Eviano

Austria · Cities & culture · 7 days

Vienna, Wachau, Lake Neusiedl

Imperial city, Danube valley and steppe lake in one week, all by train, boat and bike: the route for anyone who prefers to see Austria from the window and the saddle.

The route, day by day

  1. Day 1 to 3

    Vienna: Three Days of Imperial City on Foot and by Underground

    The Nightjet leaves Zurich at around 9.40 pm and pulls into Wien Hauptbahnhof at 8 am, couchette from CHF 60 to 80 (about EUR 64 to 86), sleeper from CHF 120. If you prefer to travel by day, the Railjet takes eight hours, Sparschiene fares from CHF 30 to 40. Three days are the minimum: day one the Innere Stadt, Stephansdom, Hofburg, a coffee house and in the evening a standing place at the Staatsoper for CHF 13 to 18, bought online the day before. Day two Schönbrunn in the morning, the Belvedere with The Kiss in the afternoon, a Heuriger in Stammersdorf or Grinzing in the evening. Day three the MuseumsQuartier, Naschmarkt and a stroll along the Donaukanal. The 72-hour Wiener Linien ticket costs around CHF 17 and covers everything. You sleep inside the Gürtel, in the 7th district or by the Naschmarkt, double room CHF 100 to 150 during the week. On to the Wachau: by Regionalexpress from Wien Hauptbahnhof along the old Westbahn line to Melk, a good hour, around CHF 20, or by Railjet to St. Pölten and change there.

    Tours at this stop: Schönbrunn Palace ticket ↗State Opera guided tour ↗Heuriger evening in Grinzing ↗

    Open the Vienna travel guide →

  2. Day 4 to 5

    Wachau: Melk Abbey, Boat Downstream, Bike Back

    You arrive in Melk in the morning, leave your luggage in a locker at the station or at the hotel, and walk ten minutes up to the abbey, library, Marble Hall and terrace, around CHF 15 (about EUR 16). At 1.50 pm the boat casts off and takes just under three hours to Dürnstein or Krems, downstream, past Spitz, Weissenkirchen and the terraces on both banks, around CHF 32. You get off in Dürnstein and stay, because from 6 pm the village belongs to the overnight guests. Day five: a hire bike from Dürnstein or Krems, along the north bank to Weissenkirchen and Spitz, a Heuriger with Brettljause, Marillenknödel, across to the south bank on the roll ferry and back, 35 flat kilometres, a whole day with breaks. You sleep in a winegrower's room in Dürnstein or Weissenkirchen, double room CHF 80 to 120 with breakfast and Wachau card. On to Lake Neusiedl: regional train from Krems on the Franz-Josefs-Bahn to Vienna in a good hour, change to the Regionalexpress to Neusiedl am See, 45 minutes, two and a half hours in all, around CHF 30.

    Tours at this stop: Boat trip Melk to Krems ↗Wachau bike tour with wine tasting ↗

    Open the Wachau travel guide →

  3. Day 6 to 7

    Lake Neusiedl: Storks in Rust and the Cycle Path Round the Steppe Lake

    Two days at the shallowest lake in Central Europe, two metres deep at most, 25 degrees in summer, with a reed belt and Pannonian light. From Neusiedl you take the bus or a hire bike to Rust, where the storks stand on the chimneys from late March to August, and you eat at a Heuriger in Rathausgasse. Day six is bike day: a section of the circuit, for example Rust, Mörbisch, across on the ferry to Illmitz and through the Seewinkel with its salt lakes and birds back to Podersdorf, 40 to 50 flat kilometres, honestly tiring into a headwind. Day seven a morning at the lido, free with the Neusiedler See Card from your accommodation, lunch in Purbach, and back to Vienna in the early afternoon. You sleep at a winegrower's in Rust or a guesthouse in Podersdorf, double room CHF 70 to 110 (about EUR 75 to 118). Return: Regionalexpress to Wien Hauptbahnhof, 45 minutes, then the Railjet to Zurich in eight hours or the Nightjet at 9.40 pm, which drops you in Zurich at 8.20 the next morning.

    Tours at this stop: Bike hire Lake Neusiedl ↗Wine tasting in Rust ↗

    Open the Lake Neusiedl travel guide →

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What the route costs

Rough total per person for the whole route, mid-range, travelling as a pair. Flights and hotels vary by season; details are on the destination pages.

  • Getting there 171 EUR
  • Accommodation 449 EUR
  • Food 375 EUR
  • Local mobility 128 EUR
1,124 EUR
Total per person · 7 days

Money & payment: You pay in euros (EUR). Cards work almost everywhere; mountain huts and sausage stands often want cash. Tipping is expected: 5 to 10 percent, by naming the rounded total when you pay. In ski resorts a visitor tax of EUR 2 to 4 per night is added to the hotel price.

Tips for the route

Reversing the order pays off in spring: then you begin at Lake Neusiedl, when the storks have just returned and the cycle paths are empty, move on to the Wachau in mid-April for the apricot blossom, and finish with Vienna, where you board the Nightjet on the last evening. The rail connections are equally good in both directions.

Off season: Vienna costs double in Advent, at New Year and during the ball season in February, and the Wachau is full of boat passengers on summer weekends. May, June, September and October are the months for this route: warm enough for bike and lido, Heurige open, hotels 30 percent cheaper midweek. Do the Wachau during the week, Monday to Thursday.

Booking tickets: Nightjet and Railjet Sparschiene fares are available six months ahead, and the cheap quotas are gone eight to twelve weeks before. You do not need to reserve the boat in the Wachau except on public holidays. Opera standing places go online from 10 am the day before; book Schönbrunn with a time slot in advance or you will queue for an hour.

Luggage: this route has four moves, so one wheeled case or rucksack and no second piece. The lockers in Melk and Krems cost a few francs, and Vienna has left luggage at the Hauptbahnhof. Luggage travels free on the boat and the regional train, bikes too, but in the Wachau you are better off hiring locally, hire bikes CHF 20 to 30 (about EUR 21 to 32) per day, e-bikes CHF 40.

Wind at Lake Neusiedl: the lake is famous among windsurfers, which says it all. In a north-westerly you will push your bike from Podersdorf to Illmitz, so ride with the wind in the morning and read the forecast the evening before. The ferries between Mörbisch and Illmitz or Rust and Podersdorf run from May to October and are free with the Neusiedler See Card, but are cancelled in strong wind.

Frequently asked questions about Vienna, Wachau, Lake Neusiedl

Is a week enough for Vienna, the Wachau and Lake Neusiedl?

Yes, with three nights in Vienna, two in the Wachau and two at the lake. If you only have five days, leave out Lake Neusiedl or make it a day trip from Vienna, as Rust is reachable in an hour and a half. If you have ten days, stay four nights in Vienna and add Eisenstadt with Esterházy Palace.

When is the best time to travel?

May, June and September. Then the Heurige and lidos are open, the Wachau is green or in harvest, Lake Neusiedl is warm enough for swimming, and Vienna is free of Advent crowds. April brings apricot blossom and storks but still cool evenings. October is perfect for Vienna and the Wachau, but already too cold for swimming in the lake.

Do you really not need a car?

No. Vienna has underground and trams, a train runs hourly to Melk, you do the Wachau by boat, bike and the WL1 bus, the S-Bahn runs to Neusiedl, and at the lake there are buses, ferries and hire bikes. A car would cost CHF 30 (about EUR 32) a day in a Vienna garage and would find no parking space in Dürnstein.

What does the week cost per person?

Around CHF 1,050 (about EUR 1,120) mid-range as a couple: train there and back from Zurich with Sparschiene fares or a Nightjet couchette around CHF 160, six nights around CHF 420, food CHF 350, and around CHF 120 for Wiener Linien, regional trains, boat and hire bike. Add admissions: Schönbrunn, Belvedere, Melk Abbey and an opera standing place together around CHF 70.

Is Vienna safe, and how do I get from the station to the hotel at night?

Vienna is considered one of the safest big cities in Europe, at night too. The Nightjet arrives at 8 am, the Railjet at around 4 or 6 pm depending on departure, so never in the middle of the night. From the Hauptbahnhof the U1 and trams run until midnight, then night buses, and at weekends the underground runs all night. Taxis to the centre are cheap at around CHF 15 (about EUR 16).

Is there a shorter or longer version?

Shorter: Vienna and the Wachau in five days, with the Nightjet there and back even with only four hotel nights. Longer: continue by train from Lake Neusiedl to Graz, which since the Koralmbahn opened is a good two hours from Vienna, two nights there and return on the Nightjet from Graz. That makes ten days.

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