Austria · best-of list
18 Top Things to Do in Austria
All 18 things to do our route editors picked in Austria, across 3 destinations, gathered in one list. Each one is a stop on a route you can open and copy into a trip.
Our curated picks
18 things to do in Austria, grouped by destination. Destinations with the most picks come first; this is not a ranking.
Vienna 10 picks
Belvedere
Vienna · On our Prague, Vienna & Budapest route
Baroque palace holding Klimt's The Kiss and other Austrian art.
Tip: Upper Belvedere holds the Klimts; skip the lower palace if short on time.
Photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0
Graben
Vienna · On our Hallstatt, Salzburg & Vienna route
Pedestrian boulevard hung with giant light chandeliers in December; on December 31 it is part of the Silvesterpfad.
Photo: VasuVR · CC BY 4.0
Kunsthistorisches Museum
Vienna · On our Prague, Vienna & Budapest route
Old masters including the largest Bruegel collection anywhere, in a domed palace.
Tip: Have cake in the café under the cupola.
Photo: Lorella De Lotto · Google
Prater and Giant Ferris Wheel
Vienna · On our Prague, Vienna & Budapest route
Park with the 1897 Riesenrad, offering slow views over the city.
Photo: David López · Google
Schönbrunn Christmas Market
Vienna · On our Hallstatt, Salzburg & Vienna route
Craft market and tree in the forecourt of the Habsburg summer palace, which becomes a New Year market after Christmas.
Photo: traveljunction · CC BY-SA 2.0
Schönbrunn Palace
Vienna · On our Prague, Vienna & Budapest route
Habsburg summer palace with 1,441 rooms and formal gardens up to the Gloriette.
Tip: Book a timed ticket online; the gardens are free.
Photo: C.Stadler/Bwag · CC BY-SA 4.0Silvesterpfad
Vienna · On our Hallstatt, Salzburg & Vienna route
Vienna's New Year's Eve trail: stages, food stalls and waltz lessons through the old town, with St. Stephen's Pummerin bell at midnight.
Tip: Gather near St. Stephen's before midnight to hear the Pummerin, then the Danube Waltz plays in the squares.
St. Stephen's Cathedral
Vienna · On our Prague, Vienna & Budapest route
Gothic cathedral with a patterned tile roof and a 343-step south tower climb.
Photo: C.Stadler/Bwag · CC BY-SA 4.0
Vienna State Opera
Vienna · On our Prague, Vienna & Budapest route
One of the world's top opera houses, with daily performances most of the year.
Tip: Standing-room tickets go on sale online the day before for a few euros.
Photo: sava brankovan · Google
Wiener Christkindlmarkt
Vienna · On our Hallstatt, Salzburg & Vienna route
The city's biggest market fills the Rathausplatz, with lit trees in the park and an ice trail in front of City Hall.
Tip: Skate the ice trail in the Rathauspark after dark.
Photo: Max Pfandl · CC BY 2.0
Hallstatt 4 picks
Beinhaus
Hallstatt · On our Hallstatt, Salzburg & Vienna route
The charnel house in St. Michael's Chapel beside the Catholic church, holding over 600 painted skulls.
Evangelical Church
Hallstatt · On our Hallstatt, Salzburg & Vienna route
The 1860s Protestant church whose slender spire on the lakeshore is the village's best-known silhouette.
Tip: The classic view of it is from the lakeside path at the north end of the village.
Photo: Taxiarchos228 · CC BY 3.0
Hallstatt Marktplatz
Hallstatt · On our Hallstatt, Salzburg & Vienna route
The small square at the heart of the village, ringed by painted houses with a Holy Trinity column at its center.
Tip: Come early in the morning or after 4 pm, when the day visitors have gone.
Photo: PabloLG · CC BY-SA 4.0
Salzwelten Hallstatt
Hallstatt · On our Hallstatt, Salzburg & Vienna route
Guided tours of the world's oldest known salt mine, with miners' wooden slides and an underground salt lake.
Tip: The mine closes for several weeks after early January; check dates.
Photo: Balou46 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Salzburg 4 picks
Hellbrunner Adventzauber
Salzburg · On our Hallstatt, Salzburg & Vienna route
Advent market in the courtyard of Hellbrunn Palace, with hundreds of lit fir trees and the facade as a giant Advent calendar.
Tip: About 20 minutes from the old town by bus 25.
Photo: User:MatthiasKabel · CC BY 2.5Hohensalzburg Fortress
Salzburg · On our Hallstatt, Salzburg & Vienna route
One of Europe's largest medieval castles, on the Festungsberg above the old town, reached by funicular.
Tip: The fortress hosts Advent concerts in its Golden Hall; book ahead.
Salzburg Cathedral
Salzburg · On our Hallstatt, Salzburg & Vienna route
Early baroque cathedral where Mozart was baptized; its facade forms the backdrop of the market.
Salzburger Christkindlmarkt
Salzburg · On our Hallstatt, Salzburg & Vienna route
The market fills the Domplatz and Residenzplatz, with stalls of carved ornaments, Lebkuchen and hot punch.
Tip: Advent singing is held on the Residenzplatz on many evenings.
Photo: Salzburger Nockerl · CC BY-SA 4.0
How we picked these
Every entry is a stop on at least one of TripsCircle's hand-curated routes, chosen by our route editors, who wrote the reason to go shown with each place. These are our curated picks, not a scored ranking: we haven't rated or reviewed them against each other. The list is grouped by destination, and within each destination places that appear on more routes come first.
Prices ($ to $$$$) and visit lengths are rough guides from our route notes, not quotes. Check opening hours before you go.
About this list
How did you choose the things to do in Austria?
Each one is a stop on a TripsCircle route that our editors built by hand, and each comes with a written reason to go. This page shows all 18 of them. They are curated picks, not a ranked score.
Which part of Austria has the most things to do on this list?
Vienna has the most (10 of 18), followed by Hallstatt (4) and Salzburg (4).
Are any of these free?
9 picks on this list are marked free in our route notes: Evangelical Church, Hellbrunner Adventzauber, Hallstatt Marktplatz, Salzburger Christkindlmarkt, Silvesterpfad, and more. Check ahead, since parking or special exhibits can cost extra.
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Turn this list into a plan
Open a curated route in TripsCircle, add the spots your crew wants, vote with polls and keep everyone on one shared itinerary.