By Gemma Tedaldi | Published: 26th January 2020 | Updated: 12th December 2024
The Austrian Romantic Road?
Austria is a country that everyone should visit at least once in their lifetime. Filled with beautiful landscapes, bustling cities and wonderful food, there isn’t much more you could need… is there?
Well turns out there is, and it’s called the Romantic Road, a drive that connects through some of the most incredible landscapes Austria has to offer. We spent a glorious week exploring the Austria Romantic Road, and it really showcases all the best bits that Austria has to offer.
Fancy your own Austria Romantic Road road trip? Read on to find out more!
📍 Day 1: Vienna
📍 Day 2: Krems an der Donau
📍 Day 3: Dürnstein
📍 Day 4: Weißenkirchen in der Wachau & Wösendorf in der Wachau
📍 Day 5: Wolfgangsee
📍 Day 6: Hallstatt
📍 Day 7: Salzburg
Planning Your Trip? Use our favourite travel resources below:
Accommodation: We recommend Booking.com
Rental Car: We recommend Rentalcars.com
Flights: We recommend Kiwi.com
Tours: We recommend Get Your Guide & Viator
Currency Conversion: We recommend Wise
Travel Insurance: World Nomads
Austrian Romantic Road Map
Austrian Romantic Road Itinerary
Day 1 – Vienna
The first stop on your tour along Austria’s Romantic Road is the wonderful capital of Austria, Vienna. With historic sights galore, lots of shopping opportunities and a good eatery or two, Vienna is a place you should stop by even if you aren’t doing the Romantic Road of Austria.
There is such a range of things to see and places to visit, especially if you are a fan of Hundertwasser… And if you‘ve got a sweet tooth you need to stop by Café Central for a slice of the famous Viennese Apfelstrudel. We also highly recommend visiting St Stephen’s Cathedral to experience the wonderful architecture, (inside and out), and to get a chance to see the city from the incredible tiled roof above!
📌 Where to eat: Café Central
🥾 What to see: St Stephen’s Cathedral and Hundertwasser buildings
Day 2 – Krems an der Donau
Situated in the Wachau region famous for its wines, apricots and flowing River Danube, Krems an der Donau is one of a number of places that will make you feel like you’ve been whisked off into an Austrian fairytale.
One place you must stop after wandering through the colourful streets is Heuriger Weingut Hambock. With views down over the town and surrounded by wine terraces, this little family-run bar is often filled to the brim and it is easy to see why.
Make sure you get there early and sit on the terrace for views over the Danube to Göttweig Abbey and for a real local experience, try the local apricot wine with a cheeseboard. Yum!
📌 Where to eat: Heuriger Weingut Hambock
🥾 What to see: Göttweig Abbey
🚐 Driving time: Vienna to Krems an der Donau – 1 hour / 80km
Day 3 – Dürnstein
How does seeing a beautiful blue monastery overlooking the River Danube or eating the most delicious apricot dumplings sound to you? If it’s right up your street, then Dürnstein is the place for you!
With the Stift Dürnstein overlooking the small town filled with quaint cobbled streets you can easily spend a couple of hours walking around and in and out of the numerous shops. We even sampled a few of the local delicacies along the Haupstrasse.
Make sure to get off the beaten path and wander down some of the smaller streets too and you might find a hidden gem like Dürnsteinerhof. Be sure to pop in for the apricot pancakes and dumplings, (my personal favourite), you will not regret it!
📌 Where to eat: Dürnsteinerhof
🥾 What to see: Stift Dürnstein
🚐 Driving time: Krems an der Donau to Dürnstein – 15 minutes / 8km
Day 4 – Weißenkirchen in der Wachau & Wösendorf in der Wachau
Colourful, quaint and quiet. That’s the best way to describe the next couple of stops on the Austrian Romantic Road. Weißenkirchen in der Wachau and Wösendorf in der Wachau.
Surrounded by vineyards to the north and the River Danube to the south, these small towns are the perfect place to relax and watch the day go by. You can cross the Danube by a river current-powered ferry, explore the best eateries in the towns or wander the surrounding vineyards.
The area is also famous for its white churches so you could make a beeline for them too. We parked up in Weißenkirchen and walked through the vineyards to Wösendorf before walking back along the Danube.
📌 Where to eat: Any of the open wineries
🥾 What to see: The vineyards between Weißenkirchen and Wösendorf
🚐 Driving time: Dürnstein to Weißenkirchen in der Wachau – 15 minutes / 8km
Fancy a trip to Austria? Check out our 5 must-see cities, towns and villages
Day 5 – Wolfgangsee
Wolfgangsee or Lake Wolfgang is situated within the Austrian version of the UK Lake District, Salzkammergut. With alpine mountain ranges left right and centre, the only cut-throughs in the area are the wonderful carved valleys and lakes of the area, one of which is Wolfgangsee.
Even though it is still somewhat touristy compared to other locations along the lake edges, you can still easily find some isolated areas to swim, fish or just watch the world go by all to yourself. That is if you’re brave enough to get in the icy waters, which I for one was not! Matt on the other hand…
🚐 Driving time: Weißenkirchen in der Wachau to Wolfgangsee – 2 hours 30 minutes / 243km
Planning your own trip to Austria? Be sure to download Wise by far the best currency conversion app around. We use it daily living on the border of two countries and it is a game changer when travelling!
Day 6 – Hallstatt
The incredible UNESCO World Heritage Village of Hallstatt is the next stop along the route. Colourful 16th-century alpine houses line the shore and alleyways of Lake Hallstatt making it a dream to get lost in! Even in the rain, it is quite possibly the most stunning place we visited along the Austrian Romantic Road.
Be aware that it is often a struggle to park around Hallstatt, there is no parking in the village itself, so you have to walk into the village from either end. We ended up parked a little way up the road in a pull-in, not a car park as they were already full early in the morning… You have been warned!
Be sure to try the local Schaumrolle from one of the huts on the lake edge. They are quite possibly the best thing we have ever eaten, and we haven’t seen them anywhere else on our travels!
📌 Where to eat: Schaumrolle from one of the lakeside huts
🥾 What to see: The village centre and Bone Church
🚐 Driving time: Wolfgangsee to Hallstatt – 40 minutes / 40km
Day 7 – Salzburg
The final stop on the Austrian Romantic Road is none other than the wonderful city of Salzburg. Bordered by Germany to the west, Salzburg is a city filled with medieval and baroque style architecture in the Altstadt and modern buildings and gardens in the Neustadt.
If you want views over the whole city, we can highly recommend walking up to the Festung Hohensalzburg and around to the Stift Nonnberg, it may be steep in places, but the views are very much worth it. One other place you must visit in Salzburg is the Dom zu Salzburg in the Altstadt, it has the most stunning ceiling we have ever seen!
📌 Where to eat: Restaurant Gasthaus Hinterbruhl for flammkuchen
🥾 What to see: Festung Hohensalzburg and Dom zu Salzburg
🚐 Driving time: Hallstatt to Salzburg – 1 hour 15 minutes / 73km
Where to stay along the Austrian Romantic Road?
As mentioned previously, we would highly recommend hiring a campervan to drive this route, purely for the freedom of stopping and camping in pretty much any village/town you like. Check out Rentalcars.com for some of the best deals on cars and, depending on your location, campervans too.
Along the route we stopped at the following campsites:
Camping Wolfgangsee Birkenstrand
However, if you much prefer a comfy hotel bed (after 3 weeks in the camper, we did too!) there are plenty of options for that too. Check out the map below for some of the best rates and accommodation options for your Austrian Romantic Road trip.
Austrian Romantic Road Itinerary FAQs
What is the Austrian Romantic Road?
The relatively unknown Romantic Road starts in Vienna and ends in Salzburg, (or vice versa, but this is the direction we drove it on our trip) and is one of the most enchanting routes we have ever driven.
To do it we would highly recommend hiring a campervan and stopping in various campsites along the route, not only will this be cheaper, but you get to mingle with the locals too! (They often give you great advice on where to get some good grub and a drink or two…).
Not only is this drive stunning beyond belief but as it goes through the Austrian states of Vienna, Lower Austria, Upper Austria and Salzburg, you get a real feel for how life in Austria is.
Arrival airport: Salzburg / Vienna
Departure airport: Vienna / Salzburg
Duration: 1 week (we did it in that but if you have the option to go for longer, do it!)
Distance: 380km
How long does it take to drive the Austrian Romantic Road?
Starting in Vienna and ending in Salzburg, (or vice versa), it is recommended to take 1 week, which is the amount of time we spent, but we could easily have had more time along this route as there is so much to explore. We actually spent 10 days in Austria – check out our full Austria itinerary here.
Is it safe to drive in Austria?
We drove and camped our way through Austria from east to west and never felt unsafe. Austrians are some of the friendliest people you can meet! Plus, if you drive you get to seek out some of the places that are often off the main tourist trail.
How much is an Austrian vignette?
In order to drive the Austrian Romantic Road, you will have to get a vignette. You can get either a physical sticker or a digital version, for 9.50 euros for 10 days, 27.80 euros for 2 months or 1 year for 92.50 euros. If you are driving through multiple countries, you can buy a toll sticker at a petrol station or convenience store before you get to Austria.
Best time of year to visit Austria?
We visited Austria in June, and it was perfect! It can get quite busy across Europe from the end of July through to September due to the schools’ summer holidays, but visiting just before or after, you can still get some of the wonderful weather but without the crowds.
Where does the romantic road end in Austria?
The Romantic Road in Austria ends in either Vienna or Salzburg, depending on which way around you are driving.
What is the most scenic drive in Austria?
There are numerous scenic drives in Austria, (the Romantic Road being one of them), but quite possibly the most scenic, and most famous for that reason, is the Großglockner High Alpine Road.
Where to go between Salzburg and Vienna?
There are numerous locations that you should visit between Salzburg and Vienna, but here are the ones you definitely can’t miss:
📍 Krems an der Donau
📍 Dürnstein
📍 Weißenkirchen in der Wachau
📍 Wösendorf in der Wachau
📍 Wolfgangsee
📍 Hallstatt
Conclusion: Austrian Romantic Road Itinerary
So, here is our guide on how to spend a week on the Austrian Romantic Road! Let us know if you’ve driven the route or are planning a trip along it and we may just see you out there… Be sure to check out our other blog posts on Austria for even more inspiration.
All Our Austria Content
Here are a few other articles you may find useful for planning your trip:
📍 Is Hallstatt Worth Visiting? Plus One Day Hallstatt Itinerary
📍 The Best 10 Day Austria Road Trip Itinerary
📍 How To Spend 24 Hours In Innsbruck
📍 These Are 5 Must See Cities, Towns & Villages Of Austria
Gemma Tedaldi
Gemma is the owner and author of The Travelling Tedaldi, a travel blog helping travellers to discover the best road trips and travel itineraries throughout the UK and Europe. When she isn’t writing about her favourite travel destinations, she can often be found out exploring local hikes or planning future trips.
I couldn’t agree more! I love Austria. Thanks for this info!
Author
No problem! Hopefully, we can get back and visit even more of this wonderful country soon!
Keeping my fingers crossed! 🙂