Lower Austria & Burgenland

Encircling Vienna, Lower Austria is a cradle of Austrian civilisation and a region offering visitors one of the country’s most lively cultural landscapes. Outdoor activities, some worthwhile museums, world-class wines, hearty food and a glimpse into the age of the Romans at Carnuntum make leaving the capital for a day or longer an attractive prospect.

And naturally everyone's heard of the Danube River, which cuts a picturesque valley, the Wachau, through the region's northwest. A place of magnificent natural beauty, this is truly a European highlight for its vineyards, castles, abbeys and medieval villages.

To the south of the capital, undervisited Burgenland is all but the typical Austria of the holiday brochures; you won't find soaring mountains, glacial lakes and bombastic architecture here, just bucolic flatlands spread like a well-tenderised schnitzel around the jewel in its crown – Neusiedler See – a shallow Mecca for water-sports fans and paddling toddlers alike.

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Lower Austria & Burgenland.

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Stift Melk
Of the many abbeys in Austria, Stift Melk is the most famous. Possibly Lower Austria's finest, the monastery church dominates the complex with its twin spires and high octagonal dome. The interior is baroque gone barmy, with a riot of chubby cherubs, barley-sugar twirls and polished faux marble. The theatrical high-altar scene, depicting St Peter and St Paul (the church's two patron saints), is by Peter Widerin. Johann Michael Rottmayr created most of the ceiling paintings, including those in the dome. Historically, Melk was of great importance to the Romans and later to the Babenbergs, who built a castle here. In 1089 the Babenberg margrave Leopold II donated the castle to Benedictine monks, who converted it into a fortified abbey. Fire destroyed the original edifice, which was completely baroque-ified between 1702 and 1738 according to plans by Jakob Prandtauer and his disciple, Josef Munggenast. It's claimed nine million bricks were used to create the 500 rooms – don't worry though, you don't have to visit them all! (Most of the complex is taken up by a school, monks' quarters and offices.) Besides the monastery church, highlights include the Bibliothek (library) and the Marmorsaal (Marble Hall); both have amazing trompe-l’œ-painted tiers on the ceiling (by Paul Troger) to give the illusion of greater height, and ceilings are slightly curved to aid the effect. Eleven of the imperial rooms, where dignitaries (including Napoleon) stayed, are now used as a somewhat overcooked concept museum. Before or after a tour of the main complex, take a spin around the Nordbastei (north bastion), where you'll discover some quirky temporary exhibitions, a viewing terrace and the Stift's gift shop. English tours run at 10.55am and 2.55pm as well as 2pm May to September.
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Schloss Esterházy
Schloss Esterházy, a giant, ochre castle-palace that dominates Esterházyplatz, is by far Eisenstadt’s most compelling attraction. Dating from the 14th century, the Schloss received a baroque makeover and a later one in neoclassical style. Many of the 256 rooms are occupied by the provincial government, but around 25 can be viewed on tours. The regular tour covers about seven rooms, giving you an insight into the history of the palace and the lives of the people who inhabited it. A highlight is the frescoed Haydn Hall, where during Haydn’s employment by the Esterházys from 1761 to 1790, the composer conducted an orchestra on a near-nightly basis. The Haydn Explosive exhibition across the palace courtyard offers an interesting conflux of history and the new: Haydn’s music accompanies you as you walk past exhibitions on the life and work of the great composer, a holograph depicts a string quartet, period furniture is projected onto the ceiling and a minuscule hole in the floor has an odd projection of a bare-breasted woman shouting abuse while burning in hell. To get the most out of the palace and Haydn, do the tour, then the Haydn exhibition.
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Landesgalerie NÖ
From one side it looks like a squashed cube, from the other as though it's about to topple over – welcome to the latest addition to Krems' Kunstmeile: a bold, 21st-century statement in grey aluminium tiles that looms over the newly created Museumsplatz like an alien spacecraft. It's a more than apt setting for the ever-changing exhibitions of edgy modern art and contemporary installations inside, and gives focus to the 'Art Mile' that had been missing up until it opened in 2019.
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Forum Frohner
Part of Krems' Kunsthalle network, this contemporary white cube is named after the artist Adolf Frohner and is housed in the former Minorite monastery. It has an impressive calendar of conceptual work, both international and Austrian.
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Arnulf Rainer Museum
Located inside the former Frauenbad (Women’s Bathhouse) near the tram terminus, this interesting museum showcases the work of its namesake Arnulf Rainer, who was born in Baden in 1929. A recalcitrant art-school dropout, he began painting in a surrealist style before developing his idiosyncratic multimedia and performance works. This includes the infamous painting with chimpanzees episode where Rainer attempted to mimic the work of a number of painting apes only to be chased by one of his unwilling collaborators. The museum has retained the delightful marble features of the Biedermeier bathhouse from 1815, making it all the more worth a visit. Exhibitions change twice a year.
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Stift Göttweig
Founded in 1083, the abbey was devastated by fire in the early 18th century and so sports an impressive baroque interior. It's still a working monastery today. Aside from the sublime view back across the Danube Valley from its garden terrace and restaurant, the abbey’s highlights include the Imperial Staircase with a heavenly ceiling fresco painted by Paul Troger in 1739, and the over-the-top baroque interior of the Stiftskirche, which has a Kremser Schmidt work in the crypt. Fully guided tours take in the abbey’s Imperial Wing, church and summer vestry; shorter tours explore either the Imperial Wing or the church and vestry. The best way to reach Göttweig is by train from Krems (10 minutes, hourly), though it’s a steep walk uphill from the village station.
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Nationalpark Donau-Auen
Nationalpark Donau-Auen is a thin strip of natural flood plain on either side of the Danube, running from Vienna to the Slovak border. Established as a national park in 1997, it was the culmination of 13 years of protest and environmentalist action against the building of a hydroelectric power station in Hainburg an der Donau. You’ll find plentiful flora and fauna, including 700 species of fern and flowering plants, and a high density of kingfishers (feeding off the 50 species of fish). Guided tours by foot or boat are available. From Vienna, the Nationalpark Donau-Auen is best explored either by bicycle or on one of the Nationalpark-run summer tours. Contact the park office in Vienna for more details.
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Burg Forchtenstein
Straddling a dolomite spur some 20km southwest of Eisenstadt, Burg Forchtenstein is one of Burgenland’s most imposing castles with a grand view from its ramparts. This stronghold was built in the 14th century and enlarged by the Esterházys, who still own it today, in 1635. The castle’s highlights include a museum dedicated to an impressive collection of armour and weapons, portraits of regal Esterházys in the Ahnengalerie and spoils from the Turkish wars (the castle curators will proudly tell you Forchtenstein was the only castle in the area not to fall to the Turks), along with a grand view from its ramparts. Its Schatzkammer contains a rich collection of jewellery and porcelain.
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Domäne Wachau
If you're intent on tasting the best of what the Wachau has to offer, it's a good idea to do a broad range of vineyards, from the innovative family-run operations to the big boys like Domäne Wachau, one of the region's most well-known producers internationally. A large, modern tasting room is set back from the river and staffed by an army of keen young assistants. It also stocks some nice local food products if wine's not your thing.