1 week in Austria 9th to 16th December...Where to Go?

Hi Everyone,

We are 2 young couples (24 years) visiting Austria for the first time from the 9th to the 16th December 2009 and would like to get a few ideas to plan our itinerary. We can either start or end our trip in Vienna or else start from Vienna and return home from Munich. Would a 4 day stay in Vienna and a 3 day stay in Innsbruck be ideal during this period? We would like to visit the best spots however we would not like to spend our whole trip on trains and buses ;)

Any ideas are very appreciated especially from people who have visited Vienna around December.

Thanks!

Mark

Vienna would easily use up four days.
Please tell us your interests as it is difficult to give detailed answers without that piece of information.

#1 is right. For instance, I was happy with spending one day only in Innsbruck, so it really depends on one's interests.

Thanks for your replies. We are average tourists wanting to visit the major sights and beautiful landscapes in winter. We have never tried skiing but if we spend two days in innsbruck we could try some beginners' skiing as well but it is not our greatest priority. Our biggest dilemma is whether to use Vienna as a base for our trip or else move to another place during the trip. Innsbruck is one of the best known alpine cities but if similar options exist in the area closer to Vienna we could also remain there.

Thanks

Mark

Well the problem is, that beautiful winter landscapes with lot's of snow are definitely not guaranteed in Austria. And weather can be everything from clear skies to pouring rain.
So it's hard to decide weather to recommend scenic walks or soaking in a spa...

If you want a city in the mountains Innsbruck is best to reach (5 hours by train). Other towns might be closer, but you'll have to change trains. And if you should have bad luck with the weather it's better to be in a city than in a small town.

Do you definitely want to book in advance?

Salzburg might be a better option for you than Innsbruck...more convenient from Vienna to Munich and has everything and more that Innsbruck has...also the Christmas market will be on the go...

Well but Salzburg is not surrounded by mountains as Innsbruck is.
I agree that for sightseeing Salzburg has better options but for the surrounding landscapes and options to get up a mountain, Innsbruck is much better. City center to 2000 m altitude in about half an hour by cable car! And there is a Christmas market as well.

Hi,
Vienna in wintertime is also full of things to do and to see and 4 days gives you a good idea about. Travelling inside the city would be the best to take the tramways. Things to see on www.vienna.at or at the tourism border. If you want to have an evening in the opera it would be better to buy the tickest as early you can, they have also a service for tourists. Different chritmas markets gives a pretty nice atmosphere in this time.
Not far (60km) and easy to go (by bus or train) is the city Bratislava - and one full day excursion is easy to realise. On the way to Innsbruck you pass by Salzburg, or from Innsbruck back to Munich. Better one day for Innsbruck and maybe two for Salzburg.
rgds

Thanks for your tips. After some browsing I realised that Innsbruck is relatively far away from Vienna, and since our hotel will be at the Vienna city centre, I was thinking to abandon plans to visit Innsbruck and opt for closer destinations which may still offer beautiful mountain scenery. I think 3 or 4 days in Vienna would be enough to get a good idea of it and then we could move on to Salzburg (i heard that its surroundings are really beautiful as well) and also to Graz for day trips. On the way to Graz we would also be able to enjoy the scenery of the Semmering area. What do you think?

Thanks

Mark