This coming december, we are planning to go on a xmas river cruise with Collette departing from vienna. We have a couple of questions that would help us finalize our plans and we need some advise.
- how many days prior to the river cruise should we plan to arrive in Vienna to do sightseeing?
- what are the attractions we MUST NOT miss?
- what other cities/town/locations should we consider visiting while in Vienna? Can they be done as a 1-day trip and if so, should we book a tour, take a train on our own, etc?
- what is the appropriate clothing we should take for Dec weather?
- any restaurants/wine taverns (reasonably priced) recommended as MUST NOT miss while in Vienna.
Any suggestions/comments are much appreciated!
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How much time do you have ?
Most would say at least 3-4 days minimum stay for seeing Vienna.
You may wish to add more if you wish extensive visits to the many Christmas Markets, museums etc.
Must sees depends on your interests - most visited places
Schonbrunn Palace - also with a good christmas market in front and an interesting carriage museum too- easily 1/2 day here
www.schoenbrunn.at
Kunsthistorisches Museum - Fine Arts Gallery
www.khm.at
Hofburg Palace and the royal treasury there
info for the treasury - Schatzkammer- on abive site I think.
Churches
Stephansdom, Peters Church , Augustiner
Spanish Riding school.
An evening Opera or concert
www.volksoper.at
www.musikverein.at
www.staatsoper.at
also time just to walk the streets of the city center - enjoying the atmosphere - seeing Christmas decorations - stopping in a cafe for pastry and a warm drink.
Stop at one of the numerous kiosks for a hot cup of Punsch and enjoy the atmosphere.
While you can make an excursion- this should depend on the time you have in Vienna-
A day trip to salzburg by train possible.
Clothing - of coure you already bring clothing for your cruise-
good waterproof walking shoes a must
warm outer coat
clothing that can be layered ofr warmth as needed or shed if it getsd warm-
one good set of better clothing for good dining, concerts , perhaps needed too for one night on the boat.
Restaurants - look here many discussions on htis subject and heurigers also.
and much more
look to this website for added info
www.wien.info
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Wow! thanks for all the good info!
We haven%26#39;t made the flight reservations yet, thus the reason we are asking about what to do in Vienna so we can determine # of days we should arrive prior to the river cruise. ANy other suggestions on things to do/see since we haven%26#39;t finalized our arrival date?
Re. Salzburg - if we take an escorted day-tour, is this enough to see the key things in Salzburg or do you think we should take the train ourselves and stay one nite over?
Any additional comments are appreciated!
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Salzburg is a compact city for the visitor sightseeing.
You can take a train from Vienna to Salzburg in about 2 1/2 hours depending on the train.
The train station in salzburg is within walking distance to the major tourist sites in the %26quot; Old City %26quot; or an easy short bus ride.
You can see things such as the Foretress, Residenz Palace, major Churches, Christmas markets, Mozart House in a day esily . Numerous restaurants to choose too. Return by train in the evening- saves moving luggage , changing hotels and a little stress.
You can read mch here about salzburg touring.
An alternative - is to fly to Munich - a train to salzburg takes about 2 hours - 2 overnights in salzburg- remember your first arrival day is subject to jet lag and being tired- try not to do too much - part of the above perhaps.
Some like a visit to the lake country - this best reserve for better weather - it has numerous Christmas markets with atmoshere at such places as Mondsee, St. Gilgen, Strobl and Wolfgangsee.
www.wolfgansee.at
this area can be visted easily by bus.
Then onward by train to Vienna.
I can add much to your time in vienna. You do not mention how many days you could possible spend on the trip - so impossible to recommend more.
Salzburg and Vienna easily makes for a week of sightseeing.
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thank you for all the excellent info you have shared with us!
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Enjoy your visit!
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