From snow-dusted mountains to charming “Heidi” style villages, Austria is a magical place to visit. In Vienna, an afternoon in a coffee house is unmissable. In Salzburg, you can explore the historic cobbled streets and Mozart’s House. Don’t forget to visit Salzkammergut, where Maria sang about the hills being alive, with the sound of music!
Vienna is the cultural capital of Austria and probably the best place to start your tour of Austria. Below, we have outlined the top 10 best luxury tours in Austria, which will give you the best possible experience of this picturesque country.
1. Riding Dinner’s Private Horse & Carriage Rides
Vienna is the cultural capital of Austria and probably the best place to start your tour of Austria. Vienna is famous for its many cultural events, classical concerts, imperial architecture, coffee houses, cozy wine taverns, and Viennese charm.
The best tour in Vienna is Riding Dinner’s private, magical, and memorable Horse and Carriage Ride. These rides will show you the sights in style and come with sparkling wine, sandwiches, petit fours, and a Butler.
Riding Dinner has been created by enthusiasts of both Vienna and delicious food. Their desire is to combine culinary arts, sightseeing, and Viennese tradition in a memorable experience whilst also conveying the cultural and traditional values of the magnificent city of Vienna.
Enjoy the memorable 40 minutes of your entire Austrian Experience with this magical ‘Sparkling Sightseeing Tour.’ During your horse and carriage ride, you will enjoy delicious Austrian sparkling wine and small savory and sweet delicacies from one of the most traditional restaurants in Vienna: the Zum Schwarzen Kameel.
Besides the coachman, you will be accompanied by your butler, who will take care of your every need and will also serve the food and drinks. This truly is the most exclusive table in the entire city, inside your very own horse-drawn carriage!
2. Boat Ride In Vienna
The Danube River and the Danube Canal flow through Vienna like a blue thread. Let the waves carry you to the most beautiful sights that Vienna has to offer. Choose from 3 different routes for your hop-on hop-off boat ride in Vienna.
Route A shows you the ‘green part’ of Vienna and starts in the heart of the city at Schwedenplatz. Sail on the Danube canal past the Observatory Urania, through the recreational grounds of the Prater to the Freudenau lock and the yacht harbor “Marina Vienna.” The boat trip ends at the Reichsbrücke, the main shipping harbor, where nearby the impressive Franz of Assisi church is located.
Route B presents the modern side of Vienna and its urban skyline of the United Nations, the Danube Tower, and the new area called the Danube City. The boat trip starts at the Reichsbrücke, from where you sail on the Danube out of the city to the old lock at Nußdorf. After a short stop, you continue on the Danube Canal, where you can experience the historic sights of Vienna. Enjoy the relaxing atmosphere on board while the city passes by. The final destination is the new shipping station “Vienna City” at Schwedenplatz, where state-of-the-art architecture and hip restaurants radiate urban flair.
Route C is a round trip on the Danube Canal. The starting point is at Schwedenplatz in the city center. From there, you sail upstream to the historic lock at Nußdorf and back. The view from the boat offers you a unique impression of sights such as the Ring Tower, built in 1955 with weather lights, the Rossauer military barracks, and the Observatory Urania. The final destination is again at Schwedenplatz.
Enjoy Viennese delicacies in the boat’s restaurant or sunbathe on the upper deck. During the cool evening hours and in the wintertime, the ship is comfortably heated. The large panoramic windows offer you a perfect view of Vienna.
3. Danube Valley Excursion Tour
The Danube Valley Excursion day trip takes you from Vienna to Wachau, a picturesque valley along the Danube known for its excellent wine.
The area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and showcases many medieval castles, impressive monasteries, and breathtaking landscapes.
The Danube winds its way through this romantic scenery, full of history and legends and past charming old villages and steep vineyards. The old castles show the former importance of this trade and traffic way. One of them – Dürnstein – is especially famous because here, King Richard Lionheart was imprisoned while waiting for his ransom to arrive from England.
The heart of Wachau is the old wine merchant’s town, Krems. At the end of the day, you will visit Melk, the “Cradle of Austria,” the magnificent Benedictine Abbey, a pearl of the Austrian Baroque.
4. The Spanish Riding School Tour
Enjoy a cocktail in the reception room while you explore the history of the Spanish Riding School, followed by a rehearsal performance.
The Spanish Riding School in Vienna is the only institution in the world where classic equestrian skills have been preserved. Treat yourself to an unforgettable experience shown by the precision of movement of the Lipizzan horses, which move in perfect harmony with the music.
The Spanish Riding School and its world-famous Lipizzaners offer the highest standard of horse-riding art in the Baroque ambiance of the Imperial Palace.
5. Vienna Woods & Mayerling Tour
This Vienna Woods And Mayerling tour is a perfect extension to your stay in Vienna. It takes you to the Vienna Woods, Mayerling, Abbey Heiligenkreuz and Baden. Take a bus tour through the picturesque Vienna Woods and enjoy a guided tour of the memorial chapel at Mayerling and of Heiligenkreuz Abbey, and learn about the mysterious deaths of the son of Franz Joseph I and his lover.
Stop off at a café and enjoy cake at Klostergasthof Heiligenkreuz and finish with a guided walking tour through Baden.
6. Schönbrunn Palace
Schönbrunn Palace is one of Vienna’s most popular attractions. Schonbrunn Palace is the sprawling former imperial summer residence. You can tour this palace and some of the impressive 1,441 rooms in the Schönbrunn Palace, each with a different style.
A visit to the piano nobile at Schönbrunn Palace begins at the Blue Staircase. The tour continues through the imperial apartments and the magnificent state rooms, including the presidential suite of rooms occupied by Emperor Franz Joseph and his wife Elisabeth in the west wing, which are furnished in nineteenth-century style.
The staterooms in the central section of the palace, the imperial apartments of Maria Theresa and Franz I Stephan, and the Franz Karl Apartment, which was occupied by Franz Joseph’s parents, Archduchess Sophie and Archduke Franz Karl, are also part of this tour.
It is here that Young Mozart gave his very first concert at the age of six to Empress Maria Theresa in the resplendent Mirror Room.
An inventory of the palace gardens in 1900 counted 25,000 orchids of 1,500 different species, which held the record as the largest collection in Europe at that time.
7. Tour Mozart’s House
Visit Salzburg, where Mozart lived and composed some of his most beloved music. No. 9, in the Getreidegasse, is the house in which Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born. Salzburg’s most famous son came into this world on 27 January 1756, and he spent his childhood and much of his youth there. In 1773, the family moved to the house we know today as the ‘Mozart Residence,’ standing on Makartplatz Square.
8. Sound of Music tour Sound of Music Tour
Salzburg’s most popular and best tour for over 35 years is the Sound of Music tour, combining both historical city spots and breathtaking lakes and mountain areas.
Start with a trip to the Mirabell Gardens, where Maria and the children were seen dancing around the statue of Pegasus, the winged horse, as they pranced around the gardens singing “Do-Re-Mi.”
Tour The Gazebo/Hellbrunn Palace, where Rolf and Liesl sang “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” and Maria and the Baron sang “Something Good.”
Visit the Palace of Leopoldskron, the historical 18th-century palace where the boating scene took place, and the terrace was also where the family drank ‘Pink Lemonade’ with Baroness Schröder.
The tour will also take you to Nonnberg Abbey, Lake Wolfgang, the village of St Gilgen, and the Church of Mondsee: The Sound of Music Wedding Church.
9. Lake Hallstatt Tour
The houses along the shores of Lake Hallstatt look to be stacked one on top of another. Tour this small picturesque town showcases these historically listed houses, which are lovingly maintained and preserved.
If you want to be put off your dinner, you can tour the painted human skulls, which can be viewed in the charnel house. The adjacent Catholic parish church and its winged altar are also worth touring.
For something more uplifting, enjoy the breathtaking Alpine panorama of the UNESCO World Heritage region of Hallstatt from the ‘World Heritage Skywalk,’ which hovers 350 meters above the roofs of Hallstatt.
10. Mozart Dinner Concert at St. Peter Stiftskeller
This is a great pick for travelers looking for a memorable dining experience in Salzburg. The Mozart Dinner Concert is an evening reminiscent of one from 1790, and it takes place in the Baroque hall of St. Peter Stiftskeller in the heart of Salzburg.
Enjoy an evening likely to have taken place in 1790 – in the Baroque Hall – lit by candles, having a dinner based on historical recipes, listening to a concert with musicians in authentic costumes, and the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
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