8 Best Tours and Day Trips from Vienna

Vienna's cultural and architectural richness invites you to enjoy every corner of the city, but its geographical location also allows you to make excursions to different nearby cities. Here is a summary of the best tours and excursions.

It should not be forgotten that Austria and the surrounding countries were part of an unpleasant historical period characterised by the international rise of the Nazi movement. Austrian Jews, along with many others, were interned in various concentration camps throughout Europe, one of which is Mauthausen, located two and a half hours from Vienna.

The visit to the Mauthausen concentration camp is a way of remembering the history of the Jewish people and all those who were affected by the Holocaust. The bus will leave from a meeting point in the centre of Vienna and you will be accompanied throughout the day by an expert guide.

Interesting details

The price of around 140 euros includes transport, the services of the guide, admission to the concentration camp and the use of an audio guide in several languages to take you on a tour of Mauthausen at your own pace.

• The best thing about this tour: the historical value of the visit and the sensitivity with which the guide will explain this historical period and the experiences of the camp's guests.

One of the best feelings when travelling is to discover wonderful places that you didn't expect even closer than you thought. The trip to the Wachau Valley is a similar experience. Little importance is given to this World Heritage Site located two and a half hours from Vienna. Here you will find a typical Austrian countryside landscape whose beauty will leave you unblinking.

Interesting details

This tour to Melk Abbey and the Danube Valley in particular is also one of the most comprehensive day trips you can do in one day from Vienna. It is priced at £100 and is available in English, German and Spanish.

If you take this tour during the winter months, the boat trip will be replaced by an Austrian lunch at a local restaurant. If you have the choice, spring is the time to enjoy the splendour of the scenery to the full.

• The best thing about this tour: the contrast of the rural landscape with the streets of Vienna and the chance to see a different shade of Austria during your visit.

Do you know all the secrets of Vienna? You may have toured the capital of Austria several times and visited many of its museums and monuments, but this does not necessarily mean that you know all the information the city has to offer.

Interesting details

With this guided tour of Vienna in electric cars you can learn the secrets of the city that you might have missed on a self-guided tour. The price for this experience is around £80 and you can book it online in advance.

I recommend this tour mainly because I think it's a great introduction to the city, especially if it's your first time. This way you can do a "getting to know the city" tour before going deeper into the areas that catch your attention.

• The best thing about this tour: the environmental friendliness of these vehicles and the comfort when touring the highlights of Vienna.

If you have already visited places like Schönbrunn Palace or the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, you will already have some important insights into the life of Empress Sissi. Elisabeth was also Queen of Hungary and felt that her homeland was as much her own as Austria, which is why she loved to escape to this country whenever she could. After this tour to Budapest from Vienna you will find out why.

Interesting details

You can take this tour to Budapest in German, Spanish, English or Japanese. The cost is £119 and the journey time to the Hungarian capital is less than three hours. A fully equipped bus will pick you up from your hotel in Vienna and, accompanied by a local guide, will take you to see Budapest.

In addition to the guided tour of these places, you will also have free time in Budapest to explore the city at your leisure; make the most of it to try the typical Hungarian food or to take as many photos as you like.

• The best thing about this tour: the opportunity to get to know in one day a city so different from Vienna in many ways and so similar in others.

If you're looking to see all the major sights and buildings of Vienna during your trip, this option will suit your needs. The Vienna sightseeing bus tour not only saves you time and effort as you travel between separate points of interest in the city, but also provides audio commentary of these sights and panoramic views along the way. The price is £34

Interesting details

If you have never used a tourist bus before, you should know what the concept of "free stops" means: you buy a single or multi-day pass that entitles you to use the services of the tourist bus during that time with no time limit or restrictions. This means that you can use the tourist bus both to complete the different routes and to move between the different points of the Austrian capital that you want to see during your trip.

• The best thing about this tour: the comfort and practicality of using a tourist bus in a big city like this one. You have more information in this article about how to get around Vienna by tourist bus.

To be honest, Prague is a city that deserves an exclusive trip and a thorough visit. The city of a hundred towers is one of Europe's most treasured gems and its cultural and historical richness enchants all types of travellers. This excursion to Prague from Vienna is a taste of what the capital of the Czech Republic has to offer.

Useful details

Available in French, English and Spanish, the bus trip from Vienna takes about four hours. The price includes pick-up from your hotel in Vienna and the services of an expert guide for a two-and-a-half hour guided tour of the centre of Prague. Afterwards you will have some free time before returning to Vienna to explore the city at your leisure.

• The best thing about this tour: it includes a stop to see the Moravian countryside and the guided tour of the centre of Prague is one of the most comprehensive.

Mozart's hometown has beautiful castles and palaces set amidst natural surroundings, but it also has the famous Mirabell Palace Gardens which you'll visit during this Salzburg tour from Vienna. Add to this a stop at Lake Mondsee and a view of the Austrian Alps and there's little doubt why this tour is worth a visit.

Interesting details

This tour to Salzburg is available in English and Spanish and includes pick-up from your hotel in central Vienna, plus transport to Salzburg and the services of a local guide for the whole day. The price is around 135 euros and the tour lasts around 3 hours, during which you can enjoy the scenery from a fully equipped bus.

If you're a fan of the film The Sound of Music, you'll love discovering some of the locations where it was filmed during your visit to Salzburg.

• Highlights of this tour: Although Salzburg has a lot to offer the traveller, the tour is quite comprehensive and is therefore ideal for getting an overview of the city without getting the feeling that you've seen it all too quickly.

Winter is a tough time to visit the Austrian capital because of the cold temperatures, but it is also a unique opportunity to see the snow fall and to get a different perspective of the city, empty of tourists. If you decide to visit Austria in winter, you can't miss this tour of Vienna's Christmas markets.

Interesting details

Christmas lovers will especially enjoy this visit to Vienna's Christmas market where you can sample punch and sweet treats while being guided by an expert guide who will tell you stories about the city and its Christmas tradition.

• Highlights of this tour: the authenticity of the tour and the variety of styles of the markets it covers.

First of all, I want to be honest: if you have enough time during your trip, my recommendation will always be to take several days to get to know each of the cities you want to visit.

However, I am aware that this is not always possible and that an express visit is better than being left with the regret of not having visited a place. In any case, the good thing about organised tours is that they have expert guides who show you the destination and that makes the visit much more worthwhile.

Advantages of organised tours

Most of the options you'll find for a tour from Vienna have departures almost every day: you can book your place online and you'll receive an email with all the information you need to plan your tour.

Once you have done this, you won't have to worry about anything, as both the excursions to the surrounding area and the guided tours of Vienna are designed so that the traveller avoids planning and can concentrate on making the most of the visit.

Finally, I also have to tell you that you can rent a car and do any of these excursions on your own, but the cost would be the same or higher and it would not be worth the time (not having the organisation and guidance of an expert guide would take you longer both to get there and to go around the place in question) unless you spend the night outside Vienna.

Ana's Traveller Tip

Many day trips do not include lunch. You can eat in a local restaurant or take a picnic for the trip.

Listing everything available near the Austrian capital is a difficult task. The country itself has hundreds of enchanting places and any getaway to them can be a discovery.

However, if you have to make a list, you have to focus on one criterion or another, and mine is the most popular. If you still have time left over after the above experiences, here's a final note of other excursions you can take around Vienna during your visit.

Vienna Woods

Just half an hour's drive from the Austrian capital, the landscape is transformed into a succession of forests, rivers and lakes. If you want to enjoy nature and take the time to do so, I recommend a trip to the Vienna Woods. Look out for places to visit, such as the Mayerling convent, the Seegrotte caves or the Baden spas, all of which are well worth a visit.

Hallstat

If you're looking for a contrast to the city and want to visit a more rural Austria, a good choice is this small lakeside town in the Austrian Alps. You can get there by train from Vienna; it's a four-hour journey, but it's well worth it.

Bratislava

Bratislava may be overlooked by the likes of Budapest and Prague, but that doesn't mean it's not worth a visit. The sheer size of Bratislava makes it an ideal city to see in a day. Strolling along its cobbled streets, gazing at its rooftops and colourful facades is like stepping into a fairy tale.

You don't have to go far from the centre of Vienna to enjoy a visit with a difference. If you are interested in the city's surroundings, a visit to Schoenbrunn Palace, located a short distance from the city centre, is a must. This 17th century complex is known for being the residence of Maria Theresa, Emperor Franz Joseph I or his wife Elisabeth, better known as Sissi.

Touring the interior of the Palace and its beautiful gardens will take you a morning and I assure you that it is something you cannot miss during your trip. If you want more information about this option, I recommend you this article on Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna Tickets and Tours.