Most of Vienna’s tourist activities take place in a fairly small area in the central part of the city. But there are plenty of interesting places on the outskirts of the city and in the immediate vicinity. A small selection of such places includes wine spas, underground lakes, old castles, and natural parks.
This is a small and very picturesque wine region not far from Vienna: wineries, heurigers (a special type of cafe at wineries with almost no food), cobblestone streets of villages and small towns, and views of the Danube. For your first trip, it is best to choose the town of Krems or Dürnstein. The latter has several excellent hiking trails. If you are short on time, you can limit yourself to the ruins of Dürnstein Castle. Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned there in the XII century. If you continue the hiking route (6 km), you can reach the Vogelbergsteig viewpoint and enjoy the incredible view of the Danube Valley and the castle ruins. And after the walk, you can enjoy a glass or two of local wine in one of the cafés.
Getting there. Krems is just an hour’s train ride from Vienna (start at Franz-Josephs-Bahnhof station). If you are traveling in a group of three to five people, it is most convenient to take an Einfach-Raus-Ticket (€ 38 for three, € 4 for each additional person), which will be valid all day and will also apply to the return trip.
Life hack. The region often hosts wine festivals, tastings, and open days. When planning a trip, you can check to see if there is anything interesting happening on the dates you want. You can check on the official websites of the region or selected cities.
A small town in Lower Austria with a famous castle on an island. Laxenburg has several castles and the largest garden park in Austria. Starting in mid-April, you can explore the park and palaces to the fullest by renting a boat and taking a ride around the castle or taking a tourist train.
Getting there. Bus 200 from the main station (Wien Hauptbahnhof) is only half an hour away.
Life hack. Bring food and picnic items with you, sit in one of the cozy corners of the park and enjoy nature. Unfortunately, there may be ticks in the park, so be sure to check yourself after a walk. An encephalitis vaccination is also advisable, but this is true for any forest and park walks in the vicinity of Vienna.
It is a flat, brackish lake, the fourth largest in Central Europe, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The region has a lot of sunny days, so the water temperature is high in summer. People go there to go windsurfing, boating, or cycling. Comfortable bike paths are laid around the entire lake: you can go around it in a day, but it is still better to do this if you plan to spend the night on site. It can be a bit difficult to return to Vienna the same evening. For day trips, it is better to choose shorter routes and taste local wine. Yes, you can’t go anywhere in Austria without wine, and the Neusiedler Lake area is one of the best for red wine in Austria.
Getting there. Every half hour a train to Neusidleram See departs from the main station. Again, if you are traveling with several people, it is better to take an Einfach-Raus-Ticket.
Life hack. If you don’t have your own bike, you can rent one on the spot. A selection of routes and rental places is available here (in German, but the basic information on the routes and links to them are understandable without translation).
In general, the big mountains are located in the western part of the country and start somewhere closer to Salzburg. The so-called Vienna Alps are the mountains closest to Vienna. The highest point here are 2076 meters, and you can go here in winter and summer. In winter, Semmering is a great place to go skiing or snowboarding for a day. In the Vienna Alps, there is a panoramic 60-kilometer cross-country skiing route with stunning views of the region’s highest peaks: Rax, Schneeberg and Wechsel. As soon as the snow melts, the region offers excellent hiking, cycling, picnics in the mountains, paragliding, and animal encounters in the Hohe Wand Nature Park.
Getting there. The region is well covered by the railroad network, and the specific destination depends on what you choose as the purpose of the trip. There are many possible options for the final point of the route.
Life hack. There are a lot of options for what to do in the region, so it’s best to plan such a trip in advance and for several days.
In addition to the already mentioned Hohe Wand, where you can walk with llamas, there are many parks around Vienna where you can watch animals and interact with them. These are great places to go with children, but many adults will also be interested. The most accessible park is the Lainzer Tiergarten on the outskirts of Vienna, which can be reached by public transport. The park has deer, wild boars, an unusual villa and secluded hiking trails.
Getting there. There are many options: bus route 54A from the Ober St. Veit metro station, tram 60 and bus 55A, 10 minutes on foot from the U4 Hütteldorf metro station. Google maps are good at showing route options.
Life hack. To see the wild boars, you need to go a little deeper into the park, a little further from the popular routes. In general, you can arrive at one entrance to the park and leave from the other side. Make sure you know in advance when the buses depart from each of the entrances, because buses don’t run very often.
Spas, thermal baths, and all kinds of saunas are very popular in Austria. Within the city, there are good Oberlaa baths, which can be reached by subway. In the nearby Baden (just an hour’s drive from Vienna), there are excellent Römertherme baths. But let’s talk in more detail about two other places.
St. Martins Baths. The specialty of these baths is their environmental friendliness and connection with nature. They are located in a national park and the building has access to a natural lake. The baths and the adjacent hotel are fully serviced by renewable energy, and there are bird nests on the walls of the buildings. A trip to the spa can be combined with a safari in the National Park.
St. Martins Therme & Lodge
Another interesting thermal bath is the Vino Spa, a wine thermal bath. For three years in a row, this spa complex has been included in the ratings of the best spas in Europe, and for good reason: here you will find views of the vineyards, wine cosmetics, a welcome glass of wine and unusual sauna concepts.
Vino Spa
Getting there. St. Martins is an hour by train to Frauenkirchen, Vino Spa is an hour and a half to Retz. Both trains leave from the main station (Wien Hbf).
Life hack. Many thermal baths offer free admission on your birthday. After choosing a thermal bath, check this option, and then you can plan a trip on your birthday.
Keep in mind that in Austria it is forbidden to wear swimsuits to the sauna. Most saunas are shared. Basically, if you’re shy, you can go in in a towel, but there will be people around you naked. But in the thermal pools, everyone is naturally dressed.
Many spas have hotels, so you can check if there are any special offers that combine a night in a hotel and a visit to the thermal baths.
This is a flooded gypsum mine and at the same time the largest underground lake in Europe. The lake appeared on the site of the mine as a result of a tragedy: in 1912, an explosion occurred and a huge amount of water poured into the mine. And during the Second World War, the grottoes were used to produce airplanes to protect themselves from potential bombing. Since the 30s, except for wartime, the lake and grottoes have been a popular tourist destination. You can visit part of the old mine or take a guided tour around the lake.
Getting there. Take the train to Mödling Bahnhof, which takes 25 minutes, and then about 10 minutes by local bus 364.
Life hack. Take warm clothes, the temperature in the cave is only 9 degrees even in hot summer.
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