Austria is beautiful.

Salzburg is the cutest little city with such things as cobbled streets and a hill-top castle. It is a great walking/pedestrian city with cozy cafes, unique shops, horse-drawn carriages, and all the fairy-tale fixins.

You should go!

Happy travels!

The issue is debatable, but many people feel that Switzerland is the most gorgeous country in Europe – perhaps even the world. Austria and Switzerland, especially in the high mountainous regions, are very similar. Back in 1986 & 87, I lived in Stuttgart, Germany. We made many, many ski trips to Austria and Switzerland… I would say that Austria is every bit as lovely and picturesque as Switzerland, but you can get great food, lodging, ski lift tix, and suveniers in Austria for about 33% less… Definately, go to Osteriech!

Personally I thought Austria was beautiful. Vienna is a great city a little bit reminiscent of Paris. The Austrian Alps deliver every bit as beautiful scenery as the Swiss Alps but for half the price. I didn’t expect to like Austria (pre-conceived notions) but it far exceeded my expectations.

like most people here said, its a very beautiful country. i dont really plan to spend any time (or much time) there though because a lot of places to see and things to do there, really dont interest me. ive read the guidebooks and peoples comments on here but nothing has caught my eye except for the pasteries..

I was in Vienna, Salzburg, and Innsbruck. Vienna seems in many ways to be copying Paris, with its architecture, with its large city parks, and with its palaces on the outskirts (Schonbrunn is like Versailles in many ways). However, it doesn’t quite compare. For example, the River Seine runs right through the city center of Paris, while the River Danube runs along the outskirts of Paris. For another example, St. Stephen’s Dom (Cathedral) in Vienna may have a neat crypt and one of the tallest spires in Europe, but the inside is dark and nowhere near as spectacular as Notre Dame, with its beautiful rose windows.

Innsbruck was sleepy when I was there (mid-September), but I imagine that in the heart of the winter ski season, it’s an really cool place. The architecture in the city center IS quite picturesque, and there were some fantastic sidewalk cafes. I just wish it could have snowed when I was there, to bring out the "alpine charm" that I imagine is there in the winter, but didn’t quite find in the late summer.

But Salzburg, however, was fantastic—one of my favorite cities in Europe, for all the reasons that funkyj mentioned in his/her post above.

The Salzkammergut is gorgeous, if you have a day to do some exploring, go for it. I’ve been to Salzburg twice, and it’s a city that I enjoy visiting, but for me, anything more than 2-3 days is too much.

I love Austria!

Vienna has great architecture, art ( Klimt, Schiele etc..), shopping and a wonderful Palace with a great self guided audio tour. Vienna is very walkable and the people are really nice. Also the cafe culture is awesome- don’t miss the pastries !

Innsbruck was a quick stop for me but I went to the Alpen zoo which was quite good, did some great hiking and had great italian food.

Salzburg is everything everyone else said- also the natural history museum is halarious, on the 3rd floor there are freaks of nature animals with like 5 legs, two heads and one eyes! Freeky but cool!.

Don’t miss Austria!

cgirl

Austria has a reputation (in my head) as being a bit stuffy. But the outdoors activities are great. Don’t miss a trip to the ice caves near Salzburg as well!

The Ice Caves are on my "to do" list. I’m doing it through Mitchstours.com. As well my Eastern Europe trip.
I’m not sure where I should stay in Salzburg,didn’t hear nice things about the YoHo, but in Vienna I’m staying at Hostel Ruthensteiner and I’m spending a few days at the Treehouse Backpacker Hotel. I was just getting worried that maybe I’d be wasting my time in Austria. Seems no one is real interested in going there.

quote:
Austria has a reputation (in my head) as being a bit stuffy. But the outdoors activities are great. Don’t miss a trip to the ice caves near Salzburg as well!

I stayed at both YoHo and Ruthensteiner, and I thought YoHo was far better than Ruthensteiner. The Vienna one has a nice outdoor patio, but the rooms sucked. YoHo has a bar, lockers, etc. though it does also have pay showers. Had fun while I was there.

As for ice caves, I’ve heard other names rather than Eisriesenwelt (Salzburg ones), but I don’t know where they are. Sorry.

I spent time in Austria in July/August after travelling through Switzerland. I actually found it a nicer summer place, esp St Anton, Lech and Innsbruck for hiking and scenery. Salzburg was great fun and is a quick trip back to Germany to see Berchtesgarten (?spelling) and the Eagle’s Nest. Looking from Hitlers Eagle’s Nest and seeing the fortress at Salzburg was worth the short trip. Stay at the guest house above the cafe on the other hill to the fortress for one night, otherwise YoHo is a blast. The lakes district (Salzgammerkut)was stunning – planned a day but stayed a week at Hallstatt (hostel was above a restaurant). Vienna is its own former capital of an empire, needing no more comparison with Paris than with Prague. Just go and enjoy the architecture and history. Not for a big party. Go to Prague for that!

Stayed at YOHO last week and it was great. Friendly staff, great meals and a social pub right there. That was the second time I’ve stayed there and would highly recommend it to anyone regardless of age.

Vienna yes (but not a must like Paris, Rome, Berlin), Salzburg no (cheesy, touristy, artificial)

Is the "Sound of Music Tour any good? What is a "must see" in Salzburg/Vienna? Anything interesting I should buy?

I enjoyed the Sound of Music Tour because it takes you through some beautiful countryside and often stops off at a fun alpine slide.

Austria is very beautiful, and Vienna is certainly as attractive or even more so than Paris. I was in Salzburg, and it was quite wealthy, well-touristed and so on. But I have a feeling Austria is more of an older traveller’s vacation… certainly, more for the well heeled although there is an excellent youth hostel network. There are tons of japanese tourists, many of whom obsessively photograph classical music landmarks and buy lots of luxury products.

there’s also great snowboarding there.

I took my wife on the Sound Of Music tour because she is a huge fan of the movie, wasn’t really expecting much out of it for myself. I have to admit, it was good. As HomeSkillet said, it gets you out into the country a bit, great scenery. I’d recommend it.

One disadvantage to North American / Australian etc. travellers is that Austria is on the Euro and, being quite a wealthy country, is not easy on the wallet. If you want similar landscapes and food I would suggest Slovenia. It would be corny to say that they are the "same" but the architecture, wandering trails, forests and so on have the same feel. Of course the cultures are different, but they look eerily alike… on the surface.

Another great thing about Austria is that it has a history of being the crossroads of Europe. It’s the essence of "Central Europe" and its capital, although now in the west of the country, was once in the center of a large empire. eastern europe is a hop skip and a jump away… like bratislava! There is considerable influence from Slovakia and so on on Austrian cuisine. and you will see traces of the old Austrian hungarian empire throughout the former yugoslavia…

a good bilingual / trilingual radio station is Vienna’s FM4.

http://fm4.orf.at/

they broadcast in English too.

quote: One disadvantage to North American / Australian etc. travellers is that Austria is on the Euro and, being quite a wealthy country, is not easy on the wallet. If you want similar landscapes and food I would suggest Slovenia. It would be corny to say that they are the "same" but the architecture, wandering trails, forests and so on have the same feel. Of course the cultures are different, but they look eerily alike… on the surface.

Couldn’t agree more. Slovenia ISN’T Austria, but I like it better — matter of personal opinion and others probably disagree. Slovenia is gorgeous and incredibly friendly to tourists — particularly English speakers. You can ask "How do I get to X" in most countries and get "bus number 4" as an answeer. The folks who deal with tourists in Slovenia are much more likely to volunteer extra useful information like departure times, which direction, where the bus stop is, what it costs, where to buy a ticket, landmarks so you’ll know where to get off, etc.

The Eastern Countries are on the second leg of my trip. I’m doing the "Eastern Trekker" with Mitch’s Tours http://www.mitchstou… Seems lots of people heading that way this summer. I have to agree about the euro, but after comparing prices, Austria isn’t any more expensive than Italy. Croatia is cheaper than Italy and I think will be more interesting. (I’ve been to Italy before.) I decided to stay at a B&B in Salzburg. Same price as YoHo and seems nicer. I’m not into the the &quotarty till you puke" scene anymore.

quote:
Stayed at YOHO last week and it was great. Friendly staff, great meals and a social pub right there. That was the second time I’ve stayed there and would highly recommend it to anyone regardless of age.

Hey, is that Travolta lookalike bartender still there? haha I was kidding that dude so much. I love Yoho! The owners son is awesome to shoot the shit with…and I had a lot of fun in their cozy bar area meeting people and such…Definitely stay at Yoho for those deciding on boarding in Salzburg…its an awesome city IMO…totally fairly tale like….and fantastic doner kebab at the station haha!