How to spend one week in Austria and see almost everything

Is it possible to spend one week in Austria and see the whole country? Yes and no. This past Christmas we travelled to Europe and managed to see the highlights of Austria. You’re never going to be able to see an entire country in 10 days, unless you’re travelling to a micro-country like Vatican City or Luxembourg.

That being said, one week in Austria, or 10 days to be exact, can be enough for you to see a lot of the country. There wasn’t anything we left wanting to see that we didn’t get enough time for, or felt as if we missed out on any major city. Want to know how we did it? Read on, we’ll break down our itinerary for you. You can also read about how much we spent while in Austria for 10 days.

Flying in from Canada it was cheapest for us to fly direct into Munich and take the train into Innsbruck where we started our adventures. This itinerary is based on starting in the East of Austria and making our way into the West. In total we visited 5 cities during our one week in Austria:

Innsbruck | Kitzbuhel | Hallstatt | Salzburg | Vienna

As skiers, the Austrian Alps had always been something my family wanted to see. It was one of those places that we would say ‘wow that would be amazing’ but never thought it would actually happen. Last year my dad turned the big 6-0 and as part of that celebration, I thought, hell let’s make it happen. This is why we spent a lot of our time in the alps and less time in the actual cities. I wouldn’t have changed it at all.

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 Innsbruck

First stop on our one week in Austria was Innsbruck. This beautiful little town is nestled in the middle of the Austrian Alps. It’s small enough to see everything you want to see in a day or two so I wouldn’t recommend staying for more than a weekend. It’s also the perfect place to stay if you plan on doing day trips to the ski hills like we did.

There’s a train station in the center of the town where you can get trains to pretty much anywhere you need to. It’s extremely accessible and most of the hotels in the main city are walking distance from the station.

Because we visited over the Christmas break, we were lucky enough to experience the cute Christmas market that situates itself long Herzog Friedrich Street. It’s here you’ll be able to walk through the old town and admire the amazing alps in the background.

A couple of hours wandering through the city streets will be enough to see the major things and take some amazing snaps. You definitely want to get our first thing in the morning if you’re looking to get some photos without hordes of people in the way.

Don’t miss: 

Golden Roof
Maria-Theresien-Strasse
City Tower
The buildings along the Inn river

| Click here for hotels in Innsbruck |

Kitzbuhel

If you’re going to skip anything on this itinerary, this is the place I would KIND OF recommend that you skip. However, if you’re an avid skier or ski race fan, you’re probably embarking on your one week in Austria just for this.

Kitzbuhel is known as the deadliest and most intense race on the circuit. Skiers from all over the world get together every January and hurl themselves down an intensely steep, windy and dangerous race course. This course has made the small Austrian town famous.

It’s an easy train ride to get to from Innsbruck which means you could easily do a day trip here. We did. We took one of the first trains out at around 7 in the morning. It’s an easy ride, about an hour and a half. You will have to switch trains at some point in the trip but because it’s a popular route, you don’t even have to leave the platform to catch the next one.

Don’t worry about bringing your ski equipment either, we rented everything at the hill and bought our ski passes the same day as well. The mountains themselves are a bit more difficult to navigate (we definitely got lost a few times). Make sure to remember where you started and where you need to get back to take the train.

We ventured into the ‘city’ only briefly but the buildings are exactly what you would picture in the Austrian Alps. It’s a small space and accommodations can be expensive. That’s why I would recommend staying in Innsbruck and taking this as a day trip.

Don’t miss: 

Hahnenkamm
Kitzbuhel Museum

| Click here for hotels in Kitzbuhel |

Salzburg

Of course,  you can’t spend one week in Austria and not visit Salzburg. Home to the birthplace of Mozart and the Sound of Music, there’s plenty to keep you busy in this small town. During our week in Austria, we spent 3 full days here. Two days would have been enough but if you plan on doing a day trip it was the perfect amount of time.

We also spent New Years’ Eve in Salzburg which was really quite fun. It’s not a very large or overly popular city for winter travel so there was plenty to do but it wasn’t insanely crowded. I would recommend booking a reservation way in advance. Even when we went to book 2 months before, we were limited in options.

The one thing you absolutely can’t miss doing is the Hohensalzburg Castle. Built in the 11th century and situated high above the city, it’s a great place to spend an afternoon. You need to take the trolly car up to the top of the hill and that trip in itself is worth it.

The city itself has a pretty laid back atmosphere. We spent several hours just wandering around and getting lost. There are also some amazing places high up to get great views of the city. The Abbey or the Castle are two of the most popular.

You simply can’t head to Salzburg without taking part in the Original Sound of Music tour. Whether you’re a fan of the movie or not, it’s a really good way to see some cool sights and learn some history. The tour takes you around Salzburg but also outside of it as well. Our favourite was the Apple Struedel in Mondsee. I wish I could get it shipped to Canada it was that good!

Don’t miss: 

Hohensalzburg Castle
Hellbrunn Palace
Mozart’s Birthplace
Nonnberg Abbey
The Sound of Music tour
Salzburg Residenz
Mirabell Palace

| Click here for hotels in Salzburg |

Hallstatt

We actually hadn’t included Hallstatt on our itinerary but I am SO happy we did. In reality, we just didn’t think there would be enough time to see the small city. However, because we were in Salzburg for so long we basically ran out of things to do. We booked a car rental for the day and headed out!

From Salzburg the drive is about an hour but make sure to add in time for stops. You’ll be travelling through some pretty amazing scenery, it will be hard to not stop to take photos. You will have to pay for parking at the one public parking spot in the city. Make sure to arrive earlier than you think you’ll have to.

Unfortunately, the weather did not coordinate with us as well as we would have hoped. It started pouring rain an hour after we got there and had to turn around to go home fairly early. I wish we had have had more time, the small town is absolutely stunning. I can imagine how amazing it would be in the summer.

Don’t miss: 

Hallstatter See
Hallstatt Skywalk
Market square

| Click here for hotels in Hallstatt |

Vienna

Last but not least, Vienna, Austria’s most popular city. If you’re spending one week in Austria, or 10 days, spend at least two of them in Vienna. I found this city to be totally underrated. It almost reminded me of a cross between Paris and London. There is lots of history and therefore lots to check out.

The city itself is pretty walkable, the only time we had to take public transit was to see the Schonnbrunn Palace. It was worth it.  The palace was built in the 18th century and acted as the royal families summer home. The gardens are also spectacular, I only wish we visited in the summer to get the full experience. Definitely, opt for the audio tour, it was really quite interesting.

What struck me most about Vienna was the incredible opulence. The city seems to be steeped in riches. It was also incredibly clean and the people were very nice.

The one thing we didn’t do that I wish we had of was visiting the opera. There wasn’t too much of an appetite from my fellow travellers aka my family so we opted out of that particular plan. I guess that just means we’ll have to go back someday soon!

Don’t miss: 

Schonbrunn Palace
Naschmarkt
Hofbrug
Belvedere Vienna
St. Stephen’s Cathedral
City Hall
Museumquartier
Vienna State Opera
St. Peters Church

| Click here for hotels in Vienna |

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