So, you’re looking to trade those proud Habsburg palaces and manicured city parks for the snow-capped outline of the Austrian Alps? A trip from Vienna to Salzburg promises to do just that in a couple of hours. There might be 250 kilometres of rolling forests, winding rivers, and soft hills between them, but these two
Hallstatt is a real fairy-tale town. Flanked by the green summits of the Salzkammergut, it’s a medley of gingerbread houses with steep gables and wood-carved balconies, all strung lazily along the edge of a mirror-like lake. Wanderlust stoked? Good. The trip in from the nearby city of Salzburg is easy to make. It’s just 50km
Vienna and Budapest are linked by much more than just railway lines, riverways and cycle tracks. These were the dual capitals of the vast Austro-Hungarian Empire. One of the mightiest powers of Central Europe, it reigned supreme from 1867 to 1918. Today, you can still spy out remnants of the grand Habsburg crown in both,
Once you’ve had your fill of white sausages and Oompah bands and Oktoberfest beers, it’s time to plan your next pitstop in Central Europe. From the Bavarian capital, there’s only one real direction to go in: South. That’s where the great walls of the Alps loom, concealing glimmering lakes and mystical castles. They also hide
Just 56 kilometres and a few bends of the Danube River separate the two capitals of Vienna and Bratislava. That means you can gaze wide-eyed at the Neo-Classical palaces of the Habsburgs and munch on Viennese strudels come morning and then be walking the Old Town of Slovakia’s biggest city between the cheap taverns and
The 280-kilometre journey from Prague to Vienna will take you right through the heart of Central Europe. The pine forests of Bohemia turn into the undulating green hills of Moravia as you move south from the Gothic castle spires of the Czech capital. Soon, the eastern end of the iconic Alps will mark the horizon.
Cities like Vienna need to be seen to be believed. Grand buildings loom on all corners in a symphony of Baroque and Neo-Classical construction. From the Hofburg – the onetime home of the Habsburgs – to the elegant Belvedere, the whole city is a sparkling tiara of eye-watering wonders dating back centuries. Add to that
If you’re going to Austria in search of charming, chocolate-box mountain towns topped by the outlines of the Alps and awash with wooden chalets blooming with flowers, Hallstatt is somewhere you should certainly be looking to visit. It’s actually not too hard to get to if you’re based in the city of Vienna. The two