Austria, Europe
Vienna sits an hour from another national capital and at the mouth of a Danube wine valley. The day trips run from a spa town to a Slovak old town to abbeys in the woods.
| Where | Getting there | Why go |
|---|---|---|
| Bratislava | About 1 hr by train, or 1 hr 15 by Danube boat | The Slovak capital, a compact old town under a blocky white castle, in a different country and easily seen in a day. |
| The Wachau Valley | About 1 to 1.5 hr by train to Melk or Krems | A UNESCO stretch of the Danube lined with vineyards and apricot orchards, anchored by the golden baroque abbey at Melk and the wine town of Dürnstein. |
| Baden bei Wien | About 45 min by train or the local tram | A genteel spa town at the edge of the Vienna Woods, with sulfur baths, a casino, a rose garden, and long Beethoven associations. |
| The Vienna Woods | About 45 min to 1 hr by train and bus | The forested hills southwest of the city, with the Cistercian abbey at Heiligenkreuz and the former imperial hunting lodge at Mayerling. |