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Vienna, Salzburg and the Danube

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3.6 stars(19 reviews)
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Small Group

An unforgettable Austrian holiday experience

9 days From £2,395 £2,245 per person
Booking Offer

Save £150pp on your Europe 2023 holiday when you book between 16th November 2022 and midnight 12th December 2022, for departure dates between 1st April 2023 and 31st October 2023.

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2023 Tour code: AEC23

About the tour

Experience a wonderful part of Europe as we tour 'The Sound of Music' country - the Austrian Lake District - and cruise along the Danube River through the beautiful Wachau Valley. Discover the cities of Vienna and Salzburg, with an unforgettable classical music concert at Salzburg's Mirabell Palace.

Highlights

View Dates & Pricing

What’s included

Itinerary

Day 1 - London and Cologne

After meeting at London St Pancras, we board the Eurostar to Brussels. Here we change trains, travelling to Cologne for the night.

Includes
  • Dinner
  • Eurostar Meal
Day 2 – Vienna

We transfer to the train station where we catch the high-speed service to Vienna, our base for the next three nights.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 3 – Discovering Vienna

We enjoy a tour of Vienna's main sights, taking in the Imperial architecture on the famous Ringstrasse and the impressive Hofburg Palace, a vast complex of buildings built by the Hapsburgs over six centuries. Other highlights include the ornate Opera House, the grand Parliament building and the Neo-Gothic 'Rathaus'. After our tour, we visit Schönbrunn Palace, the former summer residence of the Imperial family. One of the most beautiful rooms here is the Great Gallery, similar to the 'Hall of Mirrors' at Versailles. We enjoy a guided tour followed by a strudel making demonstration, and sample one of these hand-made pastries. Our day ends in a private capsule aboard the city's famous Ferris wheel - the Wiener Riesenrad.

Includes
  • Breakfast
Day 4 – Melk and a Danube cruise

We transfer to Melk by coach where we visit Melk Abbey, a grand 11th century Benedictine Abbey, with a stunning peach and white façade, arched ceilings and gilded interior. Next, we take a scenic cruise to Durnstein along the Danube River, gliding through the picturesque Wachau Valley. Famed for its vineyards and castles, easily visible from the water, keep watch for Dürnstein Castle, once used to imprison Richard the Lionheart.

Includes
  • Breakfast
Day 5 – The Semmering Railway to Salzburg

We travel through spectacular landscapes aboard the Semmering Railway enroute to Salzburg today. Running over 25 miles from Gloggnitz to Mürzzuschlag, we're immersed in the verdant beauty of the Semmering Pass, crossing 16 viaducts, 110 bridges and travelling through 14 different tunnels along the way. Rather than disrupt the natural beauty of the valley, the route was designed to work in harmony with its surroundings, so the views from our carriage are second to none.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 6 – The Austrian Lake District

We enjoy a guided tour of the lakes and mountains of the Austrian Lake District. This stunning area is renowned for its natural beauty, and some of the locations we visit were featured in the 1965 film version of 'The Sound of Music.' Our first stop is Hellbrunn Castle Gardens before we continue to St Gilgen, a small town on the shores of Wolfgangsee. Enjoy free time here before we continue to Mondsee and St Wolfgang, on the north shore of the lake.

Includes
  • Breakfast
Day 7 – Exploring Salzburg

We enjoy a guided tour of Salzburg, soaking in the sumptuous Baroque architecture alongside the churches, squares and alleyways of the city's beautiful Old Town. With free time afterwards, you might like to stroll through the Mirabell Gardens or visit Hohensalzburg Fortress. This evening, we make our way to Mirabell Palace for a classical music concert. This is the palace where Mozart himself once enchanted crowds with his music, and we spend an evening immersed in the wonderful music, which skilled musicians perform.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 8 – Cologne

We leave Salzburg by high-speed rail, travelling to Cologne for the night.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 9 – London

We head to the train station this morning for the service to Brussels. From here, we join the Eurostar to London St Pancras.

Includes
  • Breakfast
  • Eurostar Meal

Additional information

Departure times

Provisional departure and return times, where available, can be found together with our dates and prices by clicking on the 'Prices & Availability' button. We write to all booked customers approximately 10 weeks prior to the start of their tour to advise the exact departure and return time for their particular group.

Mobility information

Due to the nature of our tours they are generally unsuitable for those with restricted mobility. If you’d like to discuss any particular holiday with us in this respect, then please don’t hesitate to call us.

Hotels

Goldenes Theater Hotel, Salzburg

Goldenes Theater Hotel, Salzburg

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Mercure Grand Hotel Biedermeier, Vienna

Mercure Grand Hotel Biedermeier, Vienna

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Trains

Eurostar
ICE Train
InterCity
Semmering Railway
Thalys

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Upgrades

London Hotels
UK rail connections

Reviews

3.6 stars3.6 / 5 · 19 reviews

  1. 5 stars
    (6)
  2. 4 stars
    (4)
  3. 3 stars
    (5)
  4. 2 stars
    (3)
  5. 1 star
    (1)

T Rogers

2 stars

Submitted 7/Oct

too many problems a feeling that the overall organisation was poor such a disappointment

Collected by Trustpilot

Denise

2 stars

Submitted 7/Oct

We have been on several Great Rail holidays and this is the only disappointing one. There was far too much train travel at the expense of time to explore Vienna and Salzburg. The hotels were not 4 star in my opinion and the food was not good. Overall not an enjoyable week - I couldn't wait to get home!

Collected by Trustpilot

Janette Lewis

1 stars

Submitted 5/Oct

This trip was so disappointing! There was too much time hanging around in train stations and then arriving at destinations when its too late to eat or see the city you ate in!! The hotels were not 4 star and the dinners were really poor ( for vegetarians no choice at all) we hardly saw Vienna. The most disappointing was the Semmering Railway where we did not even ride on the iconic train as pictured in the brochure

Collected by Trustpilot

Mr. Smith

3 stars

Submitted 1/Oct

Not up to our expectations, poor quality hotels and too much travel on the trains meaning 4out of a 9 days trip was spent on the train

Collected by Trustpilot

J Sills

3 stars

Submitted 22/Jul

No high speed Cologne to Vienna train as advertised in the brochure - giving us two strenuous days to start with. Danube trip & Mozart concert (quintet) were both good.

Collected by Trustpilot

J Newton

3 stars

Submitted 22/Jul

Very disappointing holiday, it was not as advertised, there was no travel arrangements for our suitcases, our guide in Vienna did not turn up, our coach let us down with a double booking and the timings of the trains we were given were all wrong, our courier Christine was absolutely amazing with all the problems that she had to sort out.

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