Austria or Germany City Break

davetrousers

Hi there, I am considering a long weekend (Fri - Mon) City break to a German or Austrian city, and am just after ideas and suggestions as to which city and why.

Currently I am favouring Vienna, I went there in 2003 and really liked it. But what would your suggestions be? Thanks

Berlin
Munich
Salzburg..................

Voyager2002

It all depends what you want from the experience, since different places offer different attractions. What did you like about Vienna? And why Germany or Austria: what's wrong with France and Switzerland?

davetrousers

I thought Vienna was a beautiful city, with plenty of things to look at (iyswim) it also has Prater Park. It is also quite a compact capital, so is easy to get around and has the U bahn.

Sounds weird but I kinda fancy a German speaking country, so that could include Switzerland too I guess.

Bit of a vague answer I'm afraid, lol.

richardw

There are resorts on Majorca that are German speaking.

Voyager2002

davetrousers wrote: »

I thought Vienna was a beautiful city, with plenty of things to look at (iyswim) it also has Prater Park. It is also quite a compact capital, so is easy to get around and has the U bahn.

Sounds weird but I kinda fancy a German speaking country, so that could include Switzerland too I guess.

Bit of a vague answer I'm afraid, lol.

OK, I agree with a lot of what you say. Vienna does indeed have loads to see and do, partly because it was the capital of a great empire. In that respect you can compare it with Berlin, but far more of the historic Berlin was destroyed in the war, so Berlin would offer a very different kind of feel. Although yes, it is a fascinating lively place and also easy to get around.

I spent half a day in Zurich and thought it was beautiful and interesting, but did not really have the time to explore.

Quite a lot of people go on city-breaks to Dusseldorf and nearby Cologne, thanks to the Ryanair service to Weeze. If you choose this option, do be aware that Weeze is actually a long way from Dusseldorf, and use the airport website to calculate the costs and times needed to get to and from the airport. I don't know Dusseldorf but had a good and interesting time in Cologne, however it is certainly not in the same class as Vienna.

davetrousers

Hadn't really considered Dusseldorf, though I'm not took keen on Ryanair. Plus 80km from Weeze to Dusseldorf is quite a way.

There is no urgency at all, as I am thinking 12 months ahead! Using Expedia I found 3 night holidays to Vienna from Heathrow for about £170 per person, with favourable flight times on Austrian Airlines, in a hotel that is fairly central.

Pelican_eats_pigeon

It's always good to see a new place! Munich is really lovely and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it for a weekend. Berlin is quite cheap and quite nice but it takes more than a weekend to get into the swing of it. I would say Salzburg is more of a 1-2 day trip than a long weekend myself.

You might want to add Innsbruck to the list of places under consideration, really beautiful city.

markandkate

If you are only going for a few days you may want to see who flies from you local airport and where they fly to. It will be a pain travelling all the way to Gatwick or Manchester if you live miles away particulary as petrol is so expensive. It is also more likely that some one will give you a lift and collect you from your local airport and you can save on expensive airport carparking.

You will aslo need to think about what it is that you want to do. Vienna is very interesting and there are many fascinating museums but that may not be your thing. If you want nightlife then Berlin or Munich is much more likely to suitable.

How long are you planning to go for? Sometimes a city can be a good base for touring a local area. Munich for example is close to the Alps and Lake Constance, from Vienna you can get a hydrofoil to Bratislava.

I have had wonderful holidays in Germany and Austria and am quite disappointed at silly comments about trying to put you off visiting places. I have always found the German people to be warm and friendly, I cannot say the same for some other nationalities

dank4000

If you haven't been to Berlin before then it's gotta be! I've been there three times in the past two years and cannot get enough. It's got so much crazy history behind it and the arts and music scene is unrivalled right now.

apt

Hamburg and Munich are good cities to visit in the summer. If you liked Vienna another appealing city with plenty of culture is Dresden. Freiburg is also a very attractive city set in the Black Forest.

c45arlo

There are many destinations within Germany that are excellent ie. Koblenz for the Rhine/Moselle and it's not too far from Cologne. Also consider flying into one destination and flying back from another as it can work out more economical when used with a €25 rail deal (details and t&c on germanwings website) Next month we are flying Manchester to Hannover with Flybe then using the €25 rail ticket to Cologne to fly back with Germanwings which is more economic than a return to one destination on our chosen dates and also gives opportunity to see the countryside in that part of Germany. At least these airlines use main airports that are central unlike some.