Eastern Europe has been on my list to visit for years. I’ve been to Europe multiple times, but have mostly stayed west. Seeing a flight deal last July for a $540 round trip to Amsterdam, I jumped on the deal since I knew I could then travel to any eastern European country I wanted! This was the first time I had booked a deal through Priceline. With their system, you go in blind not knowing what airline you will take or the exact dates and times of the flight! The 6-hour layover I received in Washington D.C. wasn’t ideal, but this is the tradeoff you get with price versus comfort in Priceline.

I decided I would hop from Amsterdam to Vienna and then take a train to Budapest. This was the first big trip I had taken where I winged it. My mom asked a close friend if I could stay with her in Vienna, which allowed me to save on lodging and meet someone new who is important to our family. The only tickets I booked ahead of time was a day trip to Salzburg for the Sound of Music tour. The lack of planning was different – it gave me a sense of freedom and adventure I haven’t had before. It was the perfect spring break and created some calm for what was a very busy season in my life.

Unfortunately, I ended up loving Austria so much for the first three days of my trip I skipped Budapest entirely! Staying in Austria gave me more time to explore this beautifully diverse country and dive deeper into the capital city that is Vienna.

Day 1:

National Air and Space Museum:

Booking through Priceline and with no choice on how long the layover would be, sitting at an airport for 6 hours didn’t sound fantastic. Instead, I reached out to a friend who lives in the city to see if she wanted to meet up. After agreeing to meet up, we ventured to the free National Air and Space Museum right next to the airport! Even though my friend drove me, the Fairfax Connector Bus No. 983 only costs $4 if you cannot secure your own four wheels. We spent an hour and a half exploring all the interesting exhibits and artifacts. Make sure you got up to the Observation Tower to see airplanes taking off and landing at the airport!

Day 2:

Exploring Downtown Vienna:

After my flight into Amsterdam, I hopped on a KLM flight from there to Vienna. Getting to the city center from the airport is actually very convenient and accessible. I recommend taking the train if you are on a budget – while at the airport, look for the signs that say “Flughafen Wien Bahnhof.”

Before you leave for Austria, buy your public transportation pass! The Vienna City Card gives you transit from the airport, 1-3 days of public transit and discounts on local attractions. You can print this pass out, displayed on an app or mailed to you depending on what is most convenient. If you choose not to use the Vienna City Card, I recommend getting the weekly pass from the Vienna Public Transit website. It’s a little cheaper (helpful for the budget-conscious amongst us), but does not include discounts on local museums and attractions like the City Card.

The 13th neighborhood (Josefstadt) was the ideal neighborhood to stay in. A quiet place, but a quick tram ride to downtown. Keep in mind, however, that the farther out you stay from the city center, the cheaper the prices. Staying in neighborhood 1 (inner stat) is doable, but will put a strain on your wallet.

Right before sunset, I took the 43 Tram down to Schottentor U (a major transit hub) and started wandering. If I come in early enough to a new city, I always like to start off my day with a free walking tour. In Vienna, they have many great free guided tours offered. For myself, I chose Prime Tours, where my guide was very informative and it was the perfect way to start off my time in Vienna!

Day 3:

Taking the walking tour on Day 2 allowed me to pick all the places my guide pointed out that were worth going to the rest of the week.

Belvedere Palace:

My first stop of the day was Belvedere Palace and oh my, was it elegant! The outdoor gardens are immense and a joy to walk through. Imagine people back in the 1800s with their large dresses and horses trotting by. Walking up to the palace, I decided not to go inside. The price didn’t deter me but the weather was gorgeous and I wanted to keep walking. Inside the palace, it is primarily an art museum. You can visit the upper section, lower section or both depending on how much time you have. If you buy the full package, you can save some euros by making the ticket around $30. You have the option of purchasing a ticket at the door, but it is cheaper online and you can pick the day that you want to visit.

Hochstrahlbrunnen:

A 10-15-minute walk away from the palace is the beautiful monument of Hochstrahlbrunnen! I stumbled upon it during my walk and loved reading about the history that made this spot so important in Austrian history.

Stadtpark:

This park was on the list of places to visit on many of the guides I read. To be honest, this was a weaker visit. The draw to the park is the statue of Johann Strauss and the Unsere Garten that backs right up to the opera house. You can get tickets to concerts here for as low as 59 euros. I only walked around the park for 10-15 minutes before moving on. Nothing too special, but it would be a good spot to sit down for a bagged lunch.

Albertina:

This famous museum not only has stunning views of the city on the outside, but it is beautiful on the inside. As I’ve mentioned in other posts, I’m not the biggest museum person, but this was a great choice to make a stop. Vienna has tons of museums and I highly recommend this one as one of the best, with the museum containing a mix of classical and modern art from Picasso to Warhol and American photography. I spent around an hour in the museum, but I could see spending up to two hours. The Vienna City Card it discounts the ticket down to only 14 euros but it is normally 18 euros. 

Cafe Central:

The family I stayed with recommended this restaurant at the top of the list. Personal recommendation – visit the cafe during lunchtime since it is less crowded than dinner. Their lunch menu changes every day, and it is a great deal to get a starter and an entrée for just 12.50 euros. We know cafe Central for its coffee and espressos, but they of a variety of other beverages. I got a delicious sweet potato and ginger soup combined with braised beef with buttermilk dumplings. Since this was one of the few places I dined out at, I splurged and got myself an Aperol spritz and a dessert!

United Nations Tour

The amazing family I was staying with her husband worked at the United Nations. I didn’t realize Vienna is a huge hub and wanted to take advantage of it while I was there.  Taking a quick train ride over and I hopped on the 3:30 tour. I got there around 3 pm to go through the security check and grab my ticket. Make sure you have the cash to buy your ticket and your passport. You can also get a discount on the Vienna city card. The tour was very informative and cool to see where important international matters take place. I also love that people from all different cultures joined the tour.

Berliner Döner Wien

When I asked my hosts where I could take them out to dinner as a thank you for letting me stay with them, they chose Berliner Doner Wien. During my study abroad days, I lived off delicious kebabs. This kebab restaurant is in the city’s heart and very affordable for the budget-conscious. Make sure you do the lamb-chicken mix and get a side of fries! With drinks included, I paid 15 euros for 3 people to enjoy a perfectly filling meal.

Day 4:

I knew I wanted to visit the beautiful city of Salzburg during my trip to Austria. It took me a while to figure out where to buy the train tickets after going into the physical station and getting confused, but I finally figured out that if I ordered the ticket online, they send it right on my phone for ease of access. If you go to https://westbahn.at/en/, it is very easy to book your tickets in advance! They are each one-way tickets, so you’ll, unfortunately, have to do the process twice. Normally I would want to book my tickets far in advance, but since I waited until the last minute, I booked a WESTsuperpreise ticket. They discount this ticket for the specific times you choose. They send you an email with a ticket code you can pull up right on your phone to scan. I took the 5:43 AM trail to get me there around 8:30 AM. I then took the 8 PM train back to Vienna.

Salt Mines Tour:

This part of the tour thoroughly surprised me. I expected to visit some low-key salt mine as a 15-minute pit-stop. In reality, I got a very intimate tour with just 5 other people and it was amazing. We explored the Bavarian Alps, the quaint town of Berchtesgaden, and go to the salt mine. The only part of the tour I didn’t like was that we joined a large group of youngsters on our tour, so it was rowdy and hard to hear at certain points. I wish we had an all English tour option that could be added. This half of the tour lasted until around 12-12:30 PM before we broke for our lunch break prior to the second half of the tour. Thankfully, I made a friend on my tour and went to L’Osteria Salzburg for lunch. The large pizza I ordered got me through lunch and covered my dinner on the relaxing train ride home!

Sound of Music Tour:

This Sound of Music tour was the only item I booked before I left for Europe. I booked the ticket with Panorama Tours. I chose the combined ticket option, which is a more premium package with extra items. You get your money’s worth with all the locations and information you get on top of the regular package! This tour is very popular and you take a large coach-style bus that drives to different sites where the movie took place. Honestly (and with no shame), I will admit the best part was singing all the soundtrack songs while rolling through the hills in Bavaria. We got back in time to explore the city before my train returned. I wish I had gotten a hostel and stayed an extra half-day in Salzburg, as I think it would have been worth it to see additional sites mentioned on my various tours!

Day 5:

Hundertwasser House: 

I always go with the farthest away item (in this case Hundertwasser House) at the beginning of the day to knock it out first. This house was top of the list because of its unique architecture! I loved seeing it and walking through the neighborhood, which contains a myriad of different architectural periods. Looking at the house is free from the outside, and right down the road, you can also see the Kunst Haus.

University of Vienna/ City Hall:

This may not seem like a hot ticket item to visit, but it is of historical significance to me and I wish I had done more around the University afterward! My great grandfather studied medicine at the University of Vienna, and thus it holds a significant place in our family’s history. I ended up stumbling upon the city hall during my walk over and it was also stunningly gorgeous. There is so much academic and political history in Vienna, and I discovered after leaving that you can go on tours at each of these locations. They offer free tours of the City Hall every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 1 PM, but you can go in earlier to pick up tickets if you so desire. Unfortunately, the University of Vienna only offers English tours on Saturdays for 5 euros per ticket. If you don’t have time for tours, it is just as beautiful doing your own guided experience.

Cafe Landtimann:

After a significant amount of walking, I wanted to take a break to grab some water and a snack. This quaint corner cafe, Cafe Landtimann ended up being the perfect place to do that! I grabbed a delicious dessert and drink to give me energy for the rest of my walking. They had great service along with English menus, which makes the restaurant that much more friendly to tourists.

Sisi Museum/Imperial Apartments/Silver Collection:

This combo museum was stunning. I loved getting to learn all about Austrian history through the lens of beautiful China and historical artifacts. I only paid 16 euros for my ticket and spent about an hour and a half in the museums. The audio guide is an absolute must for this museum, providing a ton of information for the historically inclined!

Naschmarkt: 

Naschmarkt is a fantastic open-air market with a large variety of food available but also great little trinket shops. I loved seeing the different bulk food items they sold here and spent an hour wandering the marketplace. This would have been a great spot to snag another delicious meal. 

Day 6:

Winery day:

The family that hosted me mentioned that right outside the Vienna city center, there are some amazing wineries to visit. I did some small research and spent the day visiting various wineries. I took the U6 train to the Spittelau stop and then hopped on D light rail from Spittelau S+U to Grinzinger Strabe. By the time I finished, it took me about 40 minutes from travel start to finish. I grabbed a bite to eat since it was after lunchtime. I stopped at a lovely little restaurant called Bio-Weinbau & Heurigenschank ZUM BERGER. The schnitzel was amazing, and I discovered my new favorite white wine, Gruner Veltliner! The server didn’t speak a ton of English but was fluent enough to tell me about a great trail to get me to my next destination.

Kahlenberg:

After my delicious brunch via great recommendations from my hosts, I headed out on a journey to Kahlenberg. I took this super quaint trail outside the city, past a cemetery, and up a mountain to some stunning countryside views. It wasn’t exactly a trail that you can find somewhere on the internet, but there was a well-trodden path the entire way up. Sadly, I didn’t know that at the beginning of April most of the wineries would be closed. The Buschenschank Andreas Wagner winery looked lovely from the perspective of an outside observer. Make sure you bring cash to this winery as it does not accept cards! It took me about an hour from downtown and it was a little over 3 miles to the top of the mountain.

At the top of Kahlenberg, there is a great little restaurant with an amazing city view. I stopped for an hour to grab a drink, a piece of cake, and feast on the views. It was a little windy outside, but I sat inside their cozy cafe to escape the elements and this provided a great opportunity to catch up on my book. If you just want to come up for the views, you can take the line 38A bus from Heiligenstadt via Grinzing straight to the top. I took the bus down since it was already 3 PM in the afternoon and would get dark soon. On the way down at the Cobenzl Parkplatz stop, there is another great winery to visit. Winery Cobenzl is a lot larger than the other wineries and has more of a tasting feel like wineries in Napa Valley back home. You can taste 5 wines for 5 euros and 10 wines for 10 euros at this location. They open mid-May every year, so keep that in mind if you are trying for a late winter or spring trip.

Mochi for Dinner:

For my last night in the city, I wanted to go to a nicer restaurant. Most nights I had dinner with the family hosting me. I found this high-rated restaurant, but it was too late to put in new reservations on such short notice. I risked it and walked in hoping they would have an extra spot at the bar. Luckily there was a single spot left for me. For my appetizer, I ordered a delicious cocktail paired with this ground beef mixture inside lettuce cups and a sushi roll. For my entrée, I also enjoyed incredible chicken with spicy mayo.

Overall Thoughts:

I am so thrilled that I stayed in Austria for the full week. It is a very budget-friendly city with many local attractions and day trip options. If you enjoyed these tips leave a comment below and let me know!