6 Days in Austria: The First-Timer Itinerary

Six days is where this itinerary finally leaves the Vienna-Salzburg corridor for the Alps. It keeps the 5-day plan’s Vienna, Wachau, Salzburg, and Hallstatt days intact, then adds a Railjet run to Innsbruck for the Nordkette cable car and a genuine taste of the Tyrol. Every leg still runs on OBB rail, euro throughout, no vignette needed unless you’re driving. The full loop closes out in the 7-day version.

Book these before you go

Day Focus OBB Rail Time Rough Daily Cost (EUR)
Day 1 Hofburg, St Stephen’s, Ringstrasse Home base EUR100-150
Day 2 Schonbrunn Palace, Upper Belvedere Home base EUR100-150
Day 3 Wachau Valley + Melk Abbey about 1h each way EUR70-100
Day 4 Vienna to Salzburg, Altstadt, Hohensalzburg 2h22-2h25 Railjet EUR110-160
Day 5 Hallstatt + Salzkammergut lakes 2h12-2h30 each way (train + ferry) EUR70-100
Day 6 Salzburg to Innsbruck, Nordkette 2h40-3h Railjet EUR120-170

Day 1: Vienna, Where Every Austria Trip Starts

Morning

Land at Vienna International Airport, S7 train to Wien Mitte, about 25 minutes for EUR5.40. Check in near Wien Westbahnhof. Head for the Hofburg: EUR20 Sisi Museum ticket or the free courtyards.

Afternoon

St Stephen’s Cathedral (free nave, EUR8 South Tower), Graben, Kohlmarkt, and a Ringstrasse loop past the Staatsoper, Rathaus, and Parliament.

Evening

Melange at Cafe Central, dinner at a Beisl tavern, EUR15-25 a main.

Day 2: Schonbrunn Palace and the Upper Belvedere

Morning

U4 to Schonbrunn, timed slot from schoenbrunn.at . State Apartments EUR30, Palace Ticket EUR42, Classic Pass EUR49.

Afternoon

Upper Belvedere for Klimt’s The Kiss, hanging there, not in the Albertina.

Evening

Naschmarkt dinner, early night before tomorrow’s Wachau train.

Day 3: The Wachau Valley and Melk Abbey

Morning

Direct regional train from Wien Westbahnhof to Melk, about an hour. Stift Melk , a working Benedictine abbey since 1089: EUR16 self-guided, EUR20 guided, EUR32 family, EUR5.50 abbey park alone.

Afternoon

Seasonal Krems-Melk river boat back if running, or a vineyard walk above Durnstein and a heuriger stop for Gruner Veltliner.

Evening

Train back to Vienna, pack for tomorrow’s Salzburg leg.

Day 4: Onward to Salzburg by Rail

Morning

Railjet from Wien Hauptbahnhof to Salzburg, 2h22 to 2h25, Sparschiene fares from EUR19.90 booked ahead on oebb.at . Drop bags in the Altstadt.

Afternoon

Festungsbahn funicular up to Hohensalzburg Fortress . Basic Fortress Card with funicular EUR15.50, All-Inclusive EUR19.20.

Evening

Getreidegasse for Mozart’s birthplace, dinner in the Altstadt.

Day 5: Hallstatt and the Salzkammergut Lakes, Early

Morning

Leave Salzburg on the first realistic train: a regional-train change at Attnang-Puchheim plus a short lake ferry, roughly 2h12 to 2h30 each way, Sparschiene fares from around EUR10-19.90. Hallstatt is a roughly 760-resident village absorbing over a million visitors a year with no enforced daily cap in 2026, so early beats the tour-bus crush.

Afternoon

Walk the lakefront before the coach groups arrive, then a short boat crossing on the Hallstattersee for the postcard view back at the village.

Evening

Train back to Salzburg for the night.

Is 6 Days Enough for Vienna, Salzburg and Innsbruck?

Yes, but it’s tight on the Innsbruck end. Six days gets you a full Vienna-Wachau-Salzburg-Hallstatt loop plus a genuine arrival day in the Tyrol: the Railjet in, the Nordkette cable car, a Tyrolean dinner. What it doesn’t buy is a second Innsbruck day for a ski-resort side trip or a slower Alpine pace; that’s what the 7-day version adds.

Day 6: Into the Tyrol, Salzburg to Innsbruck

Morning

Railjet from Salzburg to Innsbruck, roughly 2h40 to 3h depending on the service (a direct Vienna-Innsbruck run, if you ever skip Salzburg on a different route, takes about 4h14 to 4h16). Check into an Innsbruck hotel and walk straight to the Altstadt’s Golden Roof.

Afternoon

Ride the Hungerburgbahn funicular into the Nordkettenbahnen cable cars up to the Hafelekar platform at 2,256m, under 30 minutes total from the city center, about as fast a jump from a European city sidewalk to real high-Alpine terrain as exists anywhere. Round-trip runs about EUR61, or it’s bundled into the Innsbruck Card at roughly EUR59 for 24 hours.

Evening

Dinner at a Tyrolean restaurant; the food here runs heartier and more mountain than anything in Vienna or Salzburg.

Should You Rent a Car for the Innsbruck Leg?

Not for this route. The Salzburg-Innsbruck Railjet does the job in 2h40 to 3h with no parking to find and no motorway vignette to buy. A car earns its keep if you’re chasing the Grossglockner High Alpine Road or a specific Alpine village off the rail network, both of which carry their own separate tolls on top of the standard vignette, EUR12.80 for 10 days, EUR106.80 for the year (austria.info ), 2026 being the last year it comes as a physical windshield sticker before going fully digital in 2027.

Book the Nordkette cable car ticket online if you’re visiting on a clear-weather summer weekend; good-visibility days fill up fast and the queue at the Hungerburgbahn base station is the one bottleneck on this whole itinerary.