Saltzburg or Linz ?

I don't like long bus rides. If I pass on Saltzburg, are there things worth seeing if I decide to wander around Linz instead?

Thanks, cb

We looked at the Salzburg excursion, which involved a bus ride, then a walk to the walking tour, so we passed. We wandered around Linz, visited both cathedrals, found a great restaurant for lunch, and visited some antique shops

What time of year are you going?

Sept. 2 to 9 - Passau to Budapest on Uniworld.

3 days in Munich before and 2 days in Budapest after - both on our own.

All suggetions welcome.

Thanks, cb

There's much to do in Munich if you are there for 3 days. You will no doubt be suffering some jet lag on the first day. Take it easy on day one. Maybe walk the Marienplatz, visit the Haufbrau Haus, see Nymphenburg, get your some shopping in, beer steins etc.

You could do a day trip to Salzburg on day 2. It's not far from Munich and trains run often or rent a car if you can. It's a beautiful city and one of our favoirites. Visit the Mozart houses, Or you could do a day trip to Fussen and visit Ludwig's fairy tail castle, Castle Hellbrun or do a salt mine tour.

Day 3? Just take it easy and prepare yourselfs for the cruise. It will be wonderful.

We've not been to Linz so no help there. Whatever you do we're sure that you will find memorable experiences. Have fun.

There's much to do in Munich if you are there for 3 days. You will no doubt be suffering some jet lag on the first day. Take it easy on day one. Maybe walk the Marienplatz, visit the Haufbrau Haus, see Nymphenburg, get your some shopping in, beer steins etc.

 

You could do a day trip to Salzburg on day 2. It's not far from Munich and trains run often or rent a car if you can. It's a beautiful city and one of our favoirites. Visit the Mozart houses, Or you could do a day trip to Fussen and visit Ludwig's fairy tail castle, Castle Hellbrun or do a salt mine tour.

 

Day 3? Just take it easy and prepare yourselfs for the cruise. It will be wonderful.

 

We've not been to Linz so no help there. Whatever you do we're sure that you will find memorable experiences. Have fun.

I'll second the suggestion for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuschwanstein_Castle ! It was beautiful! We took the train and it's a nice walk to the castle, but carriage rides are also available. You'll see para-sailers jumping from the cliffs behind the castle. NOTE: There are a fair number of stairs to climb.

I don't like long bus rides. If I pass on Saltzburg, are there things worth seeing if I decide to wander around Linz instead?

 

Thanks, cb

Same question - but we will be on a Christmas Market cruise. Is the bus ride to Salzburg for the Christmas Market and sightseeing worth it over Linz at that time of year? Also - how long is the bus ride?

B. Cole

Opps. castle Hellbrun and the salt mine tour would be done in Salzburg not Fussen. I accidently inserted my thoughts into the wrong city.

we opted to stay in Linz.Ship docks right near town and easy to walk and explore,,,nice Modern Arts Museum ,,with great "car as art: "show we went to about 5 mins walk from ship.

The bus ride was long(think 2hrs ea way,,not sure) but our friends went and said glad they saw Salzburg ONCE ,,but too long to be in bus and everyone went to sleep on ride home.

So it s really YOUR call. But we DID enjoy our time in Linz,,really what YOU want to do..or not do...:)

I don't like long bus rides. If I pass on Saltzburg, are there things worth seeing if I decide to wander around Linz instead?

 

Thanks, cb

If you haven't been to Salzburg, it is a must see. I lived in Germany for four years and have traveled to most of the countries in Europe and I would place Salzburg in the must see category.

3 days in Munich before and 2 days in Budapest after - both on our own. All suggetions welcome. Thanks, cb

Lots to see and do in Budapest... Visit the central market, see the House of Terror, visit the "Shoes on the Danube" memorial, take in a bath, visit the Parliament Buildings.... Lots of people have posted about the wonderful opera house (we aren't opera fans, so not an interest for us...)

We are making our 2nd visit there next year - and are hoping to tick off a few of the "must see" items that we missed the 1st time around.

I want to see the Church in the Cave. Last time we were there, we arrived just after 11 am - and the doors were closed. It is still a working church, so you cannot enter during Mass.

I want to see the Hospital (Musuem) in the caves on the Pest side - and perhaps tour the tunnels over there as well. I want to ride the funicular up to the top of the hill. (We bussed there last time...) We want to go out to Monument Park. I am interested in seeing the Parliament Buildings if we can arrange a tour. And, do want to go back to the market for another piece of their AMAZING strudel...

We had 2 days there last time... not nearly enough.

Fran

Upon your return, please post a review of your trip. We are doing the opposite cruise, Budapest to Passau on Uniworld next September. Would love to hear about your trip!

Cole,

If you will be in Austria or Germany for New Year's eve, everyone shoots off fireworks! We were in Linz and watched for an hour and a half!

4774Papa,

We just got through reading your Russian River review and it blew my wife away. Great post!!

Thank you

Cole,

If you will be in Austria or Germany for New Year's eve, everyone shoots off fireworks! We were in Linz and watched for an hour and a half!

4774Papa,

We just got through reading your Russian River review and it blew my wife away. Great post!!

Thank you

Thanks for the kudos. I enjoy writing my reviews, but not as much as I enjoy travel.

We travel now about three times a year and since then have been on a repo cruise from FLL through the Panama Canal to Chile, then a S. Caribbean, then an AMA Rhone River cruise and Western Med on the Epic.

Next, Vantage China in 31 days.

If you haven't been to Salzburg, it is a must see. I lived in Germany for four years and have traveled to most of the countries in Europe and I would place Salzburg in the must see category.

Having just returned from Salzburg in this past July I would leave to agree. With Papa. It has some beautiful areas with the hill top castle with it's view of the Alps makes it a must. I wouldn't miss it IMHO. Happy travels.

DW and I just returned from the Uniworld trip from Budapest to Passau last week.

Uniworld offers an alternate tour when docked in Linz, of two really historic and quaint towns with old-world town centers on a bus that only takes an hour to get to each of them instead of 2.5 hours one way to Salzburg. We took this tour since DW doesn't like to sit for so long.

Both towns (Steyr and Gmunden (??)) are beautiful with Gmunden on a big beautful lake with mountains in the distance (the Alps, I believe) and swans swimming and a great shopping town center.

In Steyr I had the best sachertorte (their chocolate cake) anywhere (I had others in Vienna, Budapest and Prague)! And Steyr is another beautiful small town with cathedrals and old-world center shopping.

Both these places had a small, resort-town flavor with lots of locals (families, etc) enjoyibg themselves without being flooded with tourists as most big cities are. We felt like we were really part of the Austrian populace while there.

I highly recommend this alternate Uniworld tour.

I lived in Munich for three and a half years and all these suggestions are wonderful! This post will no way touch on everything that is a must see, but try to take in ALL that you can. Munich is a wonderful city! Marienplatz is very nice, but also walk through the Viktualienmarkt. We always loved getting cheese, bread/pastries and peppers stuffed with kraut) there. http://www.muenchen.de/int/en/shopping/markets/viktualienmarkt.html We also enjoyed going to the Englisher Gartens to enjoy the grounds, views and food at the Chinese pagoda http://www.schloesser.bayern.de/deutsch/garten/objekte/mu_engl.htm It's just a beautiful place in the fall. Neuschwanstein is well worth the trip...the castle is absolutely stunning! Dine off the beaten path in Munich.....do a local gasthaus and treat yourself to any of the many backereis/cafe (bakery) in town to a slice of torte and a cup of kaffee! :) You can get around the city very easily on the public transportation. There is also the Olympiapark and the Deutches Museum if you want to visit things in town Salzburg is fantastic...one of my favorite places. I'm a big fan of The Sound of Music and it was so awesome to see where the movie was filmed.

I loved Bavaria....it was so fabulous to live there...you will come away with some great memories!

We loved Salzburg and we debated to take the optional bus trip. We sang all the songs on the bus (we are huge fans of the Sound of Music)it was great. We ate at the oldest restaurant in Salzburg just wonderful.. We are so glad we went. Good luck I am sure what ever you decide it will be a good time.:)

Abredt, you leave in a few weeks and must be getting excited! We did the same exact trip (Enchanting Danube) a few years ago. We also did pre-cruise in Munich and post-cruise in Budapest. Where are you staying in those cities and how are you getting from Munich to Passau? If you really don't feel like a long bus ride to Salzburg, it is really easy walking off the ship in Linz. You will be about 3 blocks from town square. You will also get the sense that this is Not a major tourist destination, and you get a more down to earth view of a small Austrian city. There is a nice theatre and park to walk by, and if you look hard enough, you can track down where Mozart briefly stayed and wrote his "Linz Symphony". As others have pointed out, you also get taken to 2 other gorgeous towns that are perhaps less industrialized than Linz...

I don't like long bus rides. If I pass on Saltzburg, are there things worth seeing if I decide to wander around Linz instead?

 

Thanks, cb

We're on the same cruise! :)

It is also quite easy to use the train to visit Salzburg and you have two options from Linz, Deutsche Bahn and Westbahn.

Our one way tickets Linz to Salzburg are 11E each and the ride is 1:24 minutes.

On the return to Passau, it is 2:14 but we are in Passau til 10 so that gives us a long day in Salzburg.

It is easy to do on your own and you get to see what you choose, and not what they choose.

We're on the same cruise! :)

Are you on the Sept. 2 - 9 cruise?

I looked at your profile - 6,240 posts in 10 years !! WOW !!

Is there a way I can send you a private message on this forum with my email address?

cb

Are you on the Sept. 2 - 9 cruise?

 

I looked at your profile - 6,240 posts in 10 years !! WOW !!

Is there a way I can send you a private message on this forum with my email address?

 

cb

Yep, we're on the same cruise! We're going to Prague for a few days prior to the cruise. I've been around here for a long time! Joined when we took our first cruise. I don't know how to send private messages. I am not the best when it comes to computers!

Try luvscruising2 at gmail dot com :)

Hubby and I did Linz on our own. We were happy with that decision. If you like churches and cathedrals, there are 34 of them in the Linz area (I bought the book ;-)). The tram ride to the Postlinger cathedral takes you through a lovely wooded area, and the views from the cathedral are wonderful. Sadly, I can't recommend the modern art museum... perhaps it was just the exhibits available when we were there, but we were underwhelmed.

There is some nice shopping to be had, and one of the best meals we had, at Gragger, on Hofgrasse. All local and organic produce and meats. Completely yummy.

We were on the Avalon Affinity European Splendour cruise in July from Vienna. I too was not sure what to do, a pity that there are several good choices for tours & places to see and only 1 can be done.

Other tours were Czesky Krumlov which we would have loved to have gone to as well and there was a new tour called Romantic Austria.

We did the Salzburg tour and loved every minute of it - even in the light rain that fell most of the day.

Salzburg was wonderful as was the countryside driving there. We left the Affinity at 8.15am. Stopped at Mondsee for an hour for coffee and a look around.

We arrived back at Passau around 5pm, travelling a different way back.

We were on the Avalon Affinity European Splendour cruise in July from Vienna. I too was not sure what to do, a pity that there are several good choices for tours & places to see and only 1 can be done.

Other tours were Czesky Krumlov which we would have loved to have gone to as well and there was a new tour called Romantic Austria.

 

We did the Salzburg tour and loved every minute of it - even in the light rain that fell most of the day.

Salzburg was wonderful as was the countryside driving there. We left the Affinity at 8.15am. Stopped at Mondsee for an hour for coffee and a look around.

We arrived back at Passau around 5pm, travelling a different way back.

How much time did you get to spend in Salzburg taking into account the amount of time you spent on the bus both ways and the hour stop for coffee?