How many days did you spend in Austria?

We spent 6 days in Austria, from July 27 to August 2, 2018, traveling by rental car from Munich, Germany to Bratislava, Slovakia.

Which cities did you visit in Austria?

We visited Salzburg, Hallstatt, Linz and Vienna, covering 682 km by car and on foot.

How much does a trip to Austria cost?

For our family of four, 6 days in Austria cost 655 EUR (764.48 USD), or about 109.17 EUR (127.42 USD) per day, including accommodation, transport, food and activities.

How do you get around Austria?

We rented a small car (an Opel Corsa) in Germany and drove it across Austria, which let us reach Salzburg, Hallstatt, Linz and Vienna at our own pace.

What food should you try in Austria?

In Vienna, try Wiener Schnitzel, a breaded veal cutlet that's a local classic.

3 Amazing Cities to Visit in Austria (Photos & Itinerary)

We spent 6 days road-tripping through Austria in summer 2018, from Salzburg to Hallstatt, Linz and Vienna in a rented Opel Corsa. It remains our favorite country of the trip so far, and cost our family of four 655 EUR (764.48 USD) for the week. Here’s our itinerary, our budget, and why Vienna, Salzburg and Hallstatt are worth the detour.

Since the start of our trip around the world, Austria has been our absolute favorite destination. If Iceland wins the award for most beautiful landscapes and France for the best food, Austria certainly merits one for elegance, harmony and culture. According to the global firm Mercer, its capital, Vienna, ranked first in the list of most liveable cities for the 9th year in a row in 2018.

The Amazing Cities to Visit in Austria

Vienna

The Austrian National Library in Vienna is among the most beautiful libraries in the world. Founded in the Middle Ages by the Habsburgs, its ceremonial Grand Hall is pure splendor: standing at the center of the 80-meter-long, 20-meter-high room, it’s hard not to be amazed.

State Hall of the Austrian National Library

Vienna, an imperial capital, is an architectural jewel rich in history and art. Few cities have fascinated us as much. Walking its streets, it’s easy to imagine following in the footsteps of Beethoven, Mozart, Strauss and Schubert, the composers who marked the city forever. At the Belvedere Palace, we admired Gustav Klimt’s legendary “The Kiss.” The Hofburg and Schönbrunn Palace are vestiges of a glorious past, when the House of Habsburg ruled the Holy Roman Empire.

Salzburg

The prestigious Salzburg was the birthplace and home of the illustrious Mozart. We wandered its streets humming songs from The Sound of Music.

Hallstatt

Hallstatt is a small lakeside village — impossibly photogenic, but touristy. To take it in without the crowds, we went on a boat tour around the lake, which gave us a memorable view of this UNESCO-listed hamlet.

The historic centre of Salzburg, Schönbrunn Palace, the historic centre of Vienna and the Hallstatt region are all UNESCO World Heritage sites in Austria.

How to Plan a Trip to Austria

Itinerary

We arrived in Salzburg, Mozart’s hometown, from the German region of Bavaria. From there we drove on to the photogenic Hallstatt, then Linz, and finally Vienna, before continuing on to Bratislava in Slovakia.

Transportation

We traveled across Austria in the little Opel Corsa we had rented in Germany.

Accommodation

We spent 6 nights in Austria across 3 different hotels.

Thanks to 40,000 Best Western points collected through the bonus of 2 MBNA Best Western credit cards we’d ordered especially for this trip, we booked 2 nights in the nicest suite at the Best Western Plus Amedia Art in Salzburg. The regular rate for the room was 950,00 EUR (1,108.78 USD), so we saved 1.900,00 EUR (2,217.57 USD), even though we don’t think the room was worth quite that much.

2026 update: This hotel has since been rebranded as the Plaza Premium Salzburg and left the Best Western network (source). The MBNA Best Western Mastercard used to earn these points was also discontinued in 2023 (source).

In Linz, we stayed at the Courtyard Marriott Linz. During the heat wave, we were glad to be offered a round of refreshments on arrival, another perk of our Gold Elite status with Marriott, which comes with our Amex Platinum card. The room itself wasn’t expensive, so we chose not to use points for that night.

In Vienna, by contrast, we didn’t hesitate to spend our Marriott points on 3 nights at the Courtyard Marriott Schönbrunn, a category-3 hotel. Our Gold Elite status got us an upgraded room and great service.

Food

It seems that a trip to Vienna calls for Wiener Schnitzel, a breaded veal cutlet. A bit like poutine in Quebec: not amazing on the first bite, but the kind of dish that grows on you. It won’t be why we miss Austria, much like poutine isn’t why we’d miss Quebec.

Expenses

Since we’d rented the car to cross Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic, we calculated our Austria expenses as a share of our total time with the car.

For accommodation, we only paid for one night in Linz plus overnight parking; the other rooms were covered by points.

Our 6-day visit to Austria for our family of 4 cost us:

655,00 EUR (764.48 USD)
109,17 EUR (127.42 USD) per day
27,29 EUR (31.85 USD) per person per day.

Amounts were paid in euros. US-dollar equivalents use the average exchange rate during our trip (July 27 – August 2, 2018): 1 EUR = 1.17 USD.

In detail :

Expense Category	Amount Spent
Accomodation	112,00 EUR / 130.72 USD
Transport (including gas, toll, parking)	220,00 EUR / 256.77 USD
Eating out	115,00 EUR / 134.22 USD
Groceries	137,00 EUR / 159.90 USD
Activities	71,00 EUR / 82.87 USD
Total	655,00 EUR / 764.48 USD

Conclusion

Austria, the 11th country of our trip around the world, left us with memorable moments we won’t forget. We’ll be back if we get the chance. Next up: Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic.