9 DAYS

Romantic
Danube

Day 1. Arrival Vienna – City Tour

Arrive in Vienna. Ringstrasse walking tour. Evening coffee house. Overnight in Vienna.

Day 2. Vienna – Schönbrunn & Kunsthistorisches

Schönbrunn Palace. Kunsthistorisches Museum — Vermeer, Brueghel, Raphael. Overnight in Vienna.

Day 3. Vienna – Danube Island & Klosterneuburg

Morning: Donauinsel — the extraordinary 21 km traffic-free island in the Vienna Danube, with beaches and cycle paths. Afternoon: Klosterneuburg Monastery — the extraordinary Baroque imperial complex above the Danube, 12 km from Vienna. Overnight in Vienna.

Day 4. Vienna to Wachau – Danube Cruise

Full day DDSG Blue Danube cruise from Vienna to Krems — 3.5 hours through the beautiful Tullnerfeld meadows and into the first vineyards of the Wachau. Arrive in Krems. Overnight in Dürnstein (Wachau).

Day 5. Wachau – Melk Abbey & Wine Villages

Morning boat to Melk — the extraordinary Baroque abbey on the Danube cliff. Return via the remarkable wine villages of Weißenkirchen, Wosendorf and Joching — wine tasting in a Heuriger (wine tavern). Overnight in Dürnstein.

Day 6. Wachau – Göttweig & Cycling

Morning Stift Göttweig — the 'Austrian Montecassino'. Afternoon cycling the extraordinary Danube Cycle Path (EuroVelo 6) along the Wachau — one of the world's great cycling routes. Overnight in Dürnstein.

Day 7. Wachau to Linz – Via Mauthausen

Drive via Mauthausen — the solemn site of the Nazi concentration camp, now a powerful memorial museum. Arrive in Linz. Ars Electronica Center. Overnight in Linz.

Day 8. Linz – Danube & Postlingberg

Postlingberg mountain railway. Lentos Kunstmuseum. Danube river cruise from Linz. Overnight in Linz.

Day 9. Departure Linz/Vienna

Transfer to Linz Airport or train to Vienna Airport.

Must see

ATTRACTIONS

Options

ACCOMMODATIONS

Vienna

★★★★★

Hotel Sacher Wien
The Ritz-Carlton Vienna
Hotel Imperial Vienna

★★★★

Marriott Vienna
Radisson Blu Style Hotel Vienna
NH Vienna Airport

★★★

ibis Wien Mariahilf
Hotel Ibis Wien City
Mercure Grand Hotel Biedermeier Wien

Krems

★★★★★

Arte Hotel Krems
Hotel Unter den Linden Krems
Hotel Stadt Krems

★★★★

NH Hotel Krems
Hotel Steigenberger Krems
Hotel Klinglhuber Krems

★★★

ibis Krems
Hotel Ibis Budget Krems
Gästehaus Krems

Must try

FOOD

Knödel

A dish of boiled ball or oval shaped dumplings with a filling; the dough can be potato-based or made of choux pastry; sometimes it is curd-based; it is filled with fruits, mushrooms, curd cheese, meat, and other ingredients and served as a main or side dish.

Linzer Augen

Traditional Austrian sandwich cookies made from buttery, nutty shortbread mixed with ground almonds or other nuts, flavoured with lemon zest, cinnamon and vanilla and filled with tart fruit preserves.

Cremeschnitte

Also known as a vanilla slice or custard slice, this dish is a cream cake dessert commonly associated with the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy; it consists of two to three layers of puff pastry filled with cream, which are then glazed or dusted with powdered sugar.