Austria in March?

gwen80

Hi

I'm thinking of taking my Mum to Austria in March for her 70th (although also considering Switzerland and any other suggestions welcome!). It seems that if I go to Vienna or Salzburg, it should be possible to visit the other for a day. However, I'm not sure which is best as a base and how much there is to do in/around each place. Does anybody have any recommendations?

It's possible we could hire a car and explore a bit if the driving doesn't look too scary. Has anybody driven over there?

How expensive is Austria? It looks like we could get an apartment quite cheaply and buy some stuff in for breakfasts, make up lunches and possibly have some meals in, some out to try the local restaurants.

Thanks for any tips

Gwen

agrinnall

Driving is fine, it's a very polite country, just avoid high passes as they are likely to be either blocked with snow or require chains in March.

Salzburg and Vienna are quite a long way apart, 3 hours drive. Probably better, and quicker, to go by train.

Which is best really depends on what you like to do, I haven't been to Vienna but I'd imagine it offers the sorts of things you would expect to find in a big city, Salzburg won't but has great access to the Alps and scenery.

It was quite expensive (but not as bad as Switzerland) when I was last there, although that was 20 years ago, pre-Euro.

Ballard

I based myself in Vienna for a few days and had a day trip to Salzburg on a very comfortable train. I don't remember the journey time but it was probably around 2 hours. We should really have incorporated an overnight stay in Salzburg but we saw a fair bit of it on our day trip. There's more to do in Vienna.

From Vienna you can also have an easy train journey to Bratislava if you have time. It's probably not more than 30 minutes away and the centre of Bratislava is small but rather nice. From memory, though, there's quite a walk from the train station to the pretty part of Bratislava so it might be tiring for someone at 70.

gwen80

Thanks for the tips. Which has more to do outside of the city? Say if we hired a car and wanted nice scenery?

Day trip to Bratislava is a good idea. We could always get a taxi, but my Mum is quite fit and regularly does fairly long walks (I can't remember the distance, but certainly over 5 miles). In fact I'm sure she's fitter than I am, sat on my bum at a desk all day!

I'm also trying to think of anywhere she might like more, but she won't go to France after recent events. She won't go to Turkey or Greece either. She's going to Spain in April and Copenhagen in July. Stockholm is another idea, but probably more expensive than Austria? She's been to Croatia and Italy. Prague or Budapest are possibilities. I don't know.

Thanks

Gwen

Ballard

There's a palace with very nice gardens called Belvedere which is worth a visit. There's also the Vienna Woods a bus/tram ride away which I loved but it is quite strenuous as it's very hilly. Sadly I don't have any details of either but it's obviously googleable.