- High Altar - The beautiful Baroque high altar. The painting in the centre of the marble altar depicts the stoning of the cathedral’s patron saint, St Stephan.
- You can easily miss this hidden gem as exterior is not that specific as other buildings around it. Inside it is magnificent, a very beautiful catholic church with great paintings.
- Guessing this one may get missed by some, in favour of St Stephen's Cathedral but I found this a lot better that the nearby and more popular St. Stephen's Cathedral.
- Amazing ceiling over the nave. Super pulpit and stunning gilded statues. This is a most beautiful church, and certainly well worth the visit. stunning artwork, dome ceilings, and the entire church is a magnificent work of art. highly recommend.
Due to rains, we could not do this, but I guess it is worth doing.
- Winterpalais - Daily 10 am to 6 pm
- How to reach:
- Station "Stephansplatz" Underground U1, U3
- Station "Schwarzenbergplatz" Tram D, 2, 71
- Station "Plankengasse" Bus 2A
- Free Entry and Jump the queue Vienna Pass
- The major rooms of Prince Eugene’s state apartment are accessible to the public
- This palace is centrally located and has a grand staircase, entrance hall and impressive rooms. There is very little furniture. Watch out for wood sculptures.
- Give yourself an hour.
- The Winter Palace of Prince Eugene is a beautiful Baroque building located at the middle city of Vienna very close to St. Stephen Cathedral
- Unlike other palaces in Vienna here you can take photos. A magnificent staircase lets you in some beautifully ornate rooms.
- The palace is actually used as an exhibition space rather than having the palace itself as the attraction.
- The outside is nothing special in a fairly non descript street.
From Winterpalais take a walk to subway Station "Stephansplatz" and take the U1 Red Line going in the direction of Reumannplatz and get down at the very next station Karlsplatz. From Karlsplatz take the Green Line U4 going in the direction of Huttledorf and get down at Hietzing and walk to the hotel.
Day 4 – 2nd July 2017 – SundayTake the train from Vienna to Salzburg. Takes about 2.5 hrs
Check-in in Salzburg Hotel-Mercure Salzburg Central (Ex Kapuzinerberg)
Complete
- Salzburger Altstadt
- Salzburg Fortress (Festung Hohensalzburg)
- St. Peter's Abbey (Stift St. Peter)
- Petersfriedhof
- Salzburg Cathedral (Dom)
We bought WESTbahn ticket online from Vienna Westbf/Vienna Westbahnhof to Salzburg HBF/Salzburg Central Station for 26.50 Euros per head.
WESTbahn
- Westbahn provides a full flexibility if you pay the full price, you can use it any day and any time for your journey. You can even break your journey in phases but it has be completed on the same day in the same direction.
- A house tariff ticket is any WESTbahn full fare or full fare less 5 or 10 percent ticket. "A house tariff ticket is valid for a single ride within 12 months after purchase. You can use it any day in any desired train. A stop-over is possible but the ride must be continued the same calendar day in forward direction."
- You can take the train from Huttledorf U4 Line Station which is same as Vienna Hütteldorf Station for WESTbahn, or you can go to Westbahnhof Station on U3 and U6 subway lines and take it from there. Westbahnhof Station is the starting point for the train.
- There is sufficient space for luggage and there are two decks, lower and upper. The upper deck does not have luggage storage, so you have to leave your luggage on the lower floor.
- In the lower deck of each wagon, WESTbahn offers you a luggage rack so that you can secure you suitcase or bag with a metal band. You can unlock the corresponding lock by using a € 1,- coin which you will of course get back after usage. you can take help from steward to explain the handling of the lock to you. We just used our good old chain to tie it together, although its not really risky to leave it just like that. Overall, Austria is safe, instances of theft if they do happen, are rare.
- If it is your first time, you might want to sit on the upper deck for relatively better views, but honestly I didn't find anything much to see. It mostly goes from industrial area and all that you see is industrial waste
- There are times when the train gets really crowded, and there have been instances where people had to stand for the entire journey. And since it was our first time and we wanted to sit on the upper deck, we took the U-Bahn from Hietzing and went to Westbahnhof station where the train starts. If you can reach there about half-an-hour earlier, you will have all the options to choose a seat as per your liking.
- You can even reserve a seat at an additional cost of 5 Euros
- Westbahnhof Station is a good place to spend some time before boarding the train, it has a good number of cafes, eateries etc. There is even a Merkur to pick up some chips or cold-drinks to be had on the train. There is also a Starbucks, McDonalds etc
- Trains are comfortable and clean and even have free wifi
- In each train there are some cafes, vending machine for coffee and cold beverages as well as a snack-bar.
- Train Station in Salzburg: Salzburg Hauptbahnhof. The bus station outside the train station is the main Bus Station. The Train Station is well-equiped and has a lot of eateries.
- There is Tourist Information at the Train Station (daily generally 9:00-18:00, until 19:00 or 20:00 in summer; tel. 0662/8898-7340).
- At any TI, you can pick up a free city-center map (though the cheap map you can buy has broader coverage and more information on sights, and is particularly worthwhile if biking out of town), the free bus map (Liniennetz; shows bus stop names not on the city map), the Salzburg Card brochure (listing sights with current hours and prices), and a bimonthly events guide.
- The TIs sell the Salzburg Card, which covers all your public transportation (including the Mönchsberg elevator and funicular to the fortress) and admission to all the city sights (including Hellbrunn Palace, Festungsbahn funicular, Untersbergbahn lift, Mönchsberg lift, Salzach River Tour I etc). The card is pricey, but if you want to pop into all the sights, it can save money and enhance your experience (€27/24 hours, €36/48 hours, €42/72 hours, www.salzburg.info).
- one-time FREE admission to all city tourist attractions and museums, in some cases, express entrance without having to stand in line at the ticket window
- We bought a Salzburg card-48 Hours from the Tourist Office at Salzburg Train Station. Costs € 36,00 per head.
Well-equipped train station. Easy to navigate, and a good number of eataries are there, along with a Spar super-market, Anker Bakery etc..
An Indian Restaurant close to Salzburg HBF is Way to India.
The OBB office opens as early as 6.30 AM and the staff is very helpful. Very easy to get passes for your train/bus excursions for the day. A lot of these passes are only available in-person and valid on the same day, they cannot be purchased beforehand.
Salzburg Hbf/Sudtiroler Platz to Mercure Salzburg CentralAs soon as you step out of Salzburg Hbf, you will see the Bus Station, assuming you took the exit towards the bus-station. Take Bus 2 from Platform C going in the direction of Obergnigl and get down at Bayerhamerstraße. Frequency of the bus is good, and takes about 7-8 mins and costs 2.60 Euros. Once we got off, we could see the hotel immediately (less than 50 m away), in the same side as the bus stop.
You can get all the bus timetables, direction, frequency, routes etc from http://fahrplan.oebb.at/bin/query.exe/en?
The buses are included in your Salzburg Card for the entire validity
Mercure Salzburg Central (Ex Kapuzinerberg)
- Website: http://www.mercure.com/gb/hotel-5354-mercure-salzburg-central/room.shtml
- A tax is imposed by the city: EUR 1.50 per person, per night which will be colleted from you while check-out but no receipt is given.
- Check-in time starts at 3 PM. Check-out time is 11 AM
- The hotel is anything but clean; house keeping didn't bother to clean the dirty glasses we left one day, side-table beside bed was never cleaned, it had stains from my previous day's pastries even after their cleaning, tea sachet that we consumed were not replenished one day.
- The location is quite far from the train station and I will not suggest to walk if you are carrying luggage. Instead take Bus 2 from Platform C going in the direction of Obergnigl and get down at Bayerhamerstraße, costs 2.60 Euros. Once we got off, we could see the hotel immediately (less than 50 m away), in the same side as the bus stop.
- Even if you are not carrying luggage, you really need to know where you are going, its not really straight-forward. About 15 mins walk.
- Not near to Old Town either. It's a bit of a walk to the old town ( about 20 minutes) but easy enough. You can get a bus if you want.
- You can go to Old Town by using bus no. 2 in the opposite direction with the one we were taking from Salzburg Hbf : The bus stop was approx. 100 m away (across) from the hotel before the traffic light.
- Couple of good restaurants nearby serving vegetarian options:
- There is an Indian Restaurant called Taj Mahal nearby (5 Mins, 400 M).
- There is a Bella Vita Pizzeria Ristorante - 3 min, 200 m serving Pizza and Pasta, Indian style.
- Some vegetarian options available at Ristorante Pizzeria Beccofino - 5 min, 400 m
- Room was good in size and tea-coffee making facility including electric kettle, cups, tea-coffee sachets was available in the room
- The hotel is set on a main road but don't let this put you off, it wasn't overly busy and we did not notice any traffic noise. But no views from anywhere.
- There is a Lidl supermarket for groceries nearby.
Take a walk from Hotel Mercure Salzburg Central to Salzburg Grillparzerstraße bus stop, its behind the hotel but you will have to ask for directions. From there take the O-Bus 4 going in the direction of Liefering and get down at Salzburg Ferdinand-Hanusch-Platz (Fischkrieg), approx. 9 mins drive. From here you can take a walk to Fortress Hohensalzburg by asking for directions once you get down.
Salzburg Fortress (Festung Hohensalzburg)
- Website: http://www.salzburg-burgen.at/en/hohensalzburg/index.htm
- Fortress is Free entry and Jump the queue with Salzburg Card.
- The castle lift/funicular raliway was good, the views were amazing, but the rooms were all bare-bones with absolutely nothing to see.
- Fortress Hohensalzburg is located on a mountain-top, it can be accessed on foot or with the castle lift.
- The castle lift goes up the mountain to the fortress every 10 minutes – and takes just 1 minute to get there.
- Entrance before 11am includes access to state rooms free of charge.
- Salzburg Card is Standard Ticket if you manage to reach before 11 AM, after that it becomes a Basic Ticket. Basic Ticket does not include access to state rooms.
- Basic Ticket:Ascent and descent by Fortress funicular, entrance to Fortress precincts, guided tour with audio-guide in eleven languages (salt storeroom, torture chamber, look-out tower, ‘Salzburg Bull’), Fortress Museum, Rainer Regiment Museum, Marionette Museum, Alm passage.
- Other than the view, nothing is exceptional. Give it a miss if the weather is not clear.
- The State Rooms at the Fortress are claimed to be magnificent and are charged extra after 11 AM but we did not pay. After see the inner rooms, I was left with little hope.
- The closing time for the Tour is rather early somewhere around 4.30 PM, so keep that in mind. The castle lift runs till later.
- The only way you can get to the lookout tower is by the GUIDED audio-tour. Personally I did not enjoy the audio-tour; however, the highlight was the view from the tower. It is a must to see.
Take a walk from Salzburg Fortress (Festung Hohensalzburg) to St. Peter's Abbey (Stift St. Peter). 5 mins, 350 m.
St. Peter's Abbey (Stift St. Peter)
- Not very big compared to the Cathedral, but very pretty and artful.
- Right next to this is St. Peter Stiftskeller Restaurant which is reportedly the oldest restaurant in Europe.
- Photographs are permitted inside.
- Once you exit, do not pass up a walk through the cemetery (Petersfriedhof). The plots are immaculately kept, all adorned with growing plants and flowers. Gravel paths meander around the small cemetery. It would be well worth 20 minutes of your time.
- Very close, almost next to, St. Peter's Abbey (Stift St. Peter). Entrance is free and is located near the funicular that goes up to Hohensalzburg fortress.
- Never seen a more exotic cemetery, the details are maginifient and all are immaculately kept.
- Rather than simply headstones there are an array of apartments for the dead.
- The Petersfriedhof is, together with the burial site at Nonnberg Abbey, the oldest cemetery in the Austrian city of Salzburg, located at the foot of the Festungsberg with Hohensalzburg Castle.
- For the Sound of Music fans, this place is one of the scenes in the movie, where the dramatic flight scenes were filmed. Another version of the story is that it was the model that Hollywood used for the cemetery escape scene in Sound of Music. Hollywood wanted to use the cemetery and film there but were not allowed so they created another cemetery for filming!
- There is a water-wheel very close to it.
- Many of the headstones are beautifully fashioned with wrought-iron grave markers, and almost every plot contains a lantern, which is lit by a family member or friend nightly. I could only think that it was a perfect place to be laid to rest.
- Guides are prohibited from taking groups into the cemetery
- Website: http://www.salzburger-dom.at/en/information/opening-hours/#.WOeiy6L-tPY
- Admission is free.
- A stunningly decorated cathedral, with lots of fresh frescoes. The colours are very vibrant and it's a pleasure to sit and study them at leisure. It has a nice cupola with 4 organs surrounding it and another large organ at the rear of the church in the "balcony".
- There is a Crypt as well.
- Salzburg Dom's marble facade and twin symmetrical towers will definitely catch everybody's attention. The cathedral's interior is of rich baroque style and it's home to the beautiful 4,000-pipe organ.
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was baptized in this church and guests can see the Romanesque font where he was baptized.
- The cathedral boasts five organs which apparently are played all together on special occasions. During WW2 the cathedral was bombed by Allied Forces and the central dome was destroyed. However the damage was repaired and the cathedral is as beautiful today as during the time when Mozart played the organ here.
Take a walk from Salzburg Cathedral to Salzburg Ferdinand-Hanusch-Platz; 6 mins, 550m
From Salzburg Ferdinand-Hanusch-Platz (Sigrist) take the O-Bus 4 going in the direction of Mayrwies and get down at Salzburg Grillparzerstraße
From Salzburg Grillparzerstraße take a walk to Hotel Mercure Salzburg Central; 5 min, 350m
Day 5 – 3rd July 2017 – MondayComplete
- Mirabell Palace and Gardens
- Untersberg
- Hellbrunn Castle (Schloss Hellbrun) & Wasserspiele Hellbrunn
Take a walk from hotel to Salzburg Bayerhamerstraße stop, and get on O-Bus 2 going in the direction of Walserfeld and get down at Salzburg Mirabellplatz; 3 mins drive, bus comes at every 10 mins; from here it is walk for 3 mins/296 metres.
Mirabell Palace and Gardens
- Website: https://www.salzburg.info/en/sights/top10/mirabell-palace-gardens
- You cannot visit inside Mirabell Palace as a tourist, and so cannot access Marble Hall or Angel Staircase. The other rooms house the municipal council and therefore not open to the public. The only part you can access is gardens.
- Mirabell Gardens
- The Pegasus Fountain featuring a sculpture of the horse, Pegasus, is a work by Kaspar Gras from Innsbruck and was installed in 1913.
- Located around the Grand Fountain (the fountain pool) are four groups of figures by Ottavio Mosto (1690). They symbolize the 4 elements: fire, air, earth and water.
- The Hedge Theater can be found in the western section of Mirabell Gardens. It is one of the oldest hedge theaters north of the Alps. During the summertime, it serves as the venue for folk-heritage events and other special occasions.
- The Dwarf Garden originated during the rule of archbishop Franz Anton Fürst Harrach. It originally consisted of 28 dwarves made from white Untersberger marble and is the oldest of its kind in Europe.
- The Rose Garden with its ornamental rose beds is located directly south of Schloss Mirabell.
- The Orangery functions today as a palm house.
- Admission free. 50 cent coin to access the toilets
- Mirabell Gardens: daily from approx. 6 am to dusk.
- Hedge Theater: closed during the winter months.
- Orangerie: open all year round, daily 9 am-4 pm.
- Dwarf Garden: closed during winter months.
- In the movie, Maria and the children dance around the fountains and run up the steps singing "Do-Re-Mi", the children run around the Pegasus fountain and the central fountain, everyone skips through the green tunnel at the side of the garden and if you go up the stairs between the lions you'll find the dwarf garden- the first on the left is the one the children tap on the head. You see two fountains in the movie, a round one and a polygon, and you can see some statues.
- The Gardens are right across the street from the corner where all the Panorama tours originate from.
From Salzburg Mirabellplatz (Mozarteum) Stop, take Bus #25 (22 mins), going in the direction of Ortsmitte, which takes you to “Grödig -St. Leonhard“/Grödig Untersbergbahn (Berchtesgadener Straße) Stop. This is not O-Bus.
Untersberg
- Website: http://www.untersbergbahn.at/
- Hours of operation: DAILY* 9 AM to 4 PM every 30 mins.
- The Mountain Cable Car: 29. April 2017 - 30. Juni 2017 8.30 - 17.00 . 1. July 2017 - 30. September 2017 8.30 - 17.30
- Normal ticket - Up and Down 23.50
- Free and Jump the Queue with Salzburg Card.
- We could not do Schellenberger ice cave, The ice cave is in about 2 hours hiking from the Untersberg moutain top station reachable.
- We went up the Untersberg Mountain in a cable car, but the weather was bad so could not see much. If possible, try to choose a clear day, the views must be awesome. Wear sensible footwear because there are a couple of trails up where you can hike.
- Its very cold so carry a jacket. You are likely to find snow in colder weather but there was none when we went in July.
- Free and fast wifi on top. Its about a 10 minute ride to the top in Cable Car. Take sunglasses and sunblock.
- When you get to the top, there's an indoor viewing area with lots of windows, a small balcony facing towards Salzburg, and a door you can go through out onto the mountainside behind the cable car station.
From Grödig Untersbergbahn (Berchtesgadener Straße) Stop, take Bus #25 (22 mins) going in the direction of Salzburg Hbf (Südtiroler Platz) which takes you straight to Schloss Hellbrunn Stop. This is not O-Bus.
Hellbrunn Castle (Schloss Hellbrun)
- Website: https://www.hellbrunn.at/en/
- Opening hours:
- April, October 9:00 am – 4:30 pm *
- May, June, September 9:00 am – 5:30 pm *
- July, August 9:00 am – 9:00 pm *
- Additional evening tours** 7:00, 8:00, 9:00 pm *
- * Start of the last tour ** July, August / Trick fountains only
- Free with Salzburg Card. Audioguide tour through the palace – Guided tour through the trick fountains
- There is nothing much in the palace, but the tour through the trick fountains was fun.
- Trick fountains - Duration of the guided tour: 40 minutes. Languages: German, English. Italian, French and Spanish on request.
- Palace - Duration of the audioguide: approx. 40 minutes. Audioguide available in: German, English, Italian, French, Spanish, Russian, Japanese.
- Folk Museum - Ca. 10 minutes by foot from the palace. Duration of visit: approx. 60 minutes.
- You definitely need to stay alert at all times; the water jets are unpredictable. Take care to keep your technical devices (cameras, cell phones, video cameras, etc.) from getting wet!
- The Hellbrunn ticket includes: – guided tour of the trick fountains – palace with audioguide – visit to the Folk Museum
- Taking pictures in the palace and in the Trick fountain area is allowed.
- Includes the iconic Sound of Music pavilion of I am 16 Going on 17 fame, the row of trees featured in the picnic with Maria and the children in the movie, and of course, the water trick fountains.
- The palace has a park with invisible fountains that do begin very sudden to spray water. The Prince-Archbishop Marcus Sittikus von Hohenems did install these fountains to entertain his guests.v
- The staff would give you a ticket and scheduled time to go in the Trick Fountains where are a water park indeed. A tour guide would bring you around the park and play the fountain trick with you. Quite funny.
- Wear clothes that dry quickly and forget about your hair.
Take the same Bus #25 from Schloss Hellbrunn Stop and get down at Salzburg Hbf (Südtiroler Platz).
From there either talk a walk to the hotel or take the O-Bus #2 and go to Hotel
Day 6 – 4th July 2017 – TuesdayWe pre-booked online the Tour S2 - Super Saver - Full day Tour Bavarian Alps tour from Panorama Tours.
Take the O-Bus 2 from Salzburg Bayerhamerstraße going in the direction of Walserfeld and get down at Salzburg Mirabellplatz
Full day Tour Bavarian Alps tour from Panorama Tours
- Website: https://www.panoramatours.com/en/salzburg/tour/tour-s2-super-saver-full-day-tour-bavarian-alps-34/
- Tour S2 - Super Saver - Full day Tour Bavarian Alps
- Tour starts at 08.45 am from Mirabellplatz and cost us 99 Euros per head
- Departure of the tour is at the Panorama Tours Bus Terminal, Mirabellplatz / corner Hubert-Sattler-Gasse 1. Panorama Tours is more like a small room next to the bus stop, so don't expect a fancy office. Tour departs from the bus terminal at Mirabellplatz (in front of St. Andrew's Church) .
- The first highlight of this tour is the visit of Eagle's Nest, from where you will have a breath-taking view over the Alps. Afterwards you have an opportunuty for lunch in the town of Berchtesgaden. Then, you will visit the salt mines in Berchtesgaden, where you will discover the miners life underground. The third highlight is the visit of Kings Lake, which is embedded among the steep and imposing mountains. Treat yourself with a few Bavarian specialities (comsumption not included) in the romantic village of Berchtesgaden before you will return to Salzburg.
- Duration: 9 Hours
- Tour was conducted very well. It was well-organized and our Guide (Andreas) and Driver (Devil) kept us entertained throughout. They also helped us with where should we be going once we get off the bus at a particular site.
- Very happy with Panorama Tours, will definitely use them again.
- Its the same tour that Viator uses.
- Tour concludes at Mirabellplatz (bus terminal) at approximately 6pm
- Very crowded.
- The view from the top is spectacular.
- The access to Eagle's Nest is very convulated, maybe tough to figure if you are going there on your own, so do proper research especially if you have limited time to explore. Here is what I could figure out: At the bus stop in front of H&M near Salzburg train station, bus 840 leaves every hour to Berchtesgaden. You can buy return tickets on the bus for €10. Journey is abt 40min. Then we transfer to bus 838 (€2.60?) which is another 20min to the Dokumentation Centre for the shuttle to Eagles Nest (€16.10 return).
- No need to worry about these if you are going with a tour group. They take you to the Dokumentation Centre and themselves arrange your tickets for the Eagle's Nest as well as the red buses.
- The last leg of the journey from Dokumentation Centre to Eagles Nest is the same whether you use a tour or do on your own. It uses red-buses that take you through the narrow, windy mountain road to the top. Bus leaves every 25 minutes.
- From the bus station you go into the tunnel and then take the elevator and go up the mountain. The mirrored brass paneled elevator has an amazing architecture and you ride it up the final 100 yards to the top (this is still the original elevator). .
- Nice little restaurant at the top and short walk to the peak for even better views. The rooms at the top has been converted to a restaurant, so there is not much left from the original furniture, but one preserved room and a fireplace Hitler got from Mussolini (even though chipped) is still there.
- Everyone goes there for the views which are awesome.
- The place from which you can see on a clear day more than 100 kilometers in distance, beautiful landscape, and above all magnificent architectural feat for the time 60 years ago. roads carved in stone, a tunnel of 120 meters horizontally carved in the rock, and also 120 meters vertically, and with it a lift which is undamaged and in perfect condition.
- On a clear days you can see Austria and Germany including the beautiful Konigsee.
- The Eagle’s Nest (or the Kehlsteinhaus as the Germans call it) was Hitler’s mountaintop retreat and is located high above the town of Berchtesgaden, Germany. This town is in Bavaria and is about 100 miles southeast of Munich and about 17 miles south of Salzburg, Austria.
- The views from the top of this amazing and historic site are spectacular and we were lucky to have perfect weather. I had read about the brass paneled elevator and it was interesting to
- At the bus parking lot at the top you depart the bus, notice the "Erbaut 1938" enscription above the curved entrance to the tunnel to the elevator. You will ride the same brass walled elevator Hitler rode in to go up through the mountain 300 feet up and arrive inside the stone cottage. Notice the Italian marble fireplace mantle, it's a gift from Benito Mussolini. Soldiers after the war chipped off pieces of marble as souvenirs to take home.
- The guided tour underground takes about 1 hour. Please plan about 1,5 to 2 hours including buying your ticket, getting changed, welcome and returning the miners' clothes.
- Entrance Fee: 16,50 Euro per adult
- Combined ticket Salt Mine with Eagle's Nest - Entrance Fee - 30,00 Euro per adult
- Please notice, that the temperature underground is constant +12 degree, whether it is sommer or winter.
- It's not allowed to take pictures or make a film underground during the total tour through the salt mine.
- It's advisable to take warm clothes. You also need sturdy shoes. Attention: slip hazard!
- The first slide can be avoided with a walkway and the second slide with a staircase.
- The walk through the Salt Mine is Round about 800 m.
- The tour group took us till the gates and bought our tickets for us, but here is what I could figure out: Catch bus 840 from Salzburg HFB. Bought Tageskarte day ticket from the bus driver ..euro 10 per person. Got down at Salzburgwerk (be attentive in the bus and get down at this stop). You need to cross the road (through underground tunnel).
- The tour is in German, for other languages you have to use audio-guide.
- You start off riding a former work train into the mines. If you are even the slightest bit claustrophobic, close your eyes. But once you're in the mines, you are good. You are first taken by a mine train into the mines and you are given mine overalls to wear giving you the entire feel. Audio recordings and awesome 3d graphics give great insights into the salt mines. There are slides to take you down and also a boat ride in the inside of the cave that take you from one corner to another.
- Touring talks about the Salt Lab, Mining Process, Machinery, Air Shafts, Equipment, Geologists, and Pumping Methods to extract the salt, which is used as Table Salt.
- The boat ride is only about 5 minutes long going 50 feet or so but had a nice light show on the cave walls.
- Boating in Konigssee is not included in the tour, and neither they gave us time to do it on our own. Maybe next time....
- As soon as you get off from the bus there is a short walk to the lake, one you reach at the lake take a turn to left and keep walking around the lake, there is a nice little view point at a short distance called Merwinkel. Nothing much to see if you take a turn towards right.
- There are four Landing stages: Königssee Seelande, Kessel, St. Bartholomä and Salet,
- The journey from the Königssee (Seelände) to St. Bartholomä takes approx. 35 minutes. Passengers must disembark in St. Bartholomä unless they have bought a ticket for the long trip to Salet. You can return on any boat you like.
- You can stay in St. Bartholomä or Salet for as long as you like. You just need to make sure you know how and when to return by boat (timetable), as there is no local overnight accommodation and no footpath back to the village Königssee.
- If you are looking for scenery, skip the stop at Bartholoma and head straight to Lake Obersee. From the Salet stop, it’s about 15 minutes on foot to the gloriously situated Obersee with the spectacular Röthbach waterfall at the end of the valley.
- If you are up for a slight hike (maybe 30-40 minutes), and don't mind a small section of walking up natural "stairs", go to the opposite side of Obersee; you will not be disappointed. This has got to be one of the most spectacular lakes in Germany.
- Last Boat leaves Salet at 18:10. It takes an hour to go from Königssee Seelände to Salet. Look online to get the daily schedule and plan around that so you have an idea of when you want to leave/return.
- Königssee - Salet -- return ticket -- 17,80 € per adult
- You can go to Koningsee via Berchesgarten bus number 840 to Berchesgarten then the number 841 to Koningsee. 10 Euros . Runs every hour, Blue Bus and Red Bus.
- For return, from Königssee Seelände take the bus to Berchtesgaden Hbf(Busbahnhof), preferably Bus 843.
- From Berchtesgaden Hbf(Busbahnhof) take the bus-840 to Salzburg HBF. Bus 840 leaves Salzburg at least once every hour and only takes 45 minutes to get to Berchtesgaden with no transfers needed. Tickets can be bought from the bus driver. Costs 4.70€ for a one way ticket.
- The last proper bus (Bus 840) leaves Berchtesgaden Hbf(Busbahnhof) at 18.15, so plan accordingly..
Take the O-Bus 2 from Salzburg Mirabellplatz going in the direction of Obergnigl and get down at Salzburg Bayerhamerstraße or you can take a walk, its not very far.
Day 7 – 5th July 2017 – WednesdayTake a walk from hotel to Salzburg HBF.
Go to OBB Office and inform them that you want to go to Obertraun Dachsteinseilbahn Talstation and return on the same day, and ask them if there is any Day-pass that you can make use of. You cannot pre-purchase these, so you will have to buy theseon the day of your journey.
I got mine at a price of 29 Euros, with complete flexibility for using any train or bus for covering the entire journey.
From Salzburg HBF to Obertraun Dachsteinhöhlen BahnhofTook the 8.15 AM bus, Bus 150, from Salzburg HBF to Bad Ischl. The views are particularly scenic in this stretch, try to side on the side behind the driver. Bad Ischl is very beautiful.
Take a walk from Bad Ischl bus station to its train station which is just a couple of steps away.
From there take the train R 3410 to Obertraun Dachsteinhohlen Bahnhof. Step out of the station and take Bus 543 which will leave you at Obertraun Dachsteinseilbahn Talstation.
From here you can take the cable car to acess ice cave, Mammut cave, 5fingers, etc.
At the bus stop the schedule will be in German and “ruckfahrt” is when it arrives at the stop you’re at while “abfahrt” means when it departs.
Keep an eye on other passengers at the station, there are times when the platform for the arrival of the train changes and the annoncement is made only in German.
Dachstein Salzkammergut
- Website: http://dachstein.salzkammergut.at/en
- The ice cave is open during the opening times of the Dachstein Krippenstein cable car from May to October.
- I bought the Dachstein Salzkammergut Ticket - Costs 42.10 Euros per head which includes one ascent & descent by cable car, section I+II, one admission & guided tour in Ice Cave or Mammut Cave)
- About The Dachstein Visitor Center: A trip to the Ice Caves and 5 Fingers starts with a visit to the Dachstein Visitor Center. It’s here that you’ll buy your tickets for the lift up the mountain and for your Ice Cave tour. You will sign up for your time slot once you reach the 1st level cable car station. They give you a time of the tour and you have to be outside the Ice Cave before that time to take the tour. The Visitor Center and each of the gondola lift stations will have wifi available. Before leaving the Visitor Center make sure to keep track of the time the last bus departs the mountain back to Hallstatt (typically between 3pm-5pm) as you don’t want to have to walk all the way back.
- The 1st section of the 3 tiered cable car gondola climbs a staggering 2461 feet from the Visitor Center.
- At the top of the 1st cable car section is the Schönbergalm Lodge which has a restaurant, a museum, and is the jump off point for the cave tours. The 2nd section takes you to the 5 Fingers Lookout, Welterbespirale Lookout, Krippenstein Lodge & Restaurant, the Heilbronn Cross Trail with the Dachstein Shark, and most of the Winter ski runs. The 3rd and final section takes you to the Gjaidalm Lodge which offers great mountain top hiking between Alpine huts and all the way to the Dachstein Glacier. Make sure to pay close attention to the gondola schedules each time you exit at a lift station so you can make to sure be back in time for your desired return down the mountain.
- About Mammoth Cave: The Mammoth Cave is cool, but most visitors on a tight schedule won’t find it very cool in comparison to the Ice Caves. It can take 25 minutes to walk from the cable car station up to the cave entrance on the opposite side of the Ice Cave. It does not have any ice, it only has rock formations. You will need to take the Dachstein World Heritage cable car along section 1. The walk to the cave from here follows a gravel path. Altitude difference 40 m Walk time 15 mins. Duration of tour approx. 50 minutes. Tour route: 800 m long, 70 m height difference. The closing time for Mammoth Cave is very early, so keep an eye on that if you are planning to do it.
- About The 5 Fingers Lookout: The 5 Fingers viewing platform offers an adrenaline rush at the highest level. It’s definitely one of the most spectacular viewing platforms in the Alps and reaches out like a 5-fingered hand over a 1300 foot vertical drop. Even more impressive than then drop is that tiny Hallstatt will now be almost 5,000 feet below you!!! The 5 platforms each have a different design, with different exposure to the heights and unique views down over Hallstatt. One of the platforms is made entirely from glass and another enables visitors to gain their own personal view of Hallstatt through a large Baroque picture frame. The 5 Fingers are illuminated until midnight and can be seen easily be seen after dark from Hallstatt. Take the cable car up from the Ice Caves to the Level 2 Station and follow the The Experience Trail directly to 5 Fingers. The hike on the gravel path from the 2nd cable car station to the Five finger outlook point is easily at least a long 1 km and 20-30 mins moderately paced brisk walk one-way. Also it is high altitude and thin air that makes it more strenous. But really beautiful, and well worth the effort! The round trip walk past 5 Fingers to the predominant Pioneer Cross can easily be completed in 20 minutes by most visitors.
- Cable Car Sections:
- Cable Car Section 1 – Valley Station --> Schonbergalm
- Cable Car Section 2 –Schonbergalm --> Mountain Station
- Cable Car Section 3 – Mountain Station --> Valley Station Gjaid
- Levels:
- 1st Level - Ice Cave & Mammoth Cave
- 2nd Level - 5 Fingers Lookout, Welterbespirale Lookout, Krippenstein Lodge & Restaurant, the Heilbronn Cross Trail with the Dachstein Shark
- 3rd Level - Dachstein Glacier
- I would recommend this tour if it's a clear day and you intend to go all the way to the top of the mountain to see the views from the 5 finger lookout and then walk a bit further up to view the glacier.
- About Dachstein Ice Cave: Dachstein Ice Caves are awesome! While there are a few other ice caves in Austria, including the World’s largest one in Werfen, I preferred Dachstein because they let you take pictures while Werfen does not, and the surround Dachstein sight including Five Fingers and awesome views surrounding it offer a complete experience.
- While it was very hot outside, inside the caves was freezing, so dress appropriately. There is quite a hike uphill for about 20 mins to reach till the place where the Ice Cave tour starts. A 20 minute walk up a steep path, then 500 steps inside the ice caves themselves. A really good cardio workout and defintely not for the faint-hearted.
- Guided Tour Overview: 50 minute guided tour and we got submersed inside the magic of the icy landscape. After a 20 minute hike from the cable car to the entrance, you head into the mountain through stalactite passageways and down into a large hall called Saint Arthur’s Dome. The the huge hall, dominated by rock boulders, is where they have found ancient cave bear bones which had signs of human processing. As you head deeper into the cave you start to feel the icy chill until your first frozen sighting. A huge impressive wall of ice with stairs leading right up its side and into a frozen tunnel called the keyhole. From there the sure size of the caves really begins to hit you and the fantastic formations have names like the “ice palace”, “Tristan Dome”, “Big Ice Chapel”, and the the 30 foot tall phallic shaped “Big Ice Mountain”. Our favorite ice formation is the called “Castle of the Holy Grail” which shimmers in colors from white to dark blue, depending on the lighting. The caves just seem to get better and better as they go on and even have a frozen waterfall! As an extra treat, the Alpine view as you leave the cave is one of the best in all of Austria. 500 steps inside the ice caves themselves. Once you finish the cave tour the view at the cave exit it amazing. A once in a lifetime type of view. You will need to take the Dachstein World Heritage cable car along section 1. The walk to the cave from here follows a route which is partly tarmaced. Altitude difference 70 m Walk time 15 mins. Duration of tour approx. 50 minutes. Tour route: 800 m long, 80 m height difference (steps)
- The ice caves themselves are pretty spectacular, and it was also my first time seeing an ice cave, so with nothing else to compare it to, I thought the nature aspect of it was breathtaking. The ice reaches 25 m depth at some points and it's just incredible to see how nature works and what happens with rain water once it reaches the enclaves of the underworld. The ice formations are impressive and the sheer size of some of them (tallest 9m) is enough to make the money spent worth it.
The last Bus 543 from Obertraun Dachsteinseilbahn Talstation to Obertraun Dachsteinhöhlen Bahnhof leaves at 16.50. The only option left after this is to walk for 30-40 minutes to reach the Obertraun Train station.
Day 8 – 6th July 2017 – ThursdayTake a train to Innsbruck, and do Swarovski Crystal Worlds and Innsbrucker Nordkettenbahnen
Salzburg to InnsbruckWe booked the tickets for Salzburg to Innsbruck online. Cost 44.20 Euros per head
We walked from hotel to Salzburg HBF, and boarded the train at 8.52 AM which reached Innsbruck at 10.45 AM
Innsbruck Card
- Free one-time admission to all museums and visitor attractions
- 1 return trip on each lift and cable car in the Innsbruck region (Innsbrucker Nordkettenbahnen cable cars, Patscherkofelbahn cable car, Muttereralm cable car, Axamer Lizum cable car, Glungezerbahn cable car, Oberperfuss Rangger Köpfl cable car, Drei-Seen-Bahn cable car)
- Free transportation on "Sightseer Innsbruck" hop-on hop-off bus
- Free use of public transport on all IVB routes within Innsbruck + to Rum/Hall + Nightliner
- Free travel on the IVB’s scenic tram lines to Igls (line 6) and Mutters/Kreith (STB)
- Crystal Worlds Shuttle including the Kristallwelten
- Innsbruck Card prices: 24 hours: € 39
- You can buy the Innsbruck Card at the bookstore press & books in the main train station. Opening hours: Mo to Sat 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.; So 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- The Innsbruck Card is an all-inclusive hard ticket. Even if you purchase it online you will have to pick up a hard copy
- You can make breaks on the way to Hafelekar, stop at the Zoo as you like. It is valid for one trip and down. Meaning, you can take the Hungerburg funicular, get down at Alpine Zoo and then get on again to continue further up to Hungerburg and from there on to Seegrube Cable Railway & Hafelekar Cable Railway, all free of cost with your Innsbruck Card.
- From Innsbruck HBF take a bus and go to “Swarovski Kristallwelten”. Either you can take the Bus 4125 or Bus 4123
- Public bus number 4127 departs from Südtiroler Platz. Sudtirolerplatz is the square in front of the train station- can not miss the bus area adjacent to the station. The shuttle bus is actually a public bus number 4127. Takes 27 minutes. Departs from Südtiroler Platz Bay/Stop A, which is outside the railway station. there is small board mentioning where the shuttle bus leaves from.
- Website: https://kristallwelten.swarovski.com/Content.Node/wattens/index.en.html
- Opening Hours: Daily from 8:30 to 19:30; last entry 18:30
- Day Ticket: pick your date and avoid queue time at the entrance to the Chambers of Wonder. Redemption at the cash desk is required to get your personal tickets and information material.
- Cash desk 5 or 6 for online tickets: Online tickets can also be redeemed at cash desk 5 and 6 - normally reserved for groups.
- Please note: Online tickets (Print@Home, mobile ticket) need to be redeemed at the cash desk.
- Adults: EUR 19.00. Free with Innsbruck Card, both Shuttle & Entry.
- Chamber of Wonder: This is where you enter through the Giant, has 16 rooms with various art installations
- Garden: Outside there is a garden with a playground, tower, and Crystal Cloud & Mirror Pool
- The main attractions of Swarovski Kristallwelten (Swarovski Crystal Worlds) are the Giant and its Chambers of Wonder, the Crystal Cloud, the playtower and playground.
- Non-EU travelers can claim their tax back on purchases over €75.
- This is NOT a factory tour, so don't expect that. But i'd say its better than a factory tour. The art installation with crystals is just amazing, lots of photo opportunities.
- Toilets are clean and free to use after you have entered Chamber of Wonder.
- There is a cafe near the exit of the store.
Take the shuttle/Bus-4127 from Swarovski & get down at Innsbruck Congress/Hofburg for Innsbrucker Nordkettenbahnen, this is straight route. Or, you can go to Innsbruck HBF using 4125 and then take Bus-4127 to reach Inssbruck Congress/Hofburg.
Innsbrucker Nordkettenbahnen
- The entire stretch is divided into three parts:
- From Congress/Hofburg level you take a train/funicular to Hungerburg, which takes stops at Löwenhaus and Alpenzoo
- From Hungerburg you take a Cable Car to Seegrube
- From Seegrube you take another Cable Car to the peak Hafelekar.
- Opening times
- - Hungerburg funicular (Congress-Löwenhaus-Alpenzoo-Hungerburg stations)
- Monday - Friday: 7.15 am - 7.15 pm
- Saturday - Sunday: 8.00 am - 7.15 pm
- - Seegrube Cable Railway (Hungerburg-Seegrube stations)
- daily: 8.30 am - 5.30 pm
- Friday evening ride: 6.00 pm - 11.30 pm
- - Hafelekar Cable Railway (Seegrube-Hafelekar stations)
- daily: 9.00 am - 5.00 pm
- - Hungerburg funicular (Congress-Löwenhaus-Alpenzoo-Hungerburg stations)
- The starting station Congress station is near the Hofburg and Tiroler Landestheater and it’s like entering an ultra modern underground railway/metro/subway station as you head down towards the platform from street level.
- The Hungerburg funicular enables visitors to reach the Hungerburg in just 8 minutes. There are several stops along the way including the Alpine Zoo, which is a favorite among families. After reaching the Hungerburg station, a short walk across Hermann Buhl Square leads visitors to the cable car station.
- Innsbruck - Hafelekar - Return Trip - 33,00 EUR. Free with Innsbruck Card. You can make breaks on the way to Hafelekar, stop at the Zoo as you like. It is valid for one trip and down. Meaning, you can take the Hungerburg funicular, get down at Alpine Zoo and then get on again to continue further up to Hungerburg and from there on to Seegrube Cable Railway & Hafelekar Cable Railway, all free of cost with your Innsbruck Card.
- The cable car ride is impressive, especially with the Hungerburgbahn and the stations, designed by Zaha Hadid.
- It is easy accessible from the city centre and with three times swapping the transport systems (train and two cable cars). The journey takes about 30 mins.
- Be sure you have a clear day for this trip.
- Sadly, there was no snow in July even at Hafelekar.
- The last cable car from Hafelekar leaves at 5 PM, so keep an eye on time
- Free with Innsbruck Card
- The Alpenzoo can be reached on foot. It´s a 20 minute walk from the city centre, uphill.
- Or, you can take the Hungerburg funicular and get down at Alpenzoo (Congress-Löwenhaus-Alpenzoo-Hungerburg stations)
- By the time we reached here after doing Hafelekar via Innsbrucker Nordkettenbahnen we were too tired to appreciate it.
- This Zoo is built on a mountain, and is quite a strenous task to go around, lots of uphill climbing.
- There is a cafe where you can enjoy ice-cream.
For return, you can take a walk from Congress station to Innsbruck HBF, its not very far and doable.
From Innsbruck HBF we took the train RJ 169 which left Innsbruck at 18.11 and reaches Salzburg at 20.03. We had pre-purchased the tickets online and it cost 19 Euros per head
Day 9 – 7th July 2017 – FridayChecked out of the hotel and boarded Bus #2 to go to Salzburg Train Station. Cost 2.60 Euros
We had already purchased the WESTbahn ticket online from Salzburg HBF to Vienna Huttledorf. Cost 26.5 Euros per head.
For my St. Polten to Melk and back journey I bought a day pass on the same day from OBB office at Salzburg HBF for 13 Euros per head
Took train Number 913 from Salzburg HBF at 09:52 AM. Reached St. Polten at 11.50AM.
Drop your luggage in St. Polten luggage storage, they can keep luggage for 24 hours. Be careful, they do not have huge storage space, so it is possible that you may not get storage space when you land there. Depending on the size of the locker chosen it will cost 2 Eros to 4.5 Euros. All are machine operated, you have to choose a locker, put the money in the machine, take the printed ticket and use the same ticket to open the locker when you come to collect your lugggage.
From St. Polten take another train to Melk
From Melk HBF take a walk to Melk Abbey.
- To reach Melk Abbey from Melk station, step out of the station, follow the arrow signs for Altstadt (which is the German language word for "old town"). Melk is too small and Altstadt in Melk is just a couple of steps, once you reach there cross it and you will find a sort of hole in the wall on your left, get in there, there will be a buch of stairs criss-crossing that goes up, you will find a drinking-water fountain on your way up. Keep going and you will reach Melk Abbey. In case of confusion, there are people around who can help. Apparently, the only reason tourists come to Melk is to see Abbey.
- Website: http://www.stiftmelk.at/englisch/index.html
- 1st April 2017 to 5th November 2017 - Visits possible daily with or without a guided tour
- April to October: 9.00 a.m. – 5.30 p.m. (last admission at 5.00 p.m.). From April to October they offer daily guided tours in English - at 10.55 a.m. and 2.55 p.m.
- Photography is not allowed anywhere other than the garden, which is not even worth taking pictures.
- Considering the effort involved in reaching there, the Abbey was a huge disappointment. And on top of it no photography is allowed. The only saving grace was the Church which was magnificient.
- All in all, I found this to be nothing but a tourist-trap.
- Adults per person: with guided tour - € 13,00, without guide - € 11,00
- Tickets for the Abbey Gardens (1st May – 31st Oct.) and northern bastion - Adults per person: 4,00 Euros
- The ticket for the abbey visit also includes the entrance to the abbey park with the Baroque garden pavilion (May to October, 9.00 am – 6.00 pm) and the Northern Bastion with the Wachau Lab (open daily, 9.00 am – 5.30 pm, the panoramic terrace can be closed in case of dangerous weather conditions)
- The guided tour comprises the abbey museum in the former Imperial Rooms, the Marble Hall and the library. Length of the tour: ca. 1 hour. The abbey church and the northern bastion can be visited individually.
- I found the library in Vienna much better than this.
For the return journey, take a walk back from Melk Abbey to Melk Train Station.
From Melk HBF take a train to St. Polten HBF. Takes about 25 mins.
Picked up my luggage from the locker at St. Polten HBF and continued my journey towards Vienna on the WESTBahn train to Vienna Hütteldorf. Takes about 23 mins.
From Vienna Huttledorf take U4 going in the direction of Heiligenstadt and get down at Hietzing and walk to the hotel.
Day 10 – 8th July 2017 – SaturdayWalked from hotel to Heitzing Station.
Bought a 48 hours Vienna ticket costs 13.30 Euros.
Prior to use, you must validate your pass by punching it in a ticket validating machine (conveniently located in underground stations and on buses and trams). Example: If you validate a 48-hour pass at 8:00 am on August 2nd, the pass is good for unlimited travel on the Wiener Linien network until 8:00 am on August 4th.
From Hietzing Station, take the U4 going in the direction of Heiligenstadt and get down at Langenfeldg. From there take the U6 going in the direction of Floridsdorf and get down at Westbahnhof. From here walk the entire stretch of Mariahilfer Straße up to MuseumQuartier.
Mariahilfer Straße
- Mariahilfer Straße is home to international giants like H&M, Zara, Berska, American Apparel, Desigual, Diesel, Esprit, Mango, Pull & Bear, Promod and Forever 21, but you’ll also find plenty of unique local shops and full-on departments stores like Gerngross. There are cafes, ice cream parlors, and multiple rooftop eateries, offering everything from schnitzel to sushi. Shops are open Monday to Wednesday from 9am to 7pm, Thursday and Friday 9:30am to 8pm, and Saturday from 9:30am to 6pm. Closed on Sunday.
- Here you will find a diverse mix of shops from boutique to chain stores.
- There are drinking fountains and seats if you want to take rest and people-watch.
- Mostly car-free, so you can cross and do both sides of the road easily.
- The street is very long and straight and most shops close at 6-7 PM so make sure you go early if you want to see everything.
- If you are here for shopping its the Innere Mariahilfer Strasse that you want to go and not Äussere Mariahilfer Strasse.
- The inner section of Mariahilfer Strasse or Innere Mariahilfer Strasse stretches between MuseumsQuartier and Westbahnhof (Innere Mariahilfer Strasse) is well covered by metro (U-Bahn). There are four metro stations along Innere Mariahilfer Strasse (sorted by location from the city centre towards Westbahnhof):
- MuseumsQuartier (U-Bahn line U2);
- Neubaugasse (U3);
- Zieglergasse (U3);
- Westbahnhof (U3 and U6).
- Compared to this, Kartner and Graben strasse are more for high-end shopping.
- It has usual eateries such as McDonalds and Starbucks. There's also a Vapiano.
- The foods are varieties: kebab, ice cream, pizza, pastry, Chinese and local/traditional Viennese. Fashions for middle and middle up class like H&M, Zarra, Bijoux, etc. Supermaket for everyday need: Billa, etc.
Checked out of the hotel, and left the luggage at the hotel itself to be picked up in the evening.
Hietzing to PraterTake the U4 from Hietzing going in the direction of Heiligenstadt and get down at Karlsplatz. From there take the Red U1 line going in the direction of Leopoldau and get down at Praterstern. From there walk over to Prater. The main entrance of the Prater is located directly at a huge roundabout, the Praterstern.
Prater
- The main entrance of the Prater is located directly at a huge roundabout, the Praterstern. The center of this traffic junction is the location of a railway station with stops for the metro lines U1, U2 and some rapid transit lines (S-Bahn). The terminus of the tram lines O and 5, as well as the bus stops of lines 5b, 80A and 82A are situated in front of the station building.
- Sort of an amusement park in Vienna, a kiddie version of Disneyland.
- This amusement park was first opened in about 1790 (yes, really) and claims to be the oldest in the world.
- The best part is, in contrast to many other theme parks you do not need to pay a general entrance fee. You only have to pay the ticket for the attraction, which you wand to ride. The prices start from 3 Euro per ride. So, if you just want to roam around and take pictures it is free.
- A good number of eateries in the park as well as at the Praterstern station.
- Opens at about 10.30-11 AM types.
- Madame Tussauds, Giant Ferris Wheel, Boomerang, Liliputbahn (mini railway), Prater Tower, Black Mamba, Hotel Psycho, Wildalpenbahn, Blumenrad
- The grounds are extensive - with lakes and wildlife areas to walk through. The only low point is the lack of signposting along the way.
- The main feature is the big Ferris wheel (Wiener Riesenrad), the old Ferris wheel that has been a part of the city skyline for years. The wheel had a starring role in the classic film ‘The Third Man’. you'll have a very beautiful view of the city from up there.
- One thing I will say, the toilets here are 50 cents and the machines only accept the 50 cent coin as payment so ensure you have a few on you should you need.
From Praterstern station, took the Red U1 line going in the direction of Reumannplatz and got down at Karslplatz. From Karlsplatz take the U4 Green line going in the direction of Huttledorf and get down at Hietzing. Walked to the hotel to pick up the luggage and leave for airport.
Took the Green line U4 from Hietzing going in the direction of Heiligenstadt and got down at Landstrasse/CAT bhf/Wien Mitte.
From there take the CAT train to Airport.
Took the flight back to Bangalore via Delhi
Took an UBER from the Airport to Sarjapur Road. Once you step out of airport, instead of taking right for Airport Taxis instead take the left, the direction is well-marked for online cabs , you will find a could of UBER folks standing. You can go there and book a cab online, and it will come to you there. Total Cost: 885 INR including the toll-tax that you pay while coming to the city from airport.
For the Next Trip
- Semmering Pass
- Catch a Lippzinner Horses Performance at Spanish Riding School in Vienna
- Stay in Bad Ischl, Hallstatt or Berchtesgaden; both Bad Ischl and Berchtesgaden are exquisite.
- Do Krepperstein (especially Hanging Bridge)
- Grosslockner Drive
- Lake Obersee, 15 mins from the Salet stop of Konigssee/Kings Lake
