Hello fellow austrians!
I have an upcoming 6 day trip starting from May 27th and I want to choose a town somewhere on this train line, preferably in the middle because the train trip is quite far away from my hometown (Hungary).
Is there any town that’s worth a short 1 night visit?
Context: I would be a first time solo traveller and I will only stay for 1 night, since I had some huge arguments with my parents about my original 9-11 day trip (they think the outside world is too dangerous for solo travelling), so I have to seriously compromise in terms of days that I can spend abroad. (24 M)
Ahh sorry, I had a Mandela effect about the eurail trip planner showing a train route in this path. Well I prefer to remain around the train path so I might skip these local towns.
My interest are generally historic places, little bit of nature, some urban environments and authentic local food that represents the culture and history of said city/country. I visit to absorb the country’s culture and not for leisure since that can be done in any country.
I might stop at Vienna, since my first visited city would be Salzburg.
No worries. I checked the rail network and there definitely is a route: https://infrastruktur.oebb.at/de/geschaeftspartner/schienennetz/dokumente-und-daten/netzkarten/dokument?datei=Karte+VzG+Streckenklassen+(SNNB+2025)
It’s just not the main express route and more local. IMO it’s mostly nature / sports / wellness along the route.
This page has a graphic that shows the main rail routes: https://www.mappingeurope.com/austria/austria-rail-map.html
If you have a night to spare Bad Ischl is out of your way, but awesome to take in some of the flair during emperors times. It’s very close to Hallstatt (overly touristic but if you’ve never been there worth visiting, also has great surrounding mountains and cable cars up there with great views). The Salzkammergut region where Bad Ischl is located is our favorite weekend destination. Many great lakes, mountains, small villages. Just had to get it out there, but - to be fair - it’s much easier to go by car than by train & bus.
I think Austria has a great public transport system and you can reach any village by train and bus, but if you want to optimize your experiences and not waste much time sticking to the main cities might be better:
Pretty sure you’re already aware of the main attractions in Salzburg. But one restaurant recommendation. Although a bit pricey https://www.zumzirkelwirt.at/en has great authentic food and the athmosphere is phantastic. The venue has a really rustic feel to it.
Agree with @PoisonedPrisonPanda@discuss.tchncs.de that you don’t need to stay a night in Linz. Totally feasible to go there in the morning and leave for Vienna in the evening.
Linz does have it’s historic places and sights. If it’s your first time in Austria it’s just that Innsbruck, Salzburg and Vienna have so much more to offer that Linz just doesn’t cut it for most visitors. You can look up some Linz attractions and see for yourself if it would be worth it for you. Some pointers:
Best time to visit would be mid July - the “Pflasterspektakel” is an annual international street performer festival that is fun to visit. With street performers all over the city (mostly along the Landstraße) https://pflasterspektakel.at/en/
Maybe you can also look into “Wachau”. Its a region along the Danube river and a bit off your route between Salzburg/Linz and Vienna. Famous for it’s wineries and fruit farms (i.e. grapes & apricots). Great local food from local farmers and producers (you can google “Heuriger” - you’ll also find great Heurige in Vienna). Wachau has some nice ruins to visit. But not sure if it’s really convenient just by train. For some sights you would definitely need to go by bus.